Moose Recap: Manitoba 6 at Chicago 2

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Quick Hits

• Parker Ford and Henri Nikkanen each scored twice in the Moose win
• Thomas Milic made 31 saves in the road victory
• Four Moose skaters notched multi-point outings

Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (26-29-1-1) rematched with the Central Division's Chicago Wolves (21-29-3-3) on Saturday night at Allstate Arena. Manitoba was coming off a 3-2 shootout win against Chicago the previous evening.

Manitoba opened the scoring just shy of the four-minute mark of the first with a goal from Parker Ford. Jeffrey Viel chugged down the ice sheet and beat out an icing call. The forward snuck a pass into the slot off his backhand and Ford was waiting to beat Antti Raanta over the glove. The Wolves tied the contest with 3:29 left in the frame courtesy of Tory Dello. Griffin Mendel moved the puck to Dello, who put a shot on goal that hit a body in front and eluded a screened Thomas Milic. The two sides ended the period tied 1-1. Milic, making his third consecutive start, ended the frame with 12 saves, while Raanta countered with 10 of his own.

Manitoba reclaimed the lead just shy of the six-minute mark of the second with a shorthanded goal off the stick of Henri Nikkanen. Nicholas Jones took over in the neutral zone and forced a pair of Wolves skaters to give chase. He then slid the puck to Nikkanen, who streaked into the offensive zone and beat Raanta with a low shot. Manitoba added some insurance with a power play goal from Ford. Ville Heinola gathered the disc at the blue line and flung a shot toward the net. Ford was in front providing a screen and tipped the disc through Raanta. Manitoba outshot Chicago 13-8 in the middle frame and carried a 3-1 lead into the final 20 minutes of play.

After the Moose killed off two Wolves power play chances in the first half of the third period, the Chicago power play struck to cut the Moose lead to 3-2. Max Comtois sent a pass to Nathan Sucese in the slot, and Sucese was able to knock the puck into an open net. The Moose reclaimed the two-goal lead with a power play marker from Nikita Chibrikov. Brad Lambert sent the puck across the seam to the tape of Chibrikov. The forward walked in and beat Raanta from the dot. With time dwindling, the Wolves pulled Raanta and pushed for offence. The gambit proved costly, as Moose forward C.J. Suess hustled after a loose puck and hit the empty cage from centre ice. The Moose added one final tally in the frame, as Jones and Nikkanen worked a give-and-go with Nikkanen eventually beating Raanta from the top of the crease. The horn sounded shortly after to send the Moose home with a 6-2 victory. Milic picked up the road win on the strength of 31 saves, while Raanta was hit with the loss and finished with 23 stops of his own.

Quotable

Moose Forward Parker Ford (Click for full interview)

“I think we’ve come together a lot as a team. We’ve beaten the best teams in the division. I think it just shows that we can play with anybody right now."

Statbook

• Dominic Toninato's assist was his 100th career AHL point
• Nicholas Jones has points in two straight games with four points (1G, 3A)
• Jones' second assist was his 100th career AHL point
• Jeffrey Viel matched a previous career-high with his 17th assist
• Ville Heinola has points in six straight games with six points (3G, 3A)
• Heinola's assist ties him with Declan Chisholm for eighth overall in franchise points by a defenceman
• Henri Nikkanen has points in three straight games with five points (3G, 2A)
• Nikkanen matched his career-high with his fifth goal of the campaign
• Ford's second tally was his fifth game-winning goal of the season, which paces Manitoba

What's Next?

The Moose return home to take on the Grand Rapids Griffins at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday, March 19. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. CT. It's the second of Manitoba's two Project 11 School Day games this season.

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.