Lowry had hand in Moose win hours after demotion from Jets

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This article was published 16/12/2015 (3612 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Adam Lowry called it a shocking day, but he ended it on a good note, contributing an assist and a game that was better as each minute ticked by in the Manitoba Moose’s 5-1 triumph over the San Antonio Rampage at the MTS Centre.

When he arrived at the rink Wednesday morning, he found out he was being sent to the AHL’s Moose after posting just one goal and seven assists in 31 games this NHL season.

He had been skating on the Winnipeg Jets’ fourth line in recent games and found himself with two offensive-minded players Wednesday night, Scott Kosmachuk and Joel Armia.

The trio clicked for a third-period goal by Kosmachuk.

“I’m just trying to get back to the player I was last year,” Lowry said after the even game with four shots on goal. “Last year, in the playoffs especially, I was able to be an impact player for the Jets. That hasn’t always been the case this year. It’s been a bit of a maturation process and one that hasn’t gone as smoothly as I hoped.

“I’m down here and I’m going to try to find my game and chip in as much as I can.”

Lowry said the day was a tough one, and not just to play on back-to-back nights. “I think it’s tough,” he said. “With the way my play’s been all year, I can’t say it’s a huge surprise. Obviously it catches you a bit off guard when it does happen, but I’m here and I’m going to try to make the best of it.

“It was a tough morning, finding out you’re going back to the AHL. But it was nice to come in here and into a winning environment tonight.

“Obviously it’s a bit of a shock. You go through 100-something straight games in the NHL and it catches you a bit off guard, but the way I’ve been playing, it’s important for me to come in and regain some of that confidence and style of play I was playing with the second half of last year.”

Moose coach Keith McCambridge was more than pleased with what Lowry brought for the Moose in Wednesday’s win.

“I thought Adam was really good,” McCambridge said. “He came in, I had a chance to meet with him before the game, and I have a history with the player for quite some time in St. John’s.

“Adam’s a bright, young man with a bright future ahead of him. This will be a blip when he heads down the road in his career with what’s taken place here.

“It’s a chance for him to play lots of minutes and get a feel for the game again. Real positive. I thought he was excellent tonight.”

McCambridge said the history was an important element to the pre-game conversation.

“The biggest thing was giving him a pat on the back… and saying, ‘It’s OK. It’s going to be all right,’ ” he said. “We’ve seen this in the past. This happens. Guys get sent down. It’s about finding his game… just getting the consistency back to where it’s been before.

“And you have to enjoy this time here as well. At the AHL level, there’s a little bit less pressure.”

All of that seemed to be the good-cop routine, while Jets coach Paul Maurice was somewhat gruff about the demotion earlier in the day.

“Play some hockey games,” Maurice said earlier in the day. “Not sure how many of those he’ll end up playing but to get back into a higher rep, touch more pucks, get hit feet moving, get his game back.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca