The Moose came in having lost their last two games in regulation but were expecting some reinforcements and had the benefit of some rest as they looked to reduce their magic number (5) to clinch a playoff spot.
Lineup news:
Leading scorer Alex Limoges and Evan Polei return to the lineup. Parker Ford and Thomas Caron come out. Jimmy Oligny in, Tyrel Bauer out on backend.
Moose lineup:
Malott – Toninato – Limoges
Harkins – Maier – Boland
Torgersson – Nikkanen – Reichel
Polei – Meireles – Jones
Oligny – Gawanke
Heinola – Stewart
Sautner – Lundmark
Holm
Salminen
Notable:
The Jets have made a reassignment. I repeat the Jets have made a reassignment. Assistant coach Eric Dubois was back on the bench for the Moose.
19 seconds after Canucks made it 2-0 Leon Gawanke fired home his 16th goal of the season. Tied him with Sami Niku for most goals by a Moose defenceman in a season.
On that goal it was a milestone moment for Jeff Malott who got the primary assist on the Gawanke goal. Gave him 100 AHL points in his career.
Puck luck was not on the Moose side as they couldn’t even get a friendly bounce when the opposing goalie didn’t have a blocker.
Jeff Malott got to the 40 point mark as he picked up his 21st goal of the season. Second straight season for him getting there.
Bit of a sloppy play on the game-winning goal as the Moose were caught puck watching just 1:11 after they had worked to tie the game.
The Moose thought they had tied the game early in the 3rd period but it was called off for goalie interference.
They did have chances (like this one and this one) to tie the game in the final frame.
Third time this season they’ve dropped three straight contests. Manitoba now 34-22-5-4 and do not narrow the gap towards clinching a playoff spot. That remains at 5.
Player media availability:
Coach media availability:
Highlights:
To follow
Up Next:
The Moose are scheduled to practice tomorrow morning. They will have a re-match with the Canucks on Saturday afternoon which will be their Autism Acceptance Game. Puck drop is at 2 PM CDT.
