Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights Defeat Manitoba Moose, Take Hold of First Place in West Division - AHL

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MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - Omaha, NE – David Van der Gulik scored two goals and added an assist to pace the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights to a 3-2 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Wednesday night at the Civic Auditorium. With the win, the Knights move into sole possession of first place in the West Division.

Shortly after a Knight’s power play had expired, Cam Cunning would open the scoring. Brett Skinner passed the puck to Van der Gulik who sent a rink-wide pass to Cunning. Cunning re-directed the puck past Drew MacIntyre 8:04 into the first period to put the Knights ahead 1-0.

Manitoba would even the score with one minute to play in the first period. Prestin Ryan dumped the puck down the wall. It caromed off the boards and directly to an uncovered Brad Moran who fired home his 23^rd goal of the year.

Late in the second period, the Knights would recapture the lead. Derek Couture kept the puck in at the right wing boards. Warren Peters dug it out of the scrum and fired a wrist shot from the top of the slot. Van der Gulik tipped it past MacIntyre to make it 2-1.

The Knights would extend their lead 6:15 into the final period. Off a face-off win by Peters, Tim Ramholt sent a shot on net from the blue line. Van der Gulik poked the puck through the legs of MacIntyre for his second goal of the game.

The Moose would cut the lead in half off sustained pressure in the third period. Moran found defenseman Dustin Wood pinching down the left wing. Wood fired a shot past Curtis McElhinney with less than four minutes to play.

With MacIntyre off for an extra attacker, the Moose could not complete the comeback. McElhinney finished with 24 saves including 12 in the third period.

The Knights are now 45-24-4-1. The win pushes Omaha into first place in the West Division, two points ahead of idle Chicago. The Knights still have one game in hand on the Wolves.

Three Stars: 1. David Van der Gulik (OMA) – 2 goals, 1 assist; 2. Warren Peters (OMA) – 2 assists; 3. Brad Moran (MAN) – 1 goal, 1 assist.