Recap: Manitoba 2 at Laval 3
By: Anthony Fusco | Published: December 8th 2021
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Quick Hits
- Cayden Primeau recorded 39 saves for Laval in the win
- Jeff Malott and David Gustafsson scored in the loss
- The Moose fired 18 of their 41 shots in the third period
Game Story
The Manitoba Moose (13-7-1-0) faced off against the Laval Rocket (10-9-2-0) for the final contest of their three-game Canadian road swing. The Moose were coming off a 2-0 road win over the Senators the previous outing and had won four in a row.
The Rocket opened the scoring with less than a minute left in the first frame. Alex Belzile gained the Moose zone off the rush. The forward fired the shot through a body in front and the disc eluded Mikhail Berdin for the 1-0 lead. Berdin finished the first with seven saves on eight shots. Cayden Primeau was perfect for Laval and ended by smothering all 11 shots he faced.
The Moose struck first in the middle frame with a power play goal from Jeff Malott. Greg Meireles fired the shot from an angle and Primeau appeared to grab a hold of it. The puck then popped out and Malott was in the right spot to sweep it into the open net for the equalizer at the 5:20 mark of the second. Laval fired back with another goal late in the frame. With the Moose on the penalty kill, Mattias Norlinder fired a puck through traffic that beat Berdin for the 2-1 Rocket lead. Manitoba found themselves trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes of play with a 23-18 shots advantage.
Laval grabbed the first goal in the third on a two-on-one. Kevin Roy skated down the ice and finished off a pass from Brandon Gignac for the 3-1 lead at 5:42. A furious late push by the Moose led to a goal from David Gustafsson with 1:24 to go, but the Rocket held the line for the final minute. Manitoba’s four-game winning streak came to an end on the back of a 39-save win from Primeau. Final shots on goal saw the Moose finish ahead 41-26.
Statbook
- Jeff Malott, David Gustafsson, Cole Maier and Cole Perfetti are all tied for the Moose goal-scoring lead with six apiece
- The Moose power play has goals in back-to-back games
- Leon Gawanke is now tied with Ville Heinola for the Moose defence lead with 14 points (3G, 11A)
- Gawanke and Declan Chisholm each have points in back-to-back games
Quotable
Moose Forward Kristian Reichel (Link to Full Interview)
"They’re hard on the body. They skate and finish their checks. I think we have a good team to play with. We were just a little bit short. They scored one more goal than we did, that’s it. I think it was just a tough game for us. We have a Friday game against Grand Rapids and we need to regroup and be ready."
What's Next?
The Moose head home to Canada Life Centre for a Friday night date against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT. Tickets are available at MooseHockey.com/TICKETS.
