The Manitoba Moose aren’t dead yet.
With their collective hides against the wall, the Moose eked out a 2-0 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters on a Good Friday at MTS Centre, pulling to within 3-2 in their best-of-seven North division semifinal.
Moose forward Sergei Shirokov and linemate Jason Jaffray, into an empty net, scored for the Moose, while netminder Eddie Lack recorded the shutout, turning aside all 26 Monster shots, much to the delight of a holiday crowd of 7,355.
Shirokov flying: Yes, the Moose have struggled offensively, but not for the efforts of Shirokov (2 G, 2 A in the first four games) who has consistently created his own space and scoring chances. If the Canucks organization wanted to see how some of their young prospects would fair in the heavy going of the postseason, Shirokov has so far delivered. Lo and behold, if Shirokov didn’t tip a feed from Jason Jaffray just inside the post at 6:45 of the third period.