Moose Weekly Recap: Manitoba wins weekend series against Rockford

Saturday, January 31 – Manitoba 4, Rockford 1

Manitoba entered Saturday’s game on the heels of a regular-season 3-2 win over the league’s top-ranked Grand Rapids Griffins. They were the first team to hand Grand Rapids a road loss in regulation, and they wanted to continue that momentum against the IceHogs.

That’s exactly what they did as it took just 16 seconds for Manitoba to get on the scoreboard. David Gustafsson and Nikita Chibrikov did great work on the forecheck, and Moose captain Mason Shaw was in the right place at the right time and parked in front of the net. When the puck popped toward him from the corner, he beat Stanislav Berezhnoy with the glove for his team-leading 12th of the season.

The Moose had some trouble getting the puck out of their zone, and Rockford made them pay at 16:59 when the puck found Gavin Hayes on the right circle. Hayes beat Thomas Milic’s blocker to tie the game 1–1, his seventh of the season.

Anderson-Dolan scored his second of the afternoon (7:11) in the middle frame. Julien entered the IceHogs zone and dropped the puck to Brayden Yager, who slid a pass to Anderson-Dolan who shot in on the left side. Anderson-Dolan beat Berezhnoy with a quick snap to give Manitoba a two-goal lead.

Parker Ford added some insurance 7:55 into the third period to give the Moose a three-goal cushion. Brad Lambert kept the puck behind the Rockford net and sent a blind backhand pass forward, where Ford knocked the puck from his forehand to his backhand and put it past Berezhnoy into the open cage for his fourth of the season.

Manitoba ultimately held on for a 4-1 win, their second win in a row. Milic had a relatively easier night than usual, but was sharp when needed and made 15 saves.

Sunday, February 1 – Manitoba 2, Rockford 1

Manitoba and Rockford met again the next day to open the month of February, with the Moose looking to end their four-game homestand with at least three wins.

Just like in Saturday’s game, Manitoba wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Yager converted the power play for his fifth of the year 41 seconds into the game. Samuel Fagemo kept the puck along the left wall inside the attacking zone and sent a pass low to Yager on the goal line. Yager attempted a cross-crease pass to Phillip Di Giuseppe for a one-timer, but the puck happened to end up on an IceHog and into the net.

Manitoba had a one-goal lead in the second period, and David Gustafsson, also known as the ‘Gus Bus’, put his club away with a few 2:35 left in the middle frame. Shaw’s one-timer was stopped by Berezhnoy and the rebound kicked into the left side of the net, where Gustafsson knocked the ball home on his backhand for his eighth of the season. The referees initially ruled it a no-goal, apparently to assess whether Gustafsson had pushed the goalkeeper’s pad into the net, but the decision stood.

After Gustafsson’s goal, the Moose slowed down considerably, as Rockford defeated Manitoba 12-7 in the middle frame, after Manitoba defeated the IceHogs 14-6 in the opening period.

Rockford’s hard work paid off at 9:43 of the second period when Nick Lardis defeated Domenic DiVincentiis on a one-timer set up by Rem Pitlick. It was Lardis’ 14th of the season.

Manitoba continued to be outplayed in the third period, but DiVincentiis stayed calm and collected and made several key stops to keep his team ahead by one.

Despite being outscored 33-25 overall and 15-4 in the third period, Manitoba held on to earn its third straight win, closing out the homestand with six of a possible eight points. DiVincentiis made 32 saves for his 10th win of the season and was named the game’s starting star.

Manitoba now hits the road for back-to-back games at Cedar Park against the Texas Stars on Feb. 6 and 7. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 7:00 PM CST, and the games will be available to watch on AHLTV.