After they came up short against Rockford on Saturday you knew Manitoba didn’t want to get swept by their Central Division rivals. A big crowd of over 4500+ was expected for the afternoon matinee.
Lineup news:
During warm-up we learned that the Moose would make a few moves ahead of their re-match with the IceHogs: At forward they inserted Henri Nikkanen for C.J. Suess who we later learned is dealing with a minor issue and is considered day-to-day as per voice of the Moose Daniel Fink. On the backend prospect Simon Lundmark returned to the lineup after missing a few weeks and Artemi Kniazev came out. They also gave Oskari Salminen the net.
Moose lineup:
Malott-Lambert-Ford
Viel – Zhilkin – Chibrikov
Bongiovanni – Nikkanen – Jones
Torgersson – Reichel – AJF
Capobianco – Stewart
Oligny – Bauer
Sautner – Lundmark
Salminen
Delia
Notable:
Noticed that half a dozen players (Brad Lambert, Danny Zhilkin, Simon Lundmark, Henri Nikkanen, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Kristian Reichel) were wearing neck protection in the game.
The Moose started the game off on the right foot with some solid pressure but the opening salvo would be fired by the visitors on their first shot of the game.
Right place at the right time as Jeff Malott hits Brad Lambert with a perfect no look pass but IceHogs netminder Drew Commesso anticipated it and made the stop which would have tied the game.
Perhaps hoping to inject some life into his team down by two goals there was a centre ice tilt between Jets prospect Tyrel Bauer and Brandon Baddock which started off with some grappling, added in some boxing and ended with a DDT. Love the Rocky music played after the tilt ended.
Perhaps that feistiness wore off as fellow prospect Brad Lambert showed off some bite as he didn’t appreciate a hit after the whistle had been blown.
The home team finally broke though when Daniel Torgersson used his size to start as play, got the benefit of some nice work by Kristian Reichel in front and then the Jets 2020 2nd rounder put it home for his first of the season and the first Moose goal of the game.
Back down by two goals, the Moose suffered another blow in the 2nd when Moose captain Jimmy Oligny went down on the ice after he looked like his leg jammed as he went for a hit. Didn’t put much weight on the left leg as he was helped off the ice by Tyrel Bauer.
The penalty kill hurt the Moose as the IceHogs were able to score on both their chances today while conversely Manitoba couldn’t get another done on their two opportunities. Similar to the parent club the Moose had a very good PK last season (10th) but it has dropped to 30th through eight games this season.
Manitoba now 4-4-0 on the season
Player/coach media availability:
After the game we spoke with:
Simon Lundmark interview runs to 1:15
Daniel Torgersson interview goes from 1:16 to 2:40
Assistant coach Eric Dubois chats from 2:41 to the end.
Highlights:
Up next:
The Moose are expected to be off tomorrow and will likely be back on the ice on Tuesday as they prepare for their weekend series with Laval in Winnipeg.
