Recap: Manitoba 2 at Abbotsford 5

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Quick Hits

• John Stevens recorded four points (2G, 2A) in the win
• Mikey Eyssimont and Matt Alfaro scored for the Moose
• Michael DiPietro registered 19 saves in the victory

Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (25-14-2-1) faced off against the Abbotsford Canucks (19-15-3-1) for a Saturday evening rematch at Abbotsford Centre. The Moose were coming off an 8-2 loss against the Canucks the previous night.

Abbotsford opened the scoring in the first period. With the Canucks on the attack, Jack Rathbone grabbed the puck at the point. The defenceman fired a shot on net through traffic that eluded Arvid Holm and gave the Canucks the 1-0 lead. Abbotsford added to their lead with a tally from John Stevens. The forward got in behind the Moose defence and sent a rebound past Holm for the 2-0 Canucks lead. The Moose put a furious push together in the final moments of the frame, but were unable to beat Micheal DiPietro. Holm ended the frame with three saves through 20 minutes while DiPietro made seven stops of his own.

The second period saw the Canucks come out and add to their lead. Chase Wouters streaked in on a two-on-one and picked the top corner to make it 3-0. The Moose fired back and got on the board with a goal of their own. Matt Alfaro worked a give-and-go with Jimmy Oligny before finishing the move with his third of the season. Abbotsford restored their three-goal lead with the second of the game from Stevens with under five to play in the middle frame. The Canucks outshot the Moose 9-8 in the second and held a 4-1 edge at the conclusion of the middle frame.

The Moose cut into the Canucks lead in the third with a power play marker in the first five minutes. Dean Stewart fired a bullet from the point six seconds into the man advantage and Mikey Eyssimont tipped it home to cut the lead to 4-2. Manitoba pressed late and pulled Holm in favour of the extra attacker. Despite mounting a convincing push, the Canucks got the puck and Phil Di Giuseppe hit the empty net to ice the game 5-2. Holm finished the contest with 14 saves in the loss while DiPietro ended his night with 19 stops and the victory.

Quotable

Moose Forward Todd Burgess (Click for full interview)

"I think we just had a tough start like last night. We were with them the entire game. We were getting shots, we were making plays. Ultimately we didn’t come out on top."

Statbook

• Matt Alfaro has scored two goals his last three games
• Jimmy Oligny has assists in two straight games
• Cole Maier has recorded assists in consecutive games
• The Moose have scored a power play goal in six of their last seven games
• Greg Meireles has assists in back-to-back games and leads the Moose with 18 this season

What's Next?

The Moose welcome the Milwaukee Admirals to Canada Life Centre on Sunday, Feb. 20. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. You can catch the game on CJOB.com/sports, the Manitoba Moose App and AHLTV.

Single-game tickets for the 2021-22 season are available at MooseHockey.com/TICKETS. Visit MooseHockey.com/PACKAGES for more information on the benefits of being a Manitoba Moose Seat Holder.