While admittedly I have missed my first two Moose games a few weeks back I didn’t anticipate having to learn the entire roster once again as there are a number of new faces and jersey numbers to become familiar with as players got recalled to Winnipeg and replacements added by Manitoba.
The Griffins came into action on a bit of a slide as they were dealing with some injuries but they are still a dangerous, first place team in the Central division.
The Moose really started the game well with the only blip being a 5 on 3 power play they gave Grand Rapids but Eric Comrie stood on his head and the rest of the team did a nice job on the penalty kill. A puck kicked out to Danick Gauthier, who was playing in his first game with Manitoba tonight, and he buried it on the power play to give the Moose a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. Eric Comrie wasn’t particularly tested with a high volume of shots but he faced a number of high quality chances.
The 2nd frame was a tougher affair as Grand Rapids took it to Manitoba for a big portion of the period as they attempted to but failed to solve Eric Comrie. They outshot the Moose 14-4, including seven shots on the power play but couldn’t beat Comrie. Scott Kosmachuk finished off a 2 on 1 after a nice pass by Francis Beauvillier to give Manitoba a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes
Eric Comrie is having himself one hell of a performance. Another big save. Moose had shot lead. Griffins have taken last nine (17-15 for GR) pic.twitter.com/t8j4Q1DDz0
— Dave Minuk (@ICdave) April 5, 2017
Once again the Griffins outshot the Moose 15-11 in the final frame but couldn’t solve Comrie until the final two minutes of the period when Matt Lorito snuk in behind the Manitoba defence and scored to make it a one goal game. But the Moose held and then Francis Beauvillier provided the insurance with an empty netter to give the home side a 3-1 lead.
Post-game audio:
Eric Comrie
Ryan Olsen
Coach Vincent
