Recap: Moose 2 at Rockford 5

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Quick Hits

• Liam Malmquist made his professional debut with the Moose.
• Kevin Lombardi scored in his AHL debut with Rockford.
• Gavin Hayes recorded a goal and an assist for the IceHogs.

Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (23-36-2-3) fell 5-2 to the Rockford IceHogs (28-28-6-2) on Saturday night at BMO Center. The Moose were coming off a 2-1 win over the IceHogs the previous night.

Rockford opened the scoring two minutes into the game when Marcel Marcel broke in and launched a shot past Domenic DiVincentiis. There wasn't much in the way of opportunities either way until late in the period. Kevin Lombardi extended Rockford's lead when the winger stuffed his first AHL goal past the pad of DiVincentiis with two minutes left in the frame. The IceHogs carried the 2-0 lead into the break.

Another early strike from the IceHogs set the score to 3-0, courtesy of a Gavin Hayes shot just under the bar. The Moose responded in short order with a power play goal from Dominic Toninato, who finished off a slick feed from Mason Shaw. Rockford grabbed a 4-1 lead 5:21 into the period as Jalen Luypen finished off a rebound. Chris Driedger took over in the Manitoba net and made six saves the rest of the period. The early goals accounted for all the offence in the frame as the Moose went to the third trailing by three.

Cole Guttman gave the IceHogs a 5-1 lead midway through the third period. The Moose responded quickly once again, when Brad Lambert stole the puck with Drew Commesso out of the net and managed to squeeze it past the diving goalie. Manitoba was unable to pull any closer as the contest wrapped with a 5-2 final score. Driedger stopped 14 of 15 shots in relief, while Commesso saved 21 of 23 for the IceHogs win.

Quotable

Moose forward Liam Malmquist (click for full interview)

"It's awesome. (A pro debut) is the stuff you dream of and to get one (game) under your belt. It's such an honour to be out there and compete with those guys and seeing it first-hand is just really cool."

Statbook

• Brad Lambert (1G) has points in two straight games (1G, 1A)
• Reece Vitelli (1A) has points in two straight games (2A)
• The Moose played seven of their past nine games on the road, posting a 3-4-0-0 record away from Canada Life Centre.

What's Next?

The Moose open a six-game homestand Tuesday night against the Laval Rocket. Bring your poolside vibes for the Spring Break Game at 7 p.m. Tickets for upcoming Moose games are available at moosehockey.com/tickets.

You can catch the game on CJOB.com, the Winnipeg Jets App or AHLTV on FloHockey.