Moose Moment – Bring Out the Brooms

6 years ago

The Moose finished a four-game homestand this week with games against the Chicago Wolves and Laval Rocket. The Moose had a great homestand, sweeping the four games against Chicago and Laval, and moving into 1st in the AHL Central Division.

Here is a look at this week’s action…

Friday, Nov 17 / Chicago: 4 – Manitoba: 6

The Moose concluded a two-game series with the Chicago Wolves on Law Enforcement night at Bell MTS Place. The Moose got off to a good start, with Julian Melchiori opening the scoring just over a minute in. They would extend the lead to 2-0 on Sami Niku’s second goal of the season, with Tucker Poolman picking up his first AHL point on the goal. The Wolves would tie the game with two goals in the span of just under three minutes, but the Moose would retake the lead before the end of the period on a powerplay goal by Buddy Robinson.

After each team scored once in the second period, the Wolves would tie the game at 4-4 halfway through the third period on a powerplay goal by Jason Garrison. The Moose would seize back the momentum by responding to that goal just nine seconds later. Jack Roslovic scored his tenth goal of the season, a highlight reel effort that regained the lead for the Moose at 5-4. Chase De Leo would ice the game away with an empty netter to give the Moose a 6-4 win.

Roslovic led the way with 2 goals and 2 assists on the night. Eric Comrie had a down night by his standards, giving up four goals on 41 shots faced, but he still picked up his sixth win of the season.

Sunday, Nov 19 / Laval: 2 – Manitoba: 5

The Moose opened up a two-game home series against the Laval Rocket, the top affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. The series did not get off to a good start, as the Rocket opened the scoring just 33 seconds into the game. As the first period wore on, the Moose got a foothold in the game and were able to tie things up at 14:31 of the first. Mason Appleton would score his fourth goal of the season, taking a great pass from Francis Beauvillier and tipping the puck past Michael McNiven to tie the game.

In the second period, the Moose took over the game, outshooting Laval 19-6, and scoring four goals to take a 5-2 lead. Michael Spacek scored his first goal of the season to give the Moose a 2-1 lead. After Daniel Carr scored his 11th of the year to tie the game at two, Appleton would score his second of the night and fifth of the season on the powerplay to regain the Moose lead at 3-2. The Moose would add another powerplay goal just 75 seconds later, with Chase De Leo scoring his third of the year to make it 4-2 Moose. Buddy Robinson would finish the scoring with a buzzer beater at 19:59, taking a pass from Peter Stoykewych and beating McNiven to give the Moose a big insurance goal. The Rocket came on hard in the third, outshooting the Moose 16-3, but was unable to put a dent in the lead, and the Moose had their third consecutive win.

Appleton led the way with two goals and an assist. Michael Hutchinson stopped 27 of 29 shots, improving his record to 5-1-1 on the season.

Tuesday, Nov 21 / Laval: 2 –Manitoba: 3 (SO)

The Moose and the Rocket concluded their two game series on Tuesday night. For the second straight game, the Rocket would score first, getting a goal from former Jets young stars player Antoine Waked to lead 1-0 after one period. The Moose trailed after one period for just the fourth time in 19 games this season.

The Moose would take the lead with two goals in the span of 40 seconds midway through the second period, both scored by Mike Sgarbossa. These two goals give Sgarbossa eight on the season. However, the Rocket would tie the game before the end of the second period, on a goal by Chris Terry on the powerplay, bringing the score even at two apiece after 40 minutes.

After a scoreless third period and overtime period, the Moose would go to the shootout for just the second time this season, previously losing a shootout to Belleville 4-3 on October 27. After three rounds, both teams each had a goal, with Nic Petan scoring for Manitoba and Chris Terry scoring for Laval. In the sudden death rounds, Brendan Lemieux would score his first shootout goal of the year to give the Moose the win, winning the shootout 2-1, and the game 3-2.

Sgarbossa’s two goals led the way for Manitoba, while Eric Comrie picked up his seventh win of the season, stopping 26 of 28 shots in regulation and overtime, and 3 of 4 shots in the shootout.

News and Notes

Appleton was named the AHL player of the week for the week ending November 19th. During that week, Appleton had three goals and three assists for six points in three games played. Two of Appleton’s three goals were of the game-winning variety. Appleton is tied for third in rookie scoring in the AHL with 16 points in 19 games (five goals, 11 assists).
On Thursday, the Moose recalled D Jan Kostalek from ECHL affiliate Jacksonville. Kostalek had played eight games with the Icemen after being injured in the preseason with the Jets. A 2013 fourth round pick by the Jets, Kostalek had two goals and one assist, with a +1 rating in the eight games in the ECHL. Kostalek will join the Moose in time for Friday’s game in Grand Rapids.
The Moose continue to be one of the top defensive teams in the AHL, currently ranking fifth in the AHL in goals against per game at 2.58.

Top Performer

Forward Mason Appleton, a 2016 sixth-round pick by the Jets, had five points in three games (two goals and three assists). Appleton, who led Michigan State in scoring in his last year, has transitioned smoothly to the pros, playing on a line with veteran Patrice Cormier and rookie Francis Beauvillier.

Standings

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	PT%
Manitoba	19	12	5	1	1	26	.684
Rockford	18	11	7	0	0	22	.611
Cleveland	15	7	4	2	2	18	.600
Milwaukee	16	9	7	0	0	18	.563
Iowa	17	8	7	2	0	18	.529
Grand Rapids	18	8	8	0	2	18	.500
Chicago	16	4	9	2	1	11	.344

As of November 23^rd, 2017

Up Next

The Moose head out on a three game road trip this week. The road trip begins on Friday at Grand Rapids (6:00 PM, moosehockey.com), where the Moose split the opening series of the season. The next night, the Moose meet the Milwaukee Admirals for the first time (7:00 PM, moosehockey.com). The road trip finishes in Rockford against the IceHogs, the top affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday (7:00 PM, TSN1290, moosehockey.com).

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