Saturday, February 14 – Manitoba 5, Calgary 1
The two clubs met on Valentine’s Day to kick off the two-match weekend series.
Samuel Fagemo got the moose on the board first, just 4:14 into the opening frame. David Gustafsson led the charge into the Wranglers zone and slowed along the left boards after crossing the blue line. He saw Isaak Phillips cut in the middle of the ice, and Phillips sent a pass to the right to Fagemo, who stepped in a wrist shot and beat Ivan Prosvetov’s top corner for his 12th of the campaign.
Jets 2022 third-round pick Danny Zhilkin put the Moose ahead by a pair at 13:56. Ashton Sautner’s shot from the draw hit a body in front of the Wranglers’ net, and Zhilkin pounced on the loose puck and beat a diving Prosvetov for the 22-year-old’s ninth.
Brayden Yager also etched his name on the scoresheet with just 43 seconds left in the first period. Zhilkin sent an ice pass to Yager at the top of the right circle, and the Saskatoon, Sask. Native fired a shot past Prosvetov’s glove, on the short side, similar to Fagemo’s opening position.
Twenty minutes into the game, Manitoba took the lead with a trio of goals while leading the shots 10-8.
Fagemo scored his second of the match midway through the match at 9:49. Kale Clague sent a slick pass to Fagemo, and he went from forehand to backhand, beating the Calgary goalkeeper over his blocker to make it 4-0.
Calgary remained scoreless after 40 minutes and trailed Manitoba 4-0. The Moose had a 19-16 advantage in shots.
Duehr, in his first game back from a lower-body injury, put Manitoba back ahead by four with a shorthanded goal at 6:05. Mason Shaw made a pass to Duehr, who was behind all but one Wrangler. He used his body to protect the puck, cut to the net and covered it for his 12th, making the score 5-1.
After dropping their last two regular-season games, Manitoba earned a 5-1 victory over the Wranglers in game one of the weekend series. Milic made 23 saves as Manitoba improved to 23-17-3.
Monday, February 16 – Calgary 3, Manitoba 2 (SO)
Game two of the weekend series took place on Louis Riel Day, with the Moose looking to win the weekend without Lambert.
For the second game in a row, Manitoba opened the scoring. Ville Heinola fired a point shot through traffic and it found its way past Arseni Sergeev for the Finnish defender’s third of the year at 13:37.
The Moose led 1-0 after 20 minutes and led the shots 9-8.
David Gustafsson, the “Gus Bus,” put the Moose ahead with his ninth of the season at 13:09. Heinola fired a point shot, similar to his opening goal, and Gustafsson got a stick on it to redirect it off the iron.
Stop me if you’ve seen this goal before
Rory Kerins got Calgary within one late in the middle frame on the man advantage, beating Domenic DiVincentiis with a one-timer for his 15th at 16:55.
Manitoba still led by one after 40 minutes despite leading 16-8 in the middle period.
Calgary continued the pressure in the final 20 minutes, and it paid off as Kerins scored his second of the game at 15:41 to tie the score late.
As in the second period, Manitoba was outshot 16-8, but DiVincentiis was great in net.
After 60 minutes and 3-on-3 extra time, nothing was resolved, the two clubs went to a shootout.
After two rounds, the goaltenders held on until the third round, when Matvei Gridin defeated DiVincentii’s blocking team to give the Wranglers a 1-0 lead, meaning Heinola, Manitoba’s third shooter, had to score.
Sergeev closed the door on Heinola with his left pad after a backhand deke attempt, and Calgary completed the comeback with a 3-2 shootout victory.
DiVincentiis made 38 saves, good for Second Star of the Game, as Manitoba, which still picked up a point, fell to 23-17-4.
“I thought our first period was good,” said Captain Mason Shaw. “There were some good things we did in that period, but the second period clearly got away from us. We couldn’t respond.”
The Moose will stay put as they play the Iowa Wild twice at home next weekend.
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