Penalty-prone Moose squander great start

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This article was published 23/04/2018 (2913 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Moose were perfectly positioned to build a lead in their AHL playoff series with the Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday afternoon.

After a quick start and a goal by Francis Beauvillier 2:43 into the first period, the plucky Moose looked primed to grab a 2-0 edge in the best-of-five series.

But… not so fast.

Undisciplined interference penalties handed to Manitoba’s Nelson Nogier and Patrice Cormier resulted in first-period power-play goals by Matthew Ford and Eric Tangradi, and the Griffins suddenly had a lead.

Turner Elson and Ben Street also sniped before the opening period was done and the defending Calder Cup champions held a 4-1 advantage, en route to a 5-1 victory before 4,704 fans at Bell MTS Place.

Twenty-four hours earlier, the Moose spotted the Griffins a 1-0 lead before roaring back in the third period for a 3-2 triumph.

“The difference between yesterday and today, we had a good start,” Manitoba head coach Pascal Vincent said. “For five, six minutes we were moving right and being 4-on-4 or 3-on-5 against that team… there’s a line you need to walk and we crossed that line today. You’re not gonna win if you do.”

Beauvillier’s marker — he jammed the puck past goaltender Tom McCollum after Cam Maclise’s slick wraparound attempt — was a nice bonus, but Manitoba’s big guns were silent.

“Great start, big goal by that line,” said Cormier, who centres the club’s top line with wingers Mason Appleton and Nic Petan.

“I thought we were moving well and they scored… that first power-play goal for them. Average penalty for myself — well bad penalty, not average; below average. They score on that. (Another) goal after that off the faceoff. Trickle-(down) effect, almost.

“We did a great job last night — they scored, we came right back. Tonight, we kind of let it slide. We never got the momentum back.”

Games 3 and 4 are scheduled for Grand Rapids on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Game 5, if necessary, would also be hosted by the Griffins on Monday, April 30.

The Griffins went 2-for-8 on the power play, while the Moose were 0-for-4.

“They have a lot of skill,” Cormier said. “Last night, we had the upper hand on that, tonight they did… Special teams are huge in the playoffs and, yeah, I think they got the better of it tonight.

“I think the penalties were penalties. I didn’t see Buddy (Robinson’s late interference major) penalty, but I thought the rest (were deserved).”

Vincent said it was unusual for his team to cross the line and get into such penalty trouble.

“It’s probably the first one,” Vincent said. “We’re not that type of team. Composure in the playoffs is really important and the desire to make a difference and to be physical and in-your-face hockey is one thing. That’s a great lesson we need to learn. There’s a line you can’t cross. You need to be physical, in control — and today, we were tried to be physical, not in control.”

Beauvillier expects the Moose to be better prepared for Wednesday’s Game 3.

“Of course, but we’ve gotta stick with it,” he said. “We’re professional hockey players now, we know the game. We’ve gotta puck our sticks down and play hard and stay out of the box.”

Ford and Street each added a pair of assists. Evgeny Svechnikov scored a second-period goal for the Griffins.

McCollum made 21 saves in the Grand Rapids net while Moose starter Eric Comrie stopped 19 of 24 shots before being replaced by Jamie Phillips, who handled all 15 shots he faced in the third period.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14