WINNIPEG, Man – With the series at stake for the Toronto Marlies head coach Greg Gilbert decided to go with Adam Munro in net for his first game in the series. Munro replaced Justin Pogge, the Ontario-native who had played in just his sixth ever playoff game in Game 5. Munro played in 26 regular season games with the Marlies, and it wasn’t long before Munro was under pressure from the Manitoba Moose. An early penalty call to Darryl Boyce for hooking gave the Moose an early opportunity testing Munro with just two shots. Keen to get on the score sheet early the Marlies couldn’t find a way past Cory Schneider in net who was showing strong resilience once again. The Moose took an early lead with just over five minutes on the clock when Pierre-Cedric Labrie shot hit a crowd in front of Munro before Greg Rallo powered home the puck from six feet away. It wasn’t long before Labrie was involved again however this play saw the end of his night. A vicious hit from behind on Andy Rogers resulted in a five minute major and a game misconduct call sending the forward for an early shower. Presented with a golden opportunity to get back in the game the Marlies failed to capitalize on the ensuring five minute power play registering a disappointing three shots. Finishing the period at even strength the Marlies were out shot 11 to 5 despite the lengthy power play. Forward Tim Stapleton opened the scoring for the Marlies in the second, Bates Battaglia’s superb backhand pass across the ice from the boards found a wide open Stapleton on the far side who hit home for the tying goal. Feeding on the momentum the Marlies registered their second of the night to take the lead just over a minute later. Striking the puck just inside the blueline a powerful shot from Alex Foster ripped past the ensuing crowd striking just inside the cross bar before dropping over the goal line.
Poor judgement in the face off circle from Guillaume Desbiens gave the visiting Marlies a good opportunity to take control of the game as the forward sat two for delay of game but outstanding play from Schneider in net kept the score at 2-1. With the prospect of game seven around the corner the Moose came out very strong in the third to try and close the series. Despite outshooting the Marlies all game the Moose were still down one. That was until Matt Pope blasted home a shot beating Munro through the legs for his first playoff goal for the Moose. Pope then found himself on the score sheet again picking up an assist on the Moose’s third goal. A powerful shot by Pope saved by Munro wasn’t cleared by the Marlies defense giving Raymond Sawada the opportunity to blast past a sprawling Munro outside his crease. A first for this series saw no penalties called on either team in the third but even at five-on-five the Marlies couldnt find away back into the game and it with time ticking away the Moose scored an insurance marker that put an end to the Marlies quest for the Calder Cup. Deking Munro in net Desbiens gave the home crowd reason to cheer as the Moose closed out the game and the series. Manitoba Moose now face the winners of Grand Rapids Griffins versus Hamilton Bulldogs series on May 1 at the MTS Centre. Contact the author at Kevin.oconnor@prohockeynews.com
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