Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (8-4-0-0) had a historic night in Rockford on Friday, taking down the IceHogs (3-6-0-0) by a 6-3 scoreline at BMO Center. They were coming off a 3-0 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday.

The Moose started the contest on the front foot. They sent 15 shots toward Stanislav Berezhnoy, including four inside the first two minutes. Chase Yoder broke the deadlock at 7:53, spinning a backhander inside the far post. Noah Gregor added to the Moose tally just over three minutes later. He got on his horse to maneuver around an IceHogs defender, and directed the puck towards goal, where it trickled past Berezhnoy for a 2-0 lead. Nick Lardis cut the lead to 2-1 at 15:14, finishing off a nice passing play into the wide-open cage. Thomas Milic stopped the other four shots he saw in the frame.

The IceHogs tied the game 47 seconds into the second. Dawson Barteaux blocked a shot in the slot, but with Rockford on a two-man advantage, the puck skipped right back to Gavin Hayes in front. He made no mistake, finishing past Milic. The Moose goaltender was otherwise rock solid in the frame, stopping 15 shots, while Berehznoy turned aside the other nine shots sent his way. Manitoba was called for four minor penalties in the frame.

Brayden Yager started the third in style for the Moose. He picked off a pass at centre ice, and rushed in on a shorthanded breakaway against Berehznoy, tallying his seventh goal of the season to give Manitoba a 3-2 lead. Former Moose Dylan Anhorn tied the game at 8:59, blasting a shot home right off the faceoff. The Moose took over from there. Yoder made a nifty play to feed Davis Burnside, who drew a delayed penalty, but scored regardless, to put the Moose back in front. Isaak Phillips scored a crafty goal nearly three minutes later, going nearly end-to-end to pot Manitoba’s third shorthanded goal of the night. Phillips beat a defender and outwaited Berehznoy before sliding the puck into the open net. Danny Zhilkin tied an AHL record that has stood since 1988 with the Rockford net empty, flipping a shot the length of the ice to tally the team’s fourth shorthanded marker of the game. It was enough, with the Moose holding on for a 6-3 victory to close their six-game road swing.

Statbook

• Brayden Yager reclaimed the Moose lead in goals, scoring his seventh of the season
• Danny Zhilkin recorded his fifth multi-point game of the season (1G, 1A)
• Noah Gregor led all skaters with six shots on goal
• Isaak Phillips was a game-high plus-four
• Jack Matier owned a plus-three rating in his Moose debut
• Seven players recorded at least a point for the Moose

Quotable

Moose defenceman Isaak Phillips (click for full interview)
“I thought we started really well, obviously it’s a bit of a wacky game with all the penalties and stuff, but we handled it well and did our jobs at the end of the day.”

What’s Coming Up

The Moose are back at Canada Life Centre on Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. when they host the Toronto Marlies. The Friday Moosic Series is back, featuring the 12/21 performing as Green Day. Get your tickets and find promotion information at moosehockey.com/tickets.

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CDT. Coverage starts at 6:45 p.m. CDT on CJOB.com, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV on FloHockey.