Game Recap: Iowa 5 at Moose 4
By: Daniel Fink | Published: January 13th 2018
Manitoba Moose (25-8-3-2) vs. Iowa Wild (17-12-6-2)
Saturday, January 13, 2018 – Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, MB
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
| Iowa Wild | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Manitoba Moose | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Shots By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
| Iowa Wild | 12 | 12 | 10 | 34 |
| Manitoba Moose | 12 | 11 | 25 | 48 |
| Special Teams | PP | PK | PIM |
| Iowa Wild | 2/4 | 1/3 | 16 |
| Manitoba Moose | 2/3 | 2/4 | 29 |
| Goaltender Summary | Goaltender | MIN | SA | SV |
| Iowa Wild | Steve Michalek | 60:00 | 48 | 44 |
| Manitoba Moose | Eric Comrie | 41:56 | 25 | 20 |
| Manitoba Moose | Jamie Phillips | 16:17 | 9 | 9 |
Goal Summary
| P | TIME | TEAM | GOAL | ASSIST | ASSIST | STR | SCORE |
| 1 | 14:54 | MB | Sami Niku (7) | Michael Spacek (10) | Patrice Cormier (8) | PP | 1-0 MB |
| 1 | 15:39 | IA | Cal O’Reilly (7) | Justin Kloos (17) | Sam Anas (16) | PP | 1-1 |
| 2 | 1:06 | IA | Landon Ferraro (5) | Cal O’Reilly (20) | ES | 2-1 IA | |
| 2 | 1:51 | IA | Kyle Rau (11) | Cal O’Reilly (21) | Landon Ferraro (9) | ES | 3-1 IA |
| 2 | 4:51 | IA | Sam Anas (13) | Kyle Rau (9) | Cal O’Reilly (22) | PP | 4-1 IA |
| 3 | 0:17 | MB | Nic Petan (9) | Buddy Robinson (17) | Sami Niku (19) | PP | 4-2 IA |
| 3 | 1:56 | IA | Justin Kloos (11) | Sam Anas (17) | Carson Soucy (5) | ES | 5-2 IA |
| 3 | 4:38 | MB | Sami Niku (8) | Patrice Cormier (9) | Chase De Leo (15) | ES | 5-3 IA |
| 3 | 13:53 | MB | Brody Sutter (3) | Tucker Poolman (3) | Julian Melchiori (9) | ES | 5-4 IA |
Game Story
The Manitoba Moose (25-8-3-2) and Iowa Wild (17-12-6-3) battled in their fourth meeting of the season at Bell MTS Place on Saturday afternoon. The Moose nearly opened the scoring in the first minute, but Buddy Robinson’s put-back clanked off the iron. The hosts would eventually open the scoring moments into a power play, off a Sami Niku one-timer, with 5:06 left in the period. The lead didn’t last long as the Wild replied with a power play tally of their own. Working on a five-minute major, Justin Kloos opened up Cal O’Reilly who buried his shot to tie the contest 1-1, just 16 seconds into the penalty. The Moose penalty killers held strong to get to the intermission still tied 1-1 with 23 seconds of the penalty carrying into second.
The middle period did not start well for the Moose. The Wild scored three goals in the first five minutes of the frame to take a 4-1 lead. Landon Ferraro started the barrage at 1:06 of the period. He was followed by Kyle Rau just 45 seconds later. Sam Anas capped off the run at 4:51 with Iowa’s second power play marker of the contest. The Moose pushed late in the frame, but Wild goaltender Steve Michalek made 11 stops in the period to keep Manitoba from cutting into the lead as Iowa carried the 4-1 advantage into the third.
The Moose got back within two early in the final stanza, thanks to a highlight reel goal from Nic Petan. The forward dove and extended his stick out to tip a Buddy Robinson pass up and under the bar for a power play marker. The Wild replied immediately as Justin Kloos drove to the net, cut around Comrie, and deposited the puck in the net 1:39 after Petan’s goal. Manitoba chopped the lead to two once again, 4:38 into the period, when Niku popped a loose puck to the back of the net for his second of the game. Brody Sutter put the comeback push into full swing by finishing off a Tucker Poolman setup with 6:07 remaining. Sutter’s tally was as close as the Moose would come. Manitoba posted three goals on 25 shots in the third period, but fell to Iowa by a 5-4 count.
Quick Hits
- The Moose reached the halfway point with the best winning percentage (.724) in franchise history and sit in first place in the AHL.
- Sami Niku posted his first career multi-goal game and a season high three points (2G, 1A).
- Brody Sutter has two goals in his last five games and posted a season high five shots.
- Patrice Cormier recorded his seventh multi-point (2A) game of the season.
- Attendance was announced at 5,641.
Quotable
Head Coach Pascal Vincent on the third period push – “That’s all it was, sticking to our plan and believing we could come back. We gave ourselves a chance. What I saw in the third period is the type of team we’ve had the whole year, so that’s very positive. I haven’t seen that type of game since coming back from the Christmas break, so to me it’s very positive.”
Defenceman Tucker Poolman – “We know what we can do. We have confidence every time we get out there, and we know we can do it. Give credit to (the Wild). They played a good game, and we’ve got to be a little better in some areas.”
Linked Up
Game Summary: http://mbmoo.se/2DfEkvx
Highlights and Post-Game Coverage: https://moosehockey.com/moosetv/
Photo Gallery: http://mbmoo.se/2AZaJkB
What’s Next?
The Moose host the Wild for the annual Polar Bear Jersey game on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT. The Moose will wear special edition jerseys in support of Assiniboine Park Zoo’s Polar Bear Rescue Team. Tickets are available at moosehockey.com/tickets.
