Losses in Game 5 (2-0) and Game 6 (3-1) relinquished a 3-1 series lead the Monsters built through the first four games.

Manitoba will now move on to play the Hamilton Bulldogs in the North Division Finals.

The Monsters carried the play through the majority of the opening period and took a 1-0 lead in the final minute of the stanza. Jonas Holos took a pass from Steve Oleksy and rifled a shot past Eddie Lack from the right point. Mike Carman also assisted.

Lake Erie carried its one-goal lead, along with a 15-4 advantage in shots, into the first intermission.

Manitoba tied the game at 1-1 with a goal by Sergei Shirokov at the 16:21 of the second period. From the right corner, Marco Rosa centered a pass to Shirokov, who placed a shot into the top right corner of the net from the bottom of the hash mark.

The Monsters recorded eight shots compared to six by the Moose in the second period.

Entering the third period deadlocked at a goal apiece, Manitoba took a 2-1 lead when Alexandre Bolduc rushed into Lake Erie territory and used a backhand-forehand move to score a breakaway goal at the 10:00 mark. Guillaume Desbiens also assisted.

Just 55 seconds later, the Moose used a power play to take a 3-1 lead, as Keith Seabrook scored off an assist from Jordan Schroeder. The goal came as just the second power play tally of the series for Manitoba, as Lake Erie’s penalty-killing unit went 28-for-30 (93.3%) against the Moose through the seven-game set. Combined with a perfect 20-for-20 mark against Manitoba during the regular season, the Monsters posted a 48-for-50 (96.0%) penalty-killing efficiency against the Moose this year.

With Lake Erie goaltender John Grahame pulled in favor of an extra attacker, Rosa slid the puck into the empty cage at 18:09 to solidify a 4-1 victory for the Moose.

Grahame turned aside 14 of 17 shots faced in goal for Lake Erie, while Lack went 32-for-33 in his third straight win.

Three Stars: 1. MTB Bolduc (1 goal); 2. MTB Lack (32 saves); 3. LE Holos (1 goal)