Recap: Manitoba 3 at Rockford 5

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Quick Hits

• Nicholas Jones scored twice in the loss
• Arvid Soderblom registered 37 saves in the victory for Rockford
• Brett Connolly recorded three points (2G, 1A) in the Rockford win

Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (33-18-3-2) tangled with the Rockford IceHogs (27-23-3-1) Wednesday night at BMO Harris Bank Centre. The Moose were coming off a 3-2 shootout win against Iowa on March 20.

Rockford found the back of the net with less than two minutes left in the game’s opening period. A puck at the offensive blueline was hopping and Rockford took advantage and countered down the ice. Andrei Altybarmakian collected a pass from Michal Teply and made a slick move to beat Arvid Holm for the late 1-0 lead. Arvid Soderblom was excellent for the IceHogs and saved all 14 shots he faced in the opening period. Manitoba trailed 1-0 after the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Moose tied the contest off the rush in the second. Bobby Lynch sped into the zone and dropped the puck to Nicholas Jones. The forward fired the disc along the ice and beat Soderblom low to tie the game 1-1 three minutes into the period. Rockford reclaimed their lead with a tally from Brett Connolly at the seven-minute mark. The forward snuck behind the Moose defence and beat Holm on the breakaway for a 2-1 lead. Rockford pushed their lead ahead to 3-1 with a power play goal from Connolly with seven minutes left in the middle frame. Manitoba outshot Rockford 12-7 in the second, but trailed 3-1 after 40 minutes of play.

Manitoba cut into the Rockford lead early in the third with a tally from Mikey Eyssimont. The forward make a quick move and slipped the puck past Soderblom to pull the Moose within one. Rockford reclaimed its two-goal lead with a four-on-four tally from Lukas Reichel. With time dwindling, the Moose pulled Holm in favour of the extra attacker. After a bout of Moose pressure, Josiah Slavin grabbed the puck and hit the empty net to make it 5-2. Undeterred, the Moose received a second tally from Jones after a scramble in front. That would be all the offence for the night, as the horn sounded with Rockford skating away with a 5-3 victory. Soderblom recorded 37 saves and the win for the IceHogs.

Quotable

Moose Forward Nicholas Jones (Click for full interview)

"We got a bunch of shots, got a bunch of chances. We gave up some grade-A chances and they were able to capitalize. We gave them those grade-A chances. We weren't as sharp as we needed to be out there."

Statbook

• Mikey Eyssimont recorded his 13th goal and 29th point of the season. Both represent new career highs for the forward
• Eyssimont has scored in three consecutive contests
• Nicholas Jones recorded two goals and a new career high of 21 points in the loss
• Simon Lundmark points in three straight games with three points (1G, 2A)
• Morgan Barron and Markus Phillips made their Moose debuts
• Phillips recorded an assist for his first Moose point

What's Next?

The Moose road trip continues as they head to Chicago to clash with the Wolves on Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. You can catch the game on CJOB.com/sports, the Manitoba Moose App and AHLTV.

Tickets for all upcoming Moose home games are available at MooseHockey.com/TICKETS.