Moose Recap: Manitoba 5 vs. Rockford 3

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Quick Hits

• Kyle Capobianco posted three assists for the Moose
• 11 different Moose skaters notched points in the victory
• Austin Strand scored twice in the defeat for Rockford

Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (13-23-1-0) battled the Rockford IceHogs (16-18-3-1) on Saturday evening at BMO Center for a weekend road contest. Manitoba was coming off a 2-1 defeat against Chicago on Wednesday evening.

Manitoba opened the scoring 1:56 into the contest with a goal from Simon Lundmark. Nicholas Jones won a battle and sent the puck to Lundmark at the point. The defenceman walked in and fired a shot on goal that hit a Rockford defender and trickled past Drew Commesso. Rockford tied the contest late in the first with a goal off the stick of Nolan Allan. The Moose blocked a shot and the rebound popped out to Allan at the point. The defender skated in and let the shot go, which deflected off a Moose skater and floated in over Collin Delia. The Moose ended the period tied by a score of 1-1. Delia headed down the tunnel with nine stops, while Commesso finished the stanza with 11 stops of his own.

The Moose took the lead at 7:46 of the middle frame with a goal from Ville Heinola. Jeff Malott dug the puck off the wall for Brad Lambert who found Heinola at the point. The defenceman stepped into a shot that redirected past Commesso. The IceHogs replied quickly with a tally from Austin Strand. The defenceman's shot from the point beat a partially screened Delia. The Moose netted the go-ahead tally halfway through the contest off the stick of Jeffrey Viel. Kyle Capobianco set up Viel in the slot and the forward quickly snapped the puck into the back of the net. Manitoba pushed ahead 5-3 courtesy of Kristian Reichel. Parker Ford dished the puck to the winger, who cruised in and beat Commesso with a low shot inside the post. The IceHogs made it a one-goal game with two seconds left, as Strand netted his second of the contest after slipping a backhand shot through traffic. Manitoba outshot Rockford by a count of 10-4 in the period and carried a 4-3 lead into the final 20 minutes of action.

Manitoba found some insurance on the power play with a goal from Ford. Capobianco’s shot hit a defender and ricocheted in front. Ford skated onto the disc and battled his way to the net before tucking the puck past the line. With time ticking down and the IceHogs down by a pair, Commesso was called to the bench in favour of the extra attacker. The gambit was unsuccessful, as the Moose were able to prevent any further scoring opportunities to secure the road victory. Delia captured the road win and ended with 15 stops, while Commesso picked up the loss and made 26 saves of his own.

Quotable

Moose Forward Parker Ford (Click for full interview)

“Definitely big relief felt after that little losing streak there. We just battled. We knew we had to get out of this and it was only going to come one way and that was through work."

Statbook

• Simon Lundmark's goal was is first of the season
• Jeffrey Viel has two points (1G, 1A) his past two games
• Dawson Barteaux's assist is his first point for the Moose
• Kristian Reichel has goals in consecutive games
• Parker Ford has tallied three points (1G, 2A) his past two contests
• Kyle Capobianco's three assists represents his fourth outing with at least three-points
• Brad Lambert recorded two assists for his eighth multi-point game of the campaign

What's Next?

The Moose continue the road trip with a contest against the Chicago Wolves at Allstate Arena on Sunday, Jan. 28. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.

You can catch the game on 680 CJOB, CJOB.com/sports the Winnipeg Jets App or AHLTV.

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