Moose Moment: Deep in the Heart of Texas

The Moose headed south to the Lone Star State for 4 games this past week.  After playing 17 straight games inside the Central Division, the Moose were looking to open some space ahead of the 2^nd place Chicago Wolves.

The trip opened last Wednesday in Austin against the Texas Stars, the top affiliate of the Dallas Stars.  After giving up a powerplay goal just under 3 minutes into the game, it appeared that it could be a long night for the Moose to start the trip.  However, the Moose would get 3 goals from defensemen, and rookie Brett Welychka scored his first pro goal, leading the Moose to a 6-3 win.  Patrice Cormier continued to build on a career high goal scoring season, hitting the 20 goal mark for the 1^st time in his AHL career.  JC Lipon added his 12^th goal of the season in the win, and Jamie Phillips made 22 saves in the win.

On Friday, the Moose headed further South to San Antonio to face the Rampage.  The Moose were outshot 25-11 through the first 2 periods, and never led until the end of the game, but Mason Appleton tied the game with 1:07 left in regulation, and Nic Petan’s 14^th goal of the season won the game in overtime for the Moose, a 3-2 overtime win.  Patrice Cormier added his career high 21^st goal of the season in the win.  Jamie Phillips gave up just 2 goals on 34 shots in the win.  The win guaranteed the Moose an above .500 season for the first time since returning in 2015-16.

The next night, the Moose returned to Austin for the rematch against the Texas Stars.  For the second straight game in Austin, the Moose gave up a goal inside the first 3 minutes of the game, gave up a second goal in the first minute of the 2^nd period to fall behind 2-0, and never recovered, suffering a 6-4 loss.  Four different Moose found the scoresheet in the losing cause.  Michael Spacek, JC Lipon, and Sami Niku each scored their 13^th goals of the season, while Charles-David Beaudoin scored his 1^st of the year.  Jamie Phillips gave up 3 goals on just 9 shots, leading to Colton Phinney making his Moose debut in relief.  Phinney gave up 3 goals on 15 shots in the 32 minutes he played.

The road trip finished on Tuesday night, as the Moose finished their 4 game season series against the San Antonio Rampage.  The Moose were looking to complete the season series sweep, having won both games in Winnipeg earlier in the year.  For the 4^th straight game on the road trip, the Moose gave up the opening goal of the game, and would fall behind 3-0 before Michael Spacek’s 14^th goal of the season got the Moose on the board.  Buddy Robinson would add his team high 24^th goal of the season to make it 3-2, but that is as close as the Moose would get, as they would take a 4-2 loss to close the road trip.  Jamie Phillips gave up 3 goals on 15 shots in the loss.

With both Eric Comrie and Michael Hutchinson up with the Jets, second year pro and Jets 2012 7^th round pick Jamie Phillips has taken over the net for the Moose.  Phillips went 2-2 on the most recent 4 game road trip, and for the year, Phillips has a 5-5-1 record, with a 2.85 GAA and .911 SV%.

As of March 21^st, 2018

The Moose begin their final homestand of the season, an 8 game stretch with a pair of games against the Stockton Heat, top affiliate of the Calgary Flames.  Games are tonight and Saturday, both are 7:00 PM starts and can be heard on TSN 1290.