Day 5 . . . third period

DAY 5 AT THE MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

THIRD PERIOD:
The 50/50 pool, when I last saw it flashed on the board, was at $22,205. . . . I’ll take it, thank you very much. . . . Windsor has a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes to play. Moncton wins or goes home. . . . What’s it gonna be? . . . It was another warm day with some humidity. And you can feel it in the building. . . . It’s warm in here. . . . Forecast is for much of the same through Saturday with a dropoff to 19C with showers on Sunday. . . . There’s a turnover deep in Moncton territory and Windsor F Taylor Hall bounces one off a post just 14 seconds into the period. Last night, he scored 12 seconds into the third and that was that game’s biggest goal. . . . Moncton goes down 3-on-2 and the puck ends up underneath Grubauer. . . . The Wildcats need to inject some desperation into their game. Of course, that means taking chances and you can hear Hall licking his lips. . . . There’s a scrum behind the Windsor net and someone is going off. . . . One off from each team so it’s 4-on-4. . . . Moncton runs a set play off the faceoff to the left of Grubauer. Marek Hrivik wins the faceoff and Scott Brannon rifles it home. . . . We’re 2-2. . . . Another faceoff in the Windsor zone. Ted Stephens wins it and Brandon Gormley pounds it off a post and in. . . . Moncton is up 3-2 with less than 17 minutes to play. . . . Big toe save by Grubauer. . . . Now we’re tied again. Windsor gets the puck to the net. Hall bats at it from the side of the net, misses, and F Stephen Johnston puts it in. . . . Big glove save by Owen on a slapper by D Mark Cundari. . . . It’s just about time for the 50/50 draw, after which I will be leaving to claim my winnings. . . . Moncton has the Saulnier twins out there again. Wonder if Mike Gillis knows about these two? . . . Or perhaps Brian Burke wants them for his Leafs. . . . Moncton D Brandon Gormley popped Hall in the numbers. No penalty. Gormley got away with one there. . . . San Jose and Chicago are 0-0 in the first period. Why wouldn’t the NHL stagger its schedule so there’s a game every night? . . . Another Brandon Bounce. High shot in goes off the glass behind Owen and back over the net. . . . All these bounces are happening off the north-end glass and boards. . . . G Nicola Riopel, who went the distance in Moncton’s first two games, is on the stage behind the north-end goal, just outside the dressing room. The rumour before the game was that he wasn’t feeling well. Could be he needs to be close to the washroom, or maybe that’s the bullpen over there. . . . Shots are 36-33 for Moncton with 9:17 left in the third. . . . Owen is down and out but makes the big save on F Dale Mitchell. That might have been the game-saver. . . . I’m back because I didn’t win. The winner took home $12,128. . . . Attendance is announced at 5,160. . . . Chicago is leading 1-0. How many fans remember when Dustin Byfuglien played for the Brandon Wheat Kings? . . . It’s 3-3 with 5:05 left in the third period. Windsor now has a 38-37 edge in shots. . . . With just over three minutes left, Hall is out there for, I think, his first shift since he took the hit from Gormley. . . . Fans applaud Chicago 1, San Jose 0. . . . There are 24.3 seconds left and Moncton’s Daniel Pettersson, who is from Toronto and not Sweden, puts one off the cross-bar and over the glass from in tight. He may be remember that one for a while. . . . We’re going to OT for the first time in this tournament. Shots are even at 39. Score is even at 3.