The Manitoba Moose (36-20-4-2) faced off with the Toronto Marlies (32-25-3-1) Sunday afternoon at Canada Life Centre. The Moose were coming off a 5-0 win over the Marlies on Friday evening.
Toronto opened the scoring just past the halfway point of the first period. Nick Robertson took a pass from Joseph Blandisi and buried it past Mikhail Berdin for the 1-0 lead. The Moose struck back later in the frame. With Manitoba on the power play, C.J. Suess burned into the zone. He flipped the puck to Nicholas Jones who whipped the shot past Billy Christopoulos to tie the contest 1-1. Toronto fired back later with under a minute to go in the frame and the Moose on the power play. Bobby McMann stole the puck at the blueline and went in alone a breakaway. The forward beat Berdin with the second effort and pushed Toronto ahead 2-1. Berdin ended the frame with six saves, while Christopoulos finished with 10 of his own.
The Moose tied the contest in the second off a shot from Johnathan Kovacevic. The defenceman moved into the slot and fired the puck through the pads of Christopoulos to tie the game 2-2. The deadlock was short-lived as the Marlies reclaimed their lead 39 seconds later off a shot from Chad Krys. With just under five to go in the second, the Moose tied the game once again. Austin Poganski hit Bobby Lynch with an outlet stretch pass and Lynch buried a wicked shot into the back of the net to knot the game 3-3. Manitoba fell into penalty trouble and found themselves down five-on-three for an extended look. Berdin made a pair of desperation saves to keep the contest tied. Manitoba trailed 21-18 in shots after 40 minutes, but went to the dressing room tied 3-3.
The Moose took the lead in the third. With Manitoba on the power play, Jeff Malott barrelled to the front of the net. He threw the puck into the crease and David Gustafsson swatted it home through traffic to push Manitoba ahead 4-3. The Marlies fought back as the period wore on, but Berdin was solid and turned away all 10 shots he faced in the frame. The Moose closed out the 4-3 win to sweep the weekend series. Berdin finished with 28 saves for the victory in his first game since March 11.
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