Moose cruise Wolves

The Manitoba Moose (38-29-5-2) cruised to a 4-1 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins (38-26-7-4) at Van Andel Arena on Friday night.  The first period was filled with opportunities for the teams to work on the power play.  The Moose took the first three penalties of the game, but Manitoba’s penalty killers shut down the Griffins in the first.  The Moose got their first power play late in the frame, and had a chance to work five-on-three, but weren’t able to cash in on the two-man advantage.  Manitoba carried 56 seconds of power play time into the second with the score tied 0-0.

The Moose continued to benefit from Griffins penalties as the club went back to a five-on-three advantage early in the second.  Mason Appleton cashed in on the chance, shoveling a loose puck over the line to open the scoring 41 seconds into the middle frame.  The Moose extended their lead at 3:36 of the period when Jansen Harkins took matters into his own hands.  After Michael Spacek and Cam Maclise combined on a slick breakout to get the play started, Harkins looped around the Grand Rapids zone, before cutting right into the slot and firing a shot past Harri Sateri.  The Moose were stingy in the period as Eric Comrie was forced to make just eight saves to keep the Moose ahead 2-0 heading to the third.

The Moose padded their lead early in the fame when Logan Stanley blasted a rocket past Sateri just 4:10 into the third. The rookie defender nearly made it a two-goal night on another blast, this one from the half-wall, but Sateri made the glove save.  The Moose got their fourth goal from Harkins as the winger settled the puck down in the faceoff circle then sniped just under the bar with 6:46 to go.  The Griffins broke up Comrie’s shutout bid with just 45 seconds remaining on a goal from Martin Frk as the Moose claimed a 4-1 victory.