Moose Recap: Manitoba 5 vs. Chicago 4 SO

Linked Up

• Full Game Statistics
• Highlights
• Photo Gallery

Quick Hits

• Henri Nikkanen recorded his first AHL shootout-winning goal
• Jeff Malott (1G, 1A) and Brad Lambert (1G, 1A) each tallied two points in the win
• Chris Terry (1G, 1A), Cavan Fitzgerald (1G, 1A) and Josh Melnick (2A) each notched two points in the Wolves shootout loss

Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (30-33-2-1) tangled with the Central Division's Chicago Wolves (22-32-5-6) on Saturday afternoon at Canada Life Centre. Manitoba was coming off a 5-2 loss against Abbotsford on Wednesday evening.

Chicago opened the scoring with under five to play in the first with a goal from Cole Schneider. The forward burst down the ice on an odd-man rush before sending the pass across the seam to Cory Conacher. Thomas Milic made a brilliant diving stop, but Schneider found the rebound and slid it into the empty net. Despite power play chances, including part of a late five-on-three opportunity, Manitoba was held off the board by Chicago. Manitoba ended the first down by a score of 1-0. Shots were an even 8-8 between the two sides. Milic ended the frame with seven stops, while Adam Scheel posted eight of his own.

Manitoba tied the contest five minutes into the middle stanza off the stick of Dominic Toninato. Tyrel Bauer activated from the point and placed the puck at the top of the crease. Nikita Chibrikov’s shot squeezed by the pads of Scheel and Toninato knocked the disc past the line. The Moose took a 2-1 lead with a power play goal off the stick of Brad Lambert. Ville Heinola got the puck to the forward, who was wheeling in from the near dot and beat Scheel with a low shot that redirected through the netminders pads. Chicago tied the game with 50 seconds left in the frame with a tally from Chris Terry. A Moose chance at one end was turned back down the ice on an odd-man rush by the Wolves. Josh Melnick sent the pass across to Terry, who beat a diving Milic. Manitoba outshot Chicago by a count of 12-10 in the second stanza and carried a 2-2 tie into the final 20 minutes of play.

Manitoba took a 3-2 lead halfway through the third with a goal from Jeff Malott. Lambert fought off a check and sent the puck to Malott, who blasted it past Scheel. The Moose took a two-goal lead five minutes later with a tally from Kristian Reichel. Jeffrey Viel got the puck at the blue line and sprinted down the ice. The forward was poised to shoot on the odd-man rush, but opted instead for a slick pass across, which Reichel buried. The Wolves drew within a goal off the stick of Cavan Fitzgerald 38 seconds later. The defenceman hammered a shot from the point that deflected off the padding of Milic and rolled in. Chicago tied the contest 16 seconds after that with a goal from Hudson Elynuik. Alex Green put the disc on net from the point. Elynuik was to the side of the goal and deflected the puck low past Milic. With a single point on each side secured, the Moose and Wolves geared up for overtime. In the extra frame, the Moose outshot the Wolves by a 3-2 mark, but both Milic and Scheel and prevented any further offence. The horn sounded to draw overtime to a close and usher in a shootout. The shootout went eight total rounds and was won off the stick of Henri Nikkanen, as he beat Scheel with a slick move. Milic picked up the home victory and registered 22 stops, while Scheel was hit with the road loss and made 30 saves of his own.

Quotable

Moose Head Coach Mark Morrison (Click for full interview)

“I didn’t pull it out of thin air there. Actually, Collin Delia our goalie kept telling me to put him (Henri Nikkanen) in, put him in. Every shooter that missed Delia said put him in. So I think it was round eight, I finally gave in to Collin Delia and said okay Nikkanen, go.”

Statbook

• Jeff Malott's goal, his 81st of his career, places him in sole possession of fifth on Manitoba's all-time franchise leaderboard
• Malott has points in three straight games with four points (2G, 2A)
• Brad Lambert's 51 points (20G, 31A) are third in Moose franchise history for points by a rookie
• Dominic Toninato has points in three straight games with three points (2G, 1A)
• Tyrel Bauer has points in two straight games with two points (1G, 1A)

What's Next?

The Moose rematch with the Chicago Wolves at Canada Life Centre on Sunday, April 7. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. It's the Brad Lambert Mini-Bobblehead giveaway and will be available for the first 3000 fans.

Tickets to all upcoming Moose home games are available at MooseHockey.com/TICKETS.

You can catch the game on CJOB.com/sports the Winnipeg Jets App or AHLTV.