WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Moose (8-5-1-1) are back home after a six-game road trip which concluded with a 4-1 loss to San Jose Barracuda, ending a four game winning streak. Chicago has dropped three straight including a 3-2 loss in Milwaukee on Sunday.
The Wolves opened the scoring just 1:16 in on a nifty 2 on 1 with Stefan Matteau burying the perfect feed from Paul Thompson past Michael Hutchinson – exactly how you want to start a road game if you’re a Wolves fan. The Moose seemed to be shaking off some road rust allowing Chicago to carry the play for a good portion of the opening frame. The Moose persisted however and were rewarded with Peter Stoykewych redirecting a JC Lipon shot to beat Chicago keeper Kasimir Kaskisuo and even the contest at 1-1. Chase de Leo picked up the other assist at the 16:46 mark. The Wolves outshot the Moose 14-7 and actually deserved a better outcome than a 1-1 tie.
The Moose came out with a bit more jump to start the middle stanza and took advantage of some generous coverage from Wolves d-man Jason Garrison. Brendan Lemieux sniped a beauty over the glove hand of Kaskisuo to give the home side their first lead of the contest. Buddy Robinson with the helper at the 2:40 mark. The middle part of the period was frantic at best and sloppy at worst with both teams committing atrocious errors and giveaways. Chicago evened things up with Stefan Matteau’s second of the game with a shot that snuck through the pads of Hutchinson. TJ Tynan and Jake Walman with the helpers at 15:23. The period ended with the Wolves continuing to outshoot the Moose 28-19.
The third period was a back and forth affair with each team getting opportunities but the difference came down to goaltending. Michael Hutchinson stole the show with at least two massive stops on Wolves’ attacks. The Moose were the ones to finally capitalize on the power play as Mason Appleton tipped in a point shot from Cam Schilling to grab the lead for the home team. Chicago pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker in the final two minutes but the Moose weathered the storm to take the win. Final shots were 44-31 in favor of the visitors. These same teams meet in a rematch Friday night at Bell MTS Place.
You must be logged in to post a comment.