The Moose had a solid road trip going 3-2-1 but they would need to keep putting points into the standings bank if they want to have a sniff of the playoffs. Coming into this game they were 11 points back of the final spot with two games in hand so wins are basically the only thing that they need at this points in the season with 20 games (after this one) remaining.
Lineup news:
With the Jets back to full health they returned Jaret Anderson-Dolan from recall. As a result Carson Golder was the extra forward. We did see Jets prospect Brad Lambert return to the wing from centre. And on his 21st birthday Domenic DiVincentiis got the start.
Lines & D pairs:
Shaw– Toninato –AJF
Wagner – JAD – Lambert
Suess – King – Empey
Liwiski – Zhilkin – Chyzowski
Sautner – Salomonsson
Phillips – Lundmark
Anhorn – Bauer
DiVincentiis
Notable:
It was a school day game in conjunction with True North’s Project 11 which meant thousands of kids at the arena in Winnipeg. They, unprompted, joined in on singing the Canadian national anthem. Little extra juice for the True North chant as these kids enjoy a morning of hockey and not being at school.
And the home team didn’t make them wait long before they go them up and out of their seats as just 23 seconds into the 1st AJF scores his 8th goal of the season which gave the Moose the early 1-0 lead.
For his 21st bday it looks like the Moose present to goalie Domenic DiVincentiis were gonna be a boatload of shots against. Some were solid stops while others were mad scrambles.
Moose almost got burnt by trying to make a fancy pass in their end. Griffins took the puck and just about find the back of the net. First Domenic DiVincentiis made a big stop and then Ryan Chyzowski bails out his netminder with a stop on the line.
It was a hard working goal by the Moose bang and crash line which made it a 2-0 game as Mark Liwiski finished off the sequence.
The home team then took a 3-0 lead over the Griffins on the power play. Goal credited to the captain Dominic Toninato (his 13th) who, upon further review, appears to to have had it hit his foot and bounce in. Primary assist to Elias Salomonsson and secondary to Brad Lambert (assist leaders on this team).
Through 40 minutes Domenic DiVincentiis was rolling along with a 27-save shutout.
That’s a save you’ll remember on your 21st bday. Jets goalie prospect Domenic DiVincentiis flashes the leather on the penalty kill for the Moose.
But down on a 5 on 3 the shutout was ended when Red Wings prospect Shai Buium (2021 2nd) ripped this shot home for his first goal as a pro. As called by Grand Rapids play-by-play voice Bob Kaser.
Just after the Moose gave up a goal while trying to kill a 5 on 3 they get a shorthanded goal from AJF (his second of the game) to regain their three goal lead.
Moose were opportunistic this morning and now into the afternoon as they got their 5th goal of the game. Good forecheck by Fabian Wagner and then JAD with a solid pass to Tyson Empey who made it 5-1 courtesy of his sixth goal of the season.
The home team kicked off the four-game homestand with a big 5-2 win over the Griffins in front of 1000s of happy kids here in Winnipeg. Domenic DiVincentiis, on his 21st birthday, makes 34 saves in the victory. Manitoba 4-2-0-1 in last six.
Multi-point game:
Axel Jonsson-Fjällby 2G
Jaret Anderson-Dolan 2A
Mason Shaw 2A
Highlights:
Player Post-Game:
Coach Post-Game:
Up next:
The Moose are right back in action tomorrow night in a re-match with the Griffins.
