MANITOBA 4, LAKE ERIE 1
Manitoba broke a 1-1 tie with three third-period strikes to take a 4-1 road win over Lake Erie in on Tuesday in Game 7 of the teams’ North Division semifinal, completing a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit and advancing to a second-round match-up with Hamilton.
The Moose, who notched four unanswered goals after falling into a 1-0 deficit, become the second team this spring to climb out of a 3-1 hole to win a series and to do so by way of winning Games 6 and 7 on the road. Binghamton also accomplished both feats in this year’s division semifinals against Manchester.
Alexandre Bolduc gave the Moose a 2-1 lead with his first goal of the playoff exactly 10 minutes into the third period. Defenseman Keith Seabrook tallied a power play goal only 55 seconds later, and Marco Rosa sealed the deal with an empty-net strike at 18:09.
Bolduc’s goal marked his first in the playoffs since scoring in Game 3 of the conference finals vs. Houston on May 18, 2009. Seabrook scored for the second time in as many games, and Rosa picked up his team-leading 11th point of the postseason (4-7-11).
Manitoba won despite getting outshot by a 15-4 margin in the first period and falling behind 1-0 after 20 minutes. Monsters defenseman Jonas Holos gave his club that advantage in the first period’s closing minute.
Moose rookie goaltender Eddie Lack held the fort from there and finished with 32 saves on 33 shots in the winning effort. Lack, a member of the AHL’s All-Rookie Team, was 3-0 with a 0.67 goals-against average and a .977 save percentage in the final three games of this series.
Game 1 of the North Division Finals is set for Thursday night at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton.
North Division Semifinal – Series “F” (best-of-7)
N2-Lake Erie Monsters vs. N3-Manitoba Moose || Preview
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 16 – LAKE ERIE 6, Manitoba 4
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 17 – Manitoba 3, LAKE ERIE 2 (OT)
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 19 – Lake Erie 2, MANITOBA 1
Game 4 – Thu., Apr. 21 – Lake Erie 6, MANITOBA 3
Game 5 – Fri., Apr. 22 – MANITOBA 2, Lake Erie 0
Game 6 – Sun., Apr. 24 – Manitoba 3, LAKE ERIE 1
Game 7 – Tue., Apr. 26 – Manitoba 4, LAKE ERIE 1
