Moose Recap: Manitoba 6 vs. Rockford 2

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Quick Hits

• Jeff Malott notched a career-high three assists in the win
• Five different Moose skaters tallied multi-point outings
• Arvid Holm notched 24 saves and the home victory

Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (34-19-5-4) rematched with the Rockford IceHogs (30-24-5-4) on Friday evening at Canada Life Centre. Manitoba was coming off a 4-3 shootout loss against Rockford on Wednesday evening.

Manitoba opened the scoring 32 seconds into the contest. A stretch of Moose pressure allowed Leon Gawanke to skate off the wing and fire a hard shot from the dot that eluded Arvid Soderblom. Manitoba kept rolling at the 3:01 mark of the first. Dominic Toninato backhanded the puck to Jeff Malott, who one-touched it to Alex Limoges to finish the play. Manitoba added a third goal with five minutes left in the period when Dean Stewart fed Greg Meireles, who jumped into the high slot with speed, and beat Soderblom with a tight backhand. Manitoba quickly potted another, as Daniel Torgersson crashed the crease and tapped home the rebound after a scramble in front. Manitoba took a 4-0 lead into the first intermission and was ahead 18-5 in shots.

Rockford began the second with a different goaltender between the pipes, as Jaxson Stauber entered in relief of Soderblom. Manitoba potted a goal 54 seconds into the middle frame. Kristian Reichel stole the puck and sprung Jansen Harkins, who streaked in on a breakaway and beat Stauber with a quick release. Rockford cut into the Moose lead with a power play tally from Luke Philp after a pair of cross-ice passes. The IceHogs found twine once again with 4:38 to go, as Isaak Phillips took off down the ice, held off a Moose defender and beat Holm with a deke to the forehand. The Moose outshot the Icehogs 9-8 in the middle stanza, and led 5-2 after 40 minutes of play.

Manitoba found twine early in the third. With the Moose on the power play, Dominic Toninato burned past a Rockford skater before sending the puck to Limoges, who whipped a shot past Stauber for his second of the contest. That was the only tally of the period, as the horn sounded to draw the Friday night contest to a close. Holm ended with the home victory and finished the game with 24 stops, while Soderblom was hit with the loss and claimed 14 saves on the evening.

Quotable

Moose Forward Jeff Malott (Click for full interview)

“A big focus for us today was trying to emulate a playoff game and come in with a lot of intensity. We tried to do the things that kinda kick in during playoff time. Physicality, intensity and 200-foot play. Making smart plays and being responsible is what led us to a good start."

Statbook

• Leon Gawanke has seven points (1G, 6A) his past five games
• Alex Limoges has tallied four points (2G, 2A) his past four contests
• Jeff Malott (3A) recorded his second three-point game of the season
• Dean Stewart (2A) notched his second two-point game of the season
• Jansen Harkins has recorded eight points (6G, 2A) his past five contests
• Harkins is riding a five-game goal streak

What's Next?

The Moose host the Laval Rocket at Canada Life Centre on Sunday, March 26. Puck drop is slated for 2 p.m. CT for the Celebrating Women in Sports Game. Tickets to all upcoming Moose home games are available at MooseHockey.com/TICKETS.

You can catch the game on CJOB.com/sports the new Winnipeg Jets App or AHLTV.