Two games remained for the Manitoba Moose before the Christmas break, both played this past weekend at Canada Life Centre against the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday and Sunday.

The Moose entered Saturday’s matchup looking to bounce back after a 6-0 shutout loss to the Iowa Wild last Sunday. They also faced a familiar opponent in net, as former Winnipeg Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit made his return to Winnipeg after missing all of last season with a knee injury. Manitoba was without Elias Salomonsson due to illness, while Colby Barlow remained sidelined with an injury.

Rockford opened the scoring just 28 seconds into the game when Brett Seney notched his seventh of the season to make it 1-0.

Samuel Fagemo tied the game at 2:54 on the power play with his eighth of the season. The Swedish forward snapped a quick shot past Brossoit from the slot to even the score.

Joey Anderson restored Rockford’s lead with a shorthanded goal at 6:50, his fifth, but Danny Zhilkin answered at 12:24 to make it 2-2. Zhilkin curled toward the net and fired a shot from the right faceoff dot that beat Brossoit. The goal marked his 11th point of the season, a new career high for the 22-year-old.

Samuel Savoie added his eighth of the season on the power play at 19:13 to cap off a five-goal opening frame, giving Rockford a 3-2 lead after 20 minutes. Shots were even at 11 apiece.

Thomas Milic was pulled after the first period for the second straight game, allowing three goals on 11 shots, and Domenic DiVincentiis took over in relief.

David Gustafsson tied the game once again on the power play 2:31 into the second period. Gustafsson won the draw back to Phil Di Giuseppe, whose one-timer was stopped by Brossoit, but the rebound kicked out to Gustafsson for an easy tap-in, his fifth of the season.

Seney scored his second of the night just 45 seconds later on DiVincentiis’ first shot faced to make it 4-3. Ryan Gagnier then extended Rockford’s lead to two at the midway point of the period with his second of the year.

Despite being outshot 18-8 by Manitoba in the second, the IceHogs carried a two-goal advantage into the third.

Rockford continued its scoring spree at 12:52 of the third when Rem Pitlick notched his seventh, before Joey Anderson capped the seven-goal effort with his second of the contest at 14:22 on the IceHogs’ third power-play goal of the game.

DiVincentiis finished with 17 saves, while Manitoba took eight penalties and surrendered three power play goals. Brossoit was busy in goal, stopping 40 shots.

The teams met again on Sunday, with Manitoba looking to snap a two-game losing skid in which they had been outscored 13-3.

Barlow returned to the lineup, while Salomonsson remained sidelined due to illness. Dawson Barteaux was recalled from the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) and inserted into the lineup after Ethan Frisch was injured in Saturday’s contest.

Much like Saturday’s contest, Rockford struck early. Seney scored just 23 seconds into the game for his ninth of the season and third goal against Manitoba in the two-game series.

Fagemo responded at 14:49 with his ninth goal of the season and second in as many games. Di Giuseppe carried the puck across the Rockford blue line on the left side and dropped it to Fagemo, who had time to step in and fire a quick snap shot past Drew Commesso low glove-side to tie the game 1-1.

After surrendering an early goal for the second straight game, Manitoba controlled most of the remainder of the first period and outshot Rockford 14-9, with the game tied heading into the intermission.

Gustafsson gave the Moose their first lead of the weekend at 3:44 of the second period, scoring his sixth of the season and second in back-to-back games. Ville Heinola’s point shot redirected off Mason Shaw’s stick and hit the post, and Gustafsson was there to tap in the rebound.

Tyrel Bauer made it 3-1 halfway through the period, scoring his first goal since April 6, 2024. Walker Duehr moved the puck to Isaak Phillips on the left side, who faked a shot before threading a backdoor pass to Bauer for the tap-in.

Manitoba carried a 3-1 lead into the second intermission while outshooting Rockford 18-5 in the period.

The IceHogs pushed back in the third, but DiVincentiis turned aside all 13 shots he faced. Jaret Anderson-Dolan sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 17:14, his sixth of the season, making it 4-1.

The Moose collected two points heading into the Christmas break. DiVincentiis made 26 saves in a much-needed bounce-back win for a Manitoba team that had faced some adversity as of late.

“It’s always nice to get one here and there, it’s been a little while,” Bauer said postgame. “It doesn’t happen if the team isn’t rolling. It’s a team effort, and Philly made a great play. That’s not about me, that’s the team’s performance right there.”

Manitoba improved to 15-11-2-0, sitting tied for second in the Central Division with the Chicago Wolves.

Manitoba won’t play again for nine days and will return to action on New Year’s Eve against the defending 2025 Calder Cup champion Abbotsford Canucks at Canada Life Centre. Puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m. CST.