The Manitoba Moose kept their run rolling Tuesday night, edging the Texas Stars 3-2 in a shootout at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park.
It was another tight one for Manitoba, which improved to 11-4-0-0 after following up Saturday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Toronto Marlies with a third straight game that needed extra time. This one took every bit of 65 minutes, plus the shootout, before the Moose finally put it away.
Manitoba came out fast and built a 2-0 lead in the first period, and the early damage could have been worse if not for Brandon Halverson. Chase Yoder had a breakaway chance just 10 seconds into the game, but Halverson shut it down.
The Moose broke through at 7:41 when Danny Zhilkin finished a slick passing sequence on the power play. Halverson then came up with another key stop at 9:18, denying Fabian Wager at the back door on a two-on-one.
A few minutes later, Isaak Phillips blasted one into the top corner to make it 2-0 on Manitoba’s seventh shot of the night. Domenic DiVincentiis handled everything Texas sent his way in the opening frame, stopping all 14 shots to protect the two-goal cushion.
Texas answered in the second and kept itself in the game. Manitoba still held a 17-12 shot advantage in the period, but the Stars got the only goal when Charlie Paquette pounced on a rebound and jammed it through DiVincentiis at 7:08. Halverson continued to hold the fort for the home side, and the Moose carried a 2-1 lead into the third.
That lead disappeared early in the final period. Ellis Rickwood tied it at 4:51 by deflecting a Tristian Bertucci shot past DiVincentiis. From there, Manitoba had to survive a double minor in the final five minutes, and it did exactly that to force overtime.
Neither team could finish the job in three-on-three, so the game went to the shootout. Zhilkin and Brad Lambert scored for the Moose, while DiVincentiis turned aside both Texas attempts to seal the win.
Isaak Phillips said after the game, “It took everybody. That was a good team we played over there.
They were working very hard. For a full 60, we had to be dialled in, and we didn’t give up, so that was a great effort from our group”
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Daws turned aside 19 shots to earn his first victory as a Jet, while Mercer made the biggest offensive splash of the night with two goals against his old club. Josh Morrissey also rejoined the lineup after his injury absence, adding another important piece back into Winnipegs mix as the team continues to settle in and stack wins. [Read more 🡒]