Moose try for two

If you were going to write a script for how Friday's opener would roll out, you couldn't have written it much better for the Manitoba Moose.

Two rookies making their professional debuts scored goals.  The fact they came in a tight, 3-1 win makes it that much more impressive.  Nelson Nogier, not exactly known for his offence in junior, launched a shot from the point to open the Moose scoring for the season.  He also finished the game a +2 plus/minus rating.  Then Jack Roslovic announced his entry to the pro ranks.  The highly touted 19-year old set up Quinton Howden's eventual game winner.  He followed that with a perfect shot up into the short side top corner on a two man advantage for some insurance.

Not a bad start.

Rookies are a less plentiful commodity on the Moose this season.  There are four first year pros on the current 29-man roster.  Compare that to the jaw-dropping 11 who started the season in 2015-16.  Experience was a focus of the write-up to yesterday's game and it was evident in Friday's opener.  Nobody panicked after the Moose were outshot 13-6 in the first period.  Eric Comrie supplied solid goaltending to set the stage for Nogier's icebreaker in the second.  The Moose continued getting used to new teammates and linemates, as is expected this time of year.  When it came time to deliver, the powerplay came up with an important five-on-three goal.  With only two pre-season games and nine roster players added from the Winnipeg Jets earlier in the week, it will take some time for this team to hit its full stride.

That said, they have an opportunity tonight to set themselves up nicely leading into next week's home opener.  A second victory in Iowa would give the Moose their first back-to-back wins out of the gate since 2011-12 when the franchise was in St. John's.  A little momentum can go a long way early in the season.

Something to watch for tonight is if and how the lineup changes.  The Moose are carrying 29 players right now (though some are unavailable due to injury) so who will Pascal Vincent swap in for the second game?  Or will the Moose coaching staff keep things the same to get an extended look at the players in the lineup last night?

Mitch Peacock goes on the air at 6:45 p.m. CT to answer those questions and more with the pre-game show at moosehockey.com/listenlive.  Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Kozub