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Moose Moment: Sweeping through the Central
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Alec Beatty
Nov 30, 2017, 14:56 EST
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The Moose completed a three game road trip this week, with games against Central division rivals Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, and Rockford.  The Moose swept the three game trip, outscoring their opponents 14-2.   Read on for a recap of the road trip.

Friday, Nov 24 / Manitoba: 3 – Grand Rapids: 1

The Moose opened the three-game road trip in Grand Rapids against the longtime rival Griffins.  The game got off to a great start, with captain Patrice Cormier giving the Moose the early lead just 1:05 into the game with his sixth goal of the season.  The Moose would extend the lead on the powerplay, with Mason Appleton scoring his sixth of the year, assisted by Nic Petan and Brendan Lemieux, to give the Moose a 2-0 lead after one period.
The Griffins got one goal back just over two minutes into the second period, with Turner Elson scoring his seventh goal of the season to make it 2-1 after two periods of play.  That would be as close as the Griffins would get, as the Moose evened out the play in the third, and regained the two-goal lead on JC Lipon’s fourth goal of the season, and his first in six games.
Brendan Lemieux led the way in this game with two assists.  Michael Hutchinson made 37 saves in the game for the win.

Saturday, Nov 25 / Manitoba: 3 – Milwaukee: 0

The Moose headed west to face the Milwaukee Admirals, top affiliate of the Nashville Predators, for the first time this season.  The Moose once again got off a good start in the game, outshooting the Admirals 12-5 in the first period, but were unable to solve Admirals goalie Anders Lindback, and the game remained scoreless after one.
The Moose would open the scoring early in the second, with Chase De Leo scoring his fourth of the year, and his second in the last four games after not scoring in the previous nine games played, to give the Moose the lead.  From there on, the second period was owned by the Admirals.  They outshot the Moose 16-4, partially because the Moose took five minor penalties in the period.  However, the Moose were able to hold the fort and pushed the lead to 2-0 with a shorthanded goal by Jack Roslovic in the final minute of the second.  The third period was more evenly played, and the Moose tacked on an empty-netter from Brendan Lemieux with six seconds left to give the Moose a 3-0 win.
JC Lipon led the scoring charge with two assists.  Eric Comrie was perfect in the game with 30 saves, pitching the first shutout by a Moose goalie this season.  It improved his record to 8-4-1 on the season.

Tuesday, Nov 28 / Manitoba: 8 – Rockford: 1

The Moose closed the road trip with their first game of the year against the Rockford Ice Hogs, top affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.  In an evenly played first period, it was the Moose getting ahead, scoring the opening goal for the 15th time in 22 games this year.  JC Lipon (his fifth) and Mason Appleton (his seventh) scored the first period goals, and the Moose led 2-0 after 20 minutes of play, despite being outshot 16-14.
The Moose poured it on in the second.  Similar to some games for the parent Winnipeg Jets, the Moose did not need many opportunities to blow the game open.  Lipon would score his second of the game at 2:39, Patrice Cormier would add his seventh at 5:54, and Buddy Robinson picked up his eighth of the year on the powerplay at 11:55 to give the Moose a 5-0 lead.  Rockford would get one back late in the second through Anthony Louis to make it 5-1 after two.  Rockford outshot the Moose 21-9 in the second.
Any thoughts of a big Rockford comeback were quelled on the first shift of the third, with Brendan Lemieux scoring for the second straight night to make it 6-1.  After Nic Petan capitalized on a Moose 2 on 1 to make it 7-1 Moose, Lipon would finish off his first AHL hat trick to complete the scoring, giving the Moose an 8-1 win over a very good Rockford team.
Outside of Lipon’s hat trick, Lemieux finished the game with one goal and two assists.  Michael Hutchinson made 47 saves, which is not something you would normally see for the winning goalie in an 8-1 scoreline.  Hutchinson runs his record to 7-1-1 on the season.

Top Performer

Photo Credit: Jonathan Kozub | Moose Hockey
Forward JC Lipon, a 2013 third round pick by the Jets, had six points in three games (four goals and two assists). Lipon, who played none games for the Jets in 2015-16, has seven goals and eight assists in 22 games played this season and is on pace for a career low in penalty minutes this year.

News and Notes

  • Eric Comrie was recalled by the Jets on Monday to take the roster spot of Steve Mason, who was placed on the IR with a concussion. Concurrently, the Moose recalled G Jamie Phillips from Jacksonville to back up Michael Hutchinson.  Phillips is 2-9-0 with a 3.38 GAA and a .895 SV% for a Jacksonville team that is worst in the ECHL.
  • Jan Kostalek made his season debut Saturday against Milwaukee after starting the season on the injured list. He had no points and an even rating in his two games this week.
  • The Moose penalty kill went 20/20 in the three games this week, moving their season PK% to 87.8%, good for third in the AHL. The Moose powerplay went 3/13 on the trip and is now operating at 21.7%, good for second in the league.

Standings

Team
GP
W
L
OTL
SOL
PTS
PT%
Manitoba
22
15
5
1
1
32
.727
Milwaukee
19
11
8
0
0
22
.579
Iowa
20
10
8
2
0
22
.550
Rockford
21
11
9
1
0
23
.548
Cleveland
17
7
6
2
2
18
.529
Grand Rapids
20
8
10
0
2
18
.450
Chicago
19
5
10
3
1
14
.368
As of November 30th, 2017

Up Next

The Moose host a 2-game series this weekend against the Cleveland Monsters, who the Moose split their home opening series with.  Game one goes tonight at 7:00 PM (moosehockey.com), with game two going Saturday at 7:00 PM (TSN 1290, moosehockey.com).

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