Manitoba Moose identity line leads the way as they roll the Milwaukee Admirals 6-0

The Moose left Iowa this past weekend with a split against the Wild which leaves them 2-1-0 on their six-game road trip which began in Milwaukee back last Wednesday where they kicked things off with a 4-1 win over the Admirals.

Fun day of hockey between these two organizations which begins with this game in the morning and then concludes with the Jets and Predators doing battle in Winnipeg this evening.

Lineup news:

Manitoba went back to the lineup that won them the game in Iowa as they brought back Henri Nikkanan and Daniel Torgersson and gave Thomas Milic the net.

Moose lineup:

Malott – Lambert – AJF
Suess – Toninato – Chibrikov
Viel – Reichel – Ford
Torgersson – Nikkanen – Jones

Capobianco – Barteaux
Heinola – Lundmark
Sautner – Kuzmin

Milic
Delia

Notable:

Some early game adversity for the Moose as goalie Thomas Milic had  his legs taken out (while in his blue paint) but play continued. Then while chatting with the ref about the lack of a call (presumably) the linesman dropped the puck although they quickly blew the whistle.

The Admirals were all over the Moose to start the game holding an 8-1 shot edge but Milic was up to the task which was good news for the visitors as they started to push back. around the six minute mark of the opening frame.

In fact Manitoba took the shot edge courtesy of Simon Lundmark‘s blast past a screened Yaroslav Askarov to open the scoring. Nice work by Ville Heinola to keep the puck in the Milwaukee end and a terrific screen by Nicholas Jones.

The Moose ended the 1st period on a 16-2 shot edge and they kept that going into the 2nd holding an 8-0 advantage when it comes to shots to start the middle frame.

And it wasn’t just shots they were getting in the 2nd period. They added to their lead when the identity line for the Moose struck early in the 2nd. Parker Ford feathered a perfect pass to Kristian Reichel for his 15th of the season to make it 2-0.

Shortly thereafter a great transition by the Moose saw them rewarded with a 3-0 goal as Brad Lambert fed Jeff Malott who tied him for team lead in scoring with 18. That was Malott’s 40th point of the season which is the third straight season he has hit mark.

The identity line struck again as Kristian Reichel tipped  home a Jeffrey Viel shot for his second of the game to make it 4-0 for the Moose. That ended the morning for Admirals goalie Yaroslav Askarov as he gets the mercy pull.

Moose continued with their ‘attack mentality’ to start the 3rd period up 4-0 as evidenced by a Ville Heinola chance to add to the lead.

After a Milwaukee power play didn’t result in anything for the home team, Henri Nikkanen who had been snakebit for so much of the season, had his third of the year to make it a 5-0 game after a very good forecheck by Daniel Torgersson.

Pretty sure I just pulled my groin watching Thomas Milic stretch to make this save as the Moose gave up a shorthanded chance.

And they weren’t done there as the Identity Line got it’s third goal of the game courtesy of Parker Ford who found himself alone in front and made no mistake to make it a 6-0 score.

With the win Jets goalie prospect Thomas Milic improves to 9-5-1 on the season as he gets his first ever AHL shutout with 29 saves on 29 shots.

Moose now move three points up on the Wolves for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Central. Conveniently the next two games are between Manitoba and Chicago.

Multi-point game:

Kristian Reichel 2G 1A
Parker Ford 1G 1A
Ville Heinola 2A
Jeffrey Viel 2A

Highlights:

Post-game interview:

Up next:

The Moose will practice tomorrow in Chicago as they get ready for a HUGE two-game set against a Wolves team they are competing with for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Central. They play back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.