Wranglers Rally Late, Edge Moose in Shootout Despite DiVincentiis' 38-Save Effort
The Manitoba Moose were one shootout goal away from sweeping their weekend set against Calgary. Instead, they walked away with just a point after a hard-fought 3-2 shootout loss to the Wranglers - their first shootout defeat of the season.
Coming off a convincing 5-1 win over Calgary just one night earlier, the Moose looked poised to keep the momentum rolling. They opened the scoring late in the first period, thanks to a well-placed shot from Ville Heinola that beat Arsenii Sergeev on the glove side.
It was a textbook example of Heinola’s offensive instincts from the blue line - picking his spot and letting it rip through traffic. On the other end, Domenic DiVincentiis was sharp early, turning aside all eight shots he faced in the opening frame to preserve the 1-0 lead heading into intermission.
Calgary came out with more urgency in the second, controlling the pace and peppering DiVincentiis with 16 shots. But it was Manitoba who struck next.
David Gustafsson made it 2-0 midway through the period, getting a piece of another Heinola shot for the deflection goal. At that point, the Moose were capitalizing on their chances while their goaltender was holding the fort.
But the Wranglers wouldn’t go away. Rory Kerins got Calgary on the board with a power-play blast - the first goal allowed by the Moose penalty kill in seven games. It was a crucial momentum swing, and one that gave the Wranglers life heading into the third.
And they made the most of it.
Kerins struck again late in regulation, this time cleaning up a loose puck in front during a chaotic net-front scramble. That tied the game 2-2 with just over four minutes remaining, and sent the contest to overtime. Both teams had their chances in the extra frame - Nikita Chibrikov and Justin Kirkland each rang shots off the iron - but nothing found the back of the net.
In the shootout, it was Matvei Gridin who delivered the dagger, scoring the lone goal to complete Calgary’s comeback. For Manitoba, it was a frustrating finish to a game where they led for over 40 minutes and got another strong showing from DiVincentiis, who finished with 38 saves.
Mason Shaw, who extended his point streak to nine games, summed it up afterward: “I thought our first period was good. There were some good things that we did in that period, but obviously, the second period got away from us. We weren't able to respond.”
The Moose will take the point, but they’ll know they let one slip. Still, with DiVincentiis continuing to show poise in net and Heinola making an impact at both ends, there are positives to build on - even in defeat.