Photo Credit: Colby Spence
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
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
Might the Winnipeg product be set to play for his hometown team?
Jets reporter Jamie Thomas joined the RP show to discuss.
Keeping you up-to-date with all the latest pro hockey news in Manitoba.
Former NHLers Mark Giordano and Mark Parrish joined the panel to discuss the Jets.
Health update on the captain.
An emotional conclusion for the Jets as their playoffs ended in six games.