Moose Recap: Manitoba 4 vs. Rockford 2

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Quick Hits

• Dominic Toninato posted two points (1G, 1A) in the Moose win
• Colton Dach tallied two assists in the IceHogs loss
• Collin Delia recorded 31 saves in the home victory

Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (8-9-0-0) faced off with the Rockford IceHogs (9-6-2-0), on Friday evening at Canada Life Centre for the first of two weekend contests.

Rockford opened the scoring 2:02 into the contest. With the IceHogs on a five-on-three power play, Colton Dach sent a pass through the slot to Ethan Del Mastro. Collin Delia made a great first stop, but was beat on the subsequent rebound. The Moose tied the contest at the 7:52 mark of the frame during a spell of four-on-four play. Dominic Toninato streaked down the ice and attempted a pass across the seam. The puck hit a Rockford skater and Toninato picked it back up and swatted it under the arm of Drew Commesso on his backhand. Neither side was able to find twine the rest of the way. Manitoba was tied 1-1 heading into the first intermission, despite being outshot 12-6.

Manitoba pushed ahead halfway through the middle stanza. With the Moose on the power play, Chaz Lucius sent the puck on net. The rebound popped free through traffic to the high slot and the waiting Wyatt Bongiovanni, who rifled it past Commesso. Rockford tied the contest with under three minutes left in the period. Dach put the puck on net, where it settled in the crease. The Moose were unable to clear the disc and Ryder Rolston cleaned up the rebound. Manitoba found the go-ahead marker just over a minute later. Dean Stewart unleashed a shot from the point that Jeff Malott got a piece of. The puck then hit the foot of Jeff Viel and redirected past Commesso. The forward’s first of the season was the difference as the Moose took a 3-2 lead into the final period. Manitoba outshot Rockford 24-12 in the middle frame.

Manitoba defended its lead as the period slowly grew closer to the end. The IceHogs called Commesso to the bench with just over three minutes to play. With 55 seconds left, Malott grabbed the puck and skated it out of the zone before hitting the empty net for the insurance marker. The Moose captured the 4-2 home victory. Delia notched the victory, his first against his former club, on the strength of 31 saves. Commesso was hit with the loss and posted 33 stops of his own.

Quotable

Moose Forward Jeffrey Viel (Click for full interview)

“Just trying to keep it simple. Chip a puck, win a battle and got the puck to the blue line. I just went to the net and it hit me. It always feels great, so oibviously now I can get a few more."

Statbook

• Nikita Chibrikov has notched two points (1G, 1A) his past two games
• Dominic Toninato has tallied four points (1G, 3A) his past three games played
• Wyatt Bongiovanni has tallied three points (2G, 1A) his past two games
• Jeffrey Viel's goal was his first game-winning tally since the 2019-20 season
• Chaz Lucius has notched three points (1G, 3A) his past two contests
• Jeff Malott notched his fourth multi-point outing of the season

What's Next?

The Moose rematch with the Rockford IceHogs at Canada Life Centre on Sunday, Dec. 3. Puck drop for the RCMP 150 game is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. It's the RCMP 150 game and fans can look forward to recognizing the service Mounties provide our community and supporting the critical care provided by STARS in our province.

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.