With just under two minutes to go in the third period and their season on the line, the Manitoba Moose went to the power play when Milwaukee Admirals forward Oasiz Wiesblatt was called for elbowing at 18:08.
Manitoba’s power play had struggled all year, operating at just 11% in the regular season, dead last in the AHL, and they were 0-for-4 to that point in a must-win Game 2 of the best-of-three Round 1 series against the Admirals in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Moose had to focus on the opportunity in front of them.
“Scoring playoff goals, that’s the thing you dream of,” said Gustafsson postgame. “At a time like that, it was awesome.”
The Swede’s game-winning marker felt like the biggest goal in Moose history in quite some time. You could feel the energy from the supportive Winnipeg crowd of roughly 5,000 who came out to cheer on their AHL club despite the Jets not being in the playoffs this season.
Much like Game 1, Manitoba heavily outshot Milwaukee but struggled to get the bounces, while Murray was solid in goal. The Moose outshot the visiting Admirals 43-24 on Wednesday and 35-20 on Friday.
Game 3, essentially a Game 7, will be played Sunday, where the Moose will look to carry the momentum from Game 2 as they try to advance to the second round to face the Grand Rapids Griffins. Puck drop is set for 2:00 p.m. CT at Canada Life Centre. The game can be watched on AHLTV.
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