Moose Recap: Manitoba 5 at Grand Rapids 1

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Quick Hits

• Jansen Harkins (1G, 1A), Kristian Reichel (1G, 1A) and Declan Chisholm (2A) all netted two points in the victory
• Oskari Salminen recorded 35 saves in the road win
• The Moose scored nine goals in the two-game weekend sweep

Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (24-15-3-2) rematched with the Grand Rapids Griffins (19-22-2-2) on Saturday evening at Van Andel Arena. Manitoba was coming off a 4-1 victory the previous evening.

Manitoba opened the scoring 54 seconds into the contest. Kristian Reichel grabbed the puck and sped down the ice alongside Jansen Harkins on an odd-man rush. Reichel sent the puck over and Harkins fired a quick shot past Victor Brattstrom. Grand Rapids tied the contest with just under three minutes to go in the period. Austin Czarnik sent a shot on goal that squeaked through the padding of Oskari Salminen and trickled over the line. Brattstrom ended the frame with 12 stops and Salminen finished with 18 of his own as the game was tied 1-1 heading into the first intermission.

The Moose pulled back ahead 63 seconds into the middle stanza. Tyler Boland found Alex Limoges with the drop pass as he entered the zone. The forward walked in and unleashed a hard shot past Brattstrom. Manitoba added to its lead five minutes later with a shorthanded tally. As Brattstrom went to play the off the wall, the disc took a funky hop and landed near the front of the net, where Reichel was waiting to bat it home for a 3-1 lead. The Moose edged further ahead as the puck to a friendly bounce to the stick of Cole Maier, who ripped a shot past Brattstrom. Manitoba scored three goals on six shots as the antlered ones took a 4-1 lead into the final 20 minutes of play.

The Griffins began the third period with a new netminder between the pipes, as Alex Nedeljkovic replaced Brattstrom. Manitoba added to the lead with under five minutes to go in the contest while working on a four-on-three power play. Declan Chisholm's shot bounced over the pad of Nedeljkovic before Dominic Toninato tapped it in. The tally was the lone marker of the third frame as Manitoba picked up a 5-1 road victory. Salminen was credited with the win on the strength of 35 stops, while Brattstrom was hit with the loss and ended with 15 saves of his own.

Quotable

Moose Forward Kristian Reichel (Click for full interview)

“It’s really important to catch the two teams in front of us. It’s a huge four points for us to get this weekend, that’s unreal. We have one more game on this road trip and we want to finish on a good note."

Statbook

• Jansen Harkins has points in four straight games with six points (2G, 4A)
• The first period tally from Harkins was his 100th career AHL point
• Kristian Reichel has five points (4G, 1A) over his past five games
• Reichel set a new career high with his ninth assist and match a career high with his 17th point
• Alex Limoges has scored goals in three straight games and tied a career high with his 40th point
• Cole Maier has points in three straight games with three points (1G, 2A)
• Ville Heinola has five points (1G, 4A) his past three contests
• Dominic Toninato has registered three points (1G, 2A) his past two contests

What's Next?

The Moose match up against the Toronto Marlies at Coca Cola Coliseum on Monday, Feb. 13. The contest will be the conclusion of the suspended game that occurred on Jan. 13/23. Puck drop is slated for 6 p.m. CT. You can catch the game on CJOB.com/sports the new Winnipeg Jets App or AHLTV.

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