Manitoba Outlasts Texas in Shoot-out

It was a long night for the Texas Stars.  After a one-hour delay due to ice conditions, the Stars fell to the Manitoba Moose by a final score of 3-to-2 in an overtime shoot-out.

Neither team looked especially sharp in the first period, perhaps owing to the one hour, seven-minute delay.  Logan Stankoven found the back of the net for Texas with under three minutes to play in the frame.  The Stars took a 1-to-0 lead into the locker room at the first intermission. 

Manitoba wasted little time, evening the score three minutes into the second period.  Wyatt Bongiovanni beat Texas goalkeeper Matt Murray on a power play.  The goal was Bongiovanni’s first of the season  The Moose have been effect with a man-advantage, converting 25% of the time. 

Scoring was silent until the final frame when Kyle McDonald gave Texas a 2-to-1 advantage on a power play. The Stars went 1-for-4 on power plays.  Manitoba’s Kyle Capobianco tied the game two minute later, also with a man-advantage.  The Moose went 2-to-4 on power plays. 

The Stars’ Curtis McKenzie and Riley Damiani each had good looks during the five-minute overtime period, but neither team converted, forcing a shoot-out. 

Manitoba goaltender Oskari Salminen stopped Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque and Nick Caamano in the shoot-out.  Brad Lambert beat Murray for the shoot-out’s only goal, giving the Moose the win. 

“We had a good 60 minutes at first,” said Bourque.  “We got good scoring chances.  We got to finish a little more.  For myself especially.” 

Murray endured the loss for the Stars, allowing two goals on 38 shots.  Salminen earned the win, making 24 saves against 26 shots. 

“He (Matt Murray) was really-solid tonight.  I thing both our goalies have been really-solid since the start of the year,” said Bourque.  “Tonight, Murray was fantastic.”