WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Moose (2-3-0-0) hosted the San Antonio Rampage (1-4-0-0) at Bell MTS Place for the first time as Central Division rivals. Eric Comrie was busy in the opening period, facing 18 San Antonio shots in the frame. Manitoba opened the scoring at the 9:35 mark of the frame as JC Lipon tucked in his first of the season off a Sami Niku rebound. The Rampage tied the game with 91 seconds left in the period when Brandon, Man.’s Tanner Kaspick netted his first professional goal courtesy 
of a ricochet in front. The teams broke for the first intermission knotted at 1-1.
The second period saw Comrie continue to provide the Moose a solid backing. The former second round pick made 11 more saves in the frame to bring his total to 28 through 40 minutes. The Moose penalty kill got some work in the middle period, turning away the Rampage three times to keep the score tied. The Moose power play got to work once, coming close on good looks from Kristian Vesalainen and C.J. Suess, but couldn’t solve Ville Husso. The 1-1 score held until the horn as the teams went to the third in a deadlock.
The third period saw the Moose finally break the game open. Tucker Poolman used the extra ice on a power play to dish the puck to Jansen Harkins who wired a shot by Husso for a 2-1 lead with eight minutes to go. Just 1:36 after the Harkins tally, Seth Griffith and Vesalainen combined to send C.J. Suess in on a breakaway. Manitoba’s leading goal-scorer treated fans to a slick backhand finish to give the Moose some breathing room. JC Lipon added his second of the night into an empty net to seal a 4-1 Moose victory.
Quick Hits
- Peter Stoykewych played his 200th career AHL game.
- Kristian Vesalainen registered his first AHL point with an assist.
- C.J. Suess has goals in back-to-back games with three tallies.
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