WINNIPEG, Manitoba—The Rockford IceHogs topped the Manitoba Moose 4-1 on Sunday evening at Canada Life Centre and improved to four consecutive wins on the back of two power-play goals from Brett Seney and Joey Anderson.
Despite Manitoba pulling their goaltender in favor of the extra skater at 14:30, rookie goalie Drew Commesso was perfect in the third frame amidst a flurry of Moose shots in the closing minutes, recording 26 saves on 27 shots and improving his record to 3-1-0-0.
Rockford’s strength on special teams continued with power-play strikes from Brett Seney and Joey Anderson. The Hogs were also a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill against a Manitoba specialty unit that ranked third in the AHL entering the game.
Just two minutes into the first period and making his 2023-24 season debut, Andrew Perrott found the back of the net through Michal Teply’s screen with a wrister from the right point to take an early 1-0 lead (2:06). Rookie Colton Dach recorded his first professional point on the play, angling a pass from the goal line to Perrott for his first career AHL assist.
Rockford’s power-play unit continued to prove its deadliness after Moose defenseman Dean Stewart’s tripping minor allowed David Gust and Brett Seney to connect later in the frame. With Gust’s shot loose in the crease, Seney laid out and flicked a diving shot over the glove of Manitoba netminder Oskari Salminen and extended the IceHogs’ lead to 2-0 (13:25).
The heavy-hitting introductory period featured two fights and 28 combined penalty minutes between the division rivals, including a pair of tilts between Perrott and Jeffry Viel (16:56) and Brandon Baddock and Tyrel Bauer (18:12) to conclude the frame.
Cutting the lead to 2-1, Manitoba struck early to start the second stanza. After Commesso made a pad save to deny Kristian Reichel, forward Daniel Torgersson cleaned up the loose puck in the crease (3:08).
Going on their second man advantage of the contest after a hooking minor against Moose center Nicholas Jones, Rockford’s leading scorer Joey Anderson poked a pass from Seney over Salminen’s shoulder from the edge of the paint to give the Hogs a 3-1 lead (8:30).
Rookie Antti Saarela extended the IceHogs’ lead to 4-1 in the final frame with his first career AHL goal (2:27). After carrying the puck through the right circle, the forward sharply pivoted on the right point and ripped a shot past Salminen’s glove side unassisted for his first professional point.
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