Fedor Fedorov scored twice and Nolan Baumgartner tallied the game-winner in overtime to lead the Manitoba Moose to a 5-4 come from behind win over the Syracuse Crunch in American Hockey League action Saturday night.
Syracuse opened the scoring in this one just prior to the midway point of period number one. Brad Moran ignited the play with a nice back check on Moose defenseman Nolan Baumgartner, which initiated a two-on-one break for the Crunch. On that odd man rush Moran found Mark Hartigan streaking down the right side. Hartigan one-timed Moran's feed over the shoulder of Moose goaltender Tyler Moss for a 1-0 Syracuse lead.
Syracuse increased their lead to two early in the second period. Off a face-off in the Manitoba zone, Donald MacLean pulled the puck back to defenseman Aaron Johnson. Johnson took two strides and fired a slapper on net that found its way thru the pads of Moss for Johnson's third of the season and a two-goal Crunch advantage.
Just when it seemed the Crunch were set to put a stranglehold on the game, the Moose exploded for three goals in the span of 3:55 thanks to some exceptional play from their special teams.
Fedor Fedorov got the ball rolling at the 11:49 mark of the second. With the Moose holding a five-on-three advantage, Fedor Fedorov put a shot on net that Pascal Leclaire gloved, but could not hold onto. In an attempt to beat Moose forward Ryan Ready to the loose puck, Leclaire knocked the puck across the line for the Manitoba goal.
After being denied in his last opportunity, Ryan Ready would not be denied this time. With the Crunch holding a man-advantage, Aaron Johnson's failure to keep the puck in the Manitoba zone sent Ready off on a break-away. Despite a vicious slash from Darrel Scoville, Ready slipped a backhand shot thru Leclaire's pads to tie the game at two.
Just over two minutes later the lesser of the famous Fedorov brothers would strike again. This time his laser from the right face-off circle glanced off the shoulder of Leclaire and found the back of the net for Manitoba's first lead of the game.
The Crunch seemed to right their ship late in the second thanks to Joe Motzko. After a failed attempt to find Donald MacLean streaking down the slot, Motzko regained possession of the puck and fired a shot that beat Moss to the stick side.
Just when it looked like the two teams would head into the third all tied at three, misfortune would strike the Crunch. In an unsettled situation Mikko Jokela flipped a weak wrister on goal that a screened Pascal Leclaire never saw giving the Moose a 4-3 lead.
That score remained until very late in the third when the Crunch received a break thanks to Referee Dave Hansen. In an evening of numerous questionable calls, Hansen whistled former Crunch captain Sean Pronger for high-sticking and the Crunch would capitalize on the fortunate call.
Darrel Scoville fired a nice cross-ice pass to Donald MacLean camped to the left of the Moose net. He re-directed Scoville's pass into the open side to send the game into overtime.
In the extra session Nolan Baumgartner one-timed the rebound of a Jaroslav Obsut shot past Leclaire to give the Moose a 5-4 win and the critical extra point in the standings.
Crunch Ice Pack:
Date: Friday, December 12, 2003
Where:Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter
Opponent:Manitoba Moose
Attendance:4,337
Boxscore:
First Period-Scoring-1. Syracuse, Hartigan 7 (Moran), 9:55. Penalties-MacLean, Syr (tripping), 4:39; Traynor, Syr (roughing), 6:12; Knopp, Syr (high-stick), 10:16.
Second Period-Scoring-2. Syracuse, Johnson 3 (Moran), 5:55. 3. Manitoba, Fedorov 10 ( Koltsov, Moss), 11:49. 4. Manitoba, Ready 4 (unassisited), 14:20, (sh). 5. Manitoba, Fedorov 11 (Reid, Koltsov), 16:44, (pp). 6. Syracuse, Motzko 6 (Hartigan), 18:30. 7. Manitoba, Jokela 3 (Reid, Fedorov), 19:09. Penalties-Bench Minor, Man (unsportsmanlike)(served by Nolan), 5:56; Traynor, Syr (hooking), 10:05; Reich, Syr (roughing), 10:53; Roy, Man (holding the stick), 12:25; Cull, Syr (roughing), 15:33.
Third Period-Scoring-8. Syracuse, MacLean 6 (Scoville, Moran), 18:57, (pp). Penalties-Eakins, Man (holding), 4:37; Eakins, Man (holding the stick), 11:25; Grand-Pierre, Syr (tripping), 13;21; Pronger, Man (high-stick), 18:23.
Overtime-Scoring-9. Manitoba, Baumgartner 3 (Obsut, Ready), 1:54. Penalties-No penalties. Shots on Goal-Manitoba, 10-13-4-2-29; Syracuse, 7-6-8-1--22. Power Play Opps.-Manitoba, 2-7; Syracuse, 1-5. Goalies-Manitoba, Moss (4-5-2), 22 shots- 18 saves. Syracuse, Leclaire (7-6-0), 29 shots-24 saves. Referee-Dave Hansen (47); Linesman-Dave Brisebois (93), Brian Lemon (25).
Three Stars:
1. Nolan Baumgartner: Was solid all night and notched the game-winner in overtime.
2. Mark Hartigan: Hartigan had a goal and an assist and was the best player on the ice all night long.
3. Fedor Fedorov: Despite his normal lapses in the defensive end, Fedorov can just plain score. Finished the evening with two goals, one assist and was a +1.
Lineups:
Manitoba: Goalies:Tyler Moss, Robert McVicar.Defense: Tomas Mojzis, Mikko Jokela, Nolan Baumgartner, Rene Vydareny, Martin Grenier, Dallas Eakins, Jaroslav Obsut, Kirill Koltsov. Forwards:Chris Nielsen, Tyler Bouck, Nathan Smith, Ryan Ready, Pat Kavanagh, Ryan Kesler, Sean Pronger, Jimmy Roy, Justin Morrison, Brandon Nolan, Brandon Reid, Fedor Fedorov.
Crunch: Goalies: Pascal Leclaire, Karl Goehring. Defense: Darrel Scoville, Zenith Komarniski, Paul Traynor, Pauli Levorkari, Aaron Johnson, Trent Cull. Forwards: Mark Hartigan, Ben Knopp, Donald MacLean, Jeremy Reich, Tim Jackman, Joe Motzko, Brad Moran, Tyler Sloan, Brandon Sugden, Andrej Nedorost, Mike Pandolfo, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre.
Pre-Game Skate:
The Crunch scratched left wing Andrej Nedorost (concussion) and center Espen Knutsen (left club). Manitoba sat out Tomas Mojzis (flu), Ryan Kesler (travel), Martin Grenier (concussion) and Alexandre Burrows (sent down).
Crunch One-Timers:
Prior to the game the Blue Jackets announced that they have agreed to terms on a buyout with center Espen Knutsen. The long-time Blue Jacket left town on Thursday and is expected to sign on with a club overseas, possibly his old team Djurgarden in Sweden. Trent Cull returned to the Crunch lineup last night after missing the last 16 games with a broken foot. Cull's return forced Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre up to forward where he skated for a good portion of the evening with Ben Knopp and Jeremy Reich. .Manitoba Head Coach Stan Smyl was feeling a little nostalgic last evening so he started a lineup that included four faces form the Crunch's past despite the fact that the combination was not one of the normal lines for the Moose. Chris Nielsen, Ryan Ready, Sean Pronger and Jaroslav Obsut all started the contest along with Nolan Baumgartner. ..With his club off on Friday, Chicago Wolves. Head Coach John Anderson took in last night's contest to scout the Crunch. While seating behind the net opposite the stage, Anderson took a puck off the back of the head on a deflected shot late in the game. No one was hurt, but the scouts sitting with the Wolves head man sure got a chuckle over it. Anderson, no worse for the wear, collected the puck and flipped it to one of the Crunch's faithful in the crowd.
Parent Pulse:
Reports last evening have Kent McDonell making his Crunch debut tomorrow against the Chicago Wolves. McDonell, who did not play last night against the Blues, has appeared in 23 games with the Jackets, recording 1 goal, 1 assist, 34 penalty minutes and was a -8. Those same reports also have Blue Jacket winger David Ling being placed on waivers by Columbus. Ling did skate last night against St. Louis, but only saw 3:41 of ice time.
On Wednesday the Blue Jackets announced that center Dan Fritsche was named to Team USA for the 2004 World Junior Tournament. The tournament, to be played December 26 - January 5 in Finland, will mark Fritsche's first major international competition.
Fritsche was the 46th overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and he made the club right out of training camp. He has appeared in 19 games with Columbus this season, registering one goal and 12 penalty minutes.
The Manitoba Moose, Syracuse's opponent on Friday, also has a player scheduled to participate for Team USA in the World Juniors. Center Ryan Kesler, the Canucks first selection, 23rd overall in 2003, is slated to join the team for the upcoming tournament.
Kesler was just dispatched to the Moose from the Canucks after appearing in seven games with the big club, recording one goal and one assist. He plans to join the Moose in Cleveland on Saturday and play the next four games for Manitoba before joining Team USA on December 18.
On Deck:
The Crunch, who play five of their next six at home, host the Chicago Wolves on Saturday evening. The Wolves, despite being tied for second in the West Division, are struggling as of late and head into Syracuse on a four-game losing skid. Game time is set for 7:30 PM.