Pavelec puts forth winning effort

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This article was published 20/10/2016 (3453 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He’s said all the right things and looked every bit the consummate pro while dealing with an obvious career setback.

Now the only thing that can get Ondrej Pavelec back on track — and perhaps back in the NHL — is his play. He was solid enough in his Manitoba Moose home debut Thursday night as his new squad skated away with a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the Bakersfield Condors.

Pavelec stopped 32 of the 36 shots he faced, many of them of the high-quality variety as the young Moose team was prone to occasional breakdowns, turnovers and penalties, which put the goalie on the spot while also dealing with plenty of Bakersfield traffic in front of him.

“That’s hockey. It’s the style most of the teams play. It’s not always pretty. They’re shooting the puck from everywhere, they have a net-front guy all night long. It was a battle,” Pavelec said after the game.

Manitoba improves to 2-1-1 on the AHL season, while Bakersfield is 1-1-0.

Pavelec lost his job with the Winnipeg Jets and was sent to the American Hockey League earlier this month.

Since then, his teammates and coaches have praised his attitude and approach to the demotion. He made his first start of the season last Saturday in Iowa, stopping 34 of 36 shots in regulation and overtime before his team dropped a 3-2 shootout decision

Scouts from a half-dozen NHL teams were on hand to watch Thursday’s game, as was Jets head coach Paul Maurice.

Pavelec came out to a hearty round of applause from the smallest crowd he’s played in front of at the MTS Centre.

Bakersfield opened the scoring just six minutes into the game after Brian Strait lost the puck around his net. Joey Benik pounced on the opportunity, ripping a shot past a surprised Pavelec for his second goal in as many games against the Moose.

It was the kind of mistake and lost battle Moose coach Pascal Vincent said earlier in the day his team needs to limit.

The Moose got the goal back halfway through the period when defenceman Jan Kostalek fired a shot through traffic that found the back of the net.

Manitoba took a 2-1 lead early in the second period after a dominating power-play sequence ended with Scott Kosmachuk finishing off a feed from defenceman Kevin Czuczman.

But the good feelings wouldn’t last long as the Moose began to unravel.

Ryan Olsen took a needless slashing penalty and the Condors’ Matt Benning tied it up on the power play on a pretty three-way passing play.

Bakersfield then took the lead 75 seconds later after Jere Sallinen jammed the puck past Pavelec during a wild goalmouth scramble that included several bodies near the crease.

Manitoba made a big push in the third period and got the equalizer when Jack Roslovic picked the corner with a wicked wrist shot on the power play.

It was the rookie’s second goal and fourth point of the young season and showed off the kind of skills which made him a first-round draft pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

“It was a good-placed shot. We’ve been working on that in practice,” Roslovic said, crediting fellow rookie Brendan Lemieux with providing the screen. “It’s my teammates that have helped me really adjust to the league.

“Being the youngest guy on the team, they kind of take that to really support me. They’ve been really good to me.”

The Moose kept coming and it paid off when Lemieux tipped home Julian Melchiori’s point shot to give Manitoba a 4-3 lead at the midway mark of the final frame.

Nic Petan iced the game in the final minute with an empty-netter. Bakersfield’s Jujhar Khaira one-timed one past Pavelec just before the clock ran out to finish the scoring.

The Moose now head to Toronto for a pair of weekend games against the Marlies.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca