The Manitoba Moose (36-25-5-4) rematched with the Texas Stars (39-19-9-3) on Wednesday evening at H-E-B Center. Manitoba was coming off a 7-5 victory over the Stars the previous evening.

Manitoba opened the scoring 1:56 into the contest. Leon Gawanke fired a shot that Texas goaltender Remi Poirier knocked down. The rebound popped free to Parker Ford, who slid it home for his second tally of the season. Texas responded 19 seconds later and tied the contest. After a scramble in front of the Moose net, Ben Gleason grabbed the puck and lifted the up under the bar. Manitoba restored the lead at the 3:23 mark. Jansen Harkins found Dominic Toninato with the pass in tight. The forward quickly roofed the disc past the glove of Poirier. A subsequent Stars chance was reviewed, but it was determined the puck stayed out of the net due to the herculean effort of Evan Cormier to reach back and deflect the puck with his stick. Cormier ended the frame with 12 stops, as Manitoba took to the first intermission ahead 2-1.

Texas tied the contest 4:26 into the middle frame. A collision in the crease allowed the puck to pop free for Marian Studenic to hit the open net for his 21st of the campaign. Texas pushed ahead 3-2 with 1:09 left in the frame. A high bouncing puck fell in front of the crowded Moose crease. It eventually bounced into the net off Riley Tufte in front. Manitoba was outshot 16-8 in the middle frame and trailed 3-2 after 40 minutes of play.

Manitoba went hunting for the equalizer in the third frame. Manitoba outshot Texas 12-3 through the final 20 minutes of play, but Poirier stopped each attempt on route to securing the Stars win. Cormier picked up the loss and ended the night with 29 saves, while Poirier captured the win with 32 stops of his own.

Moose Forward Parker Ford (Click for full interview)

“Yeah, it’s good stuff. It’s kinda the goal at the beginning of the year. It’s what we’re working towards and hopefully we can continue to build on this game and hit our stride come playoffs."

The Moose travel to Rockford for a contest against the IceHogs at BMO Center on Saturday, April 15. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. CT. You can catch the game on CJOB.com/sports the Winnipeg Jets App or AHLTV.