Moose come up short in AHL season opener

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/10/2023 (814 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There will be encouraging highs and equally trying lows along the way for this young Manitoba Moose squad.

The club’s first bout featured a bit of both, with the Moose peaking early on the strength of two opening-period goals before watching their lead evaporate — and become a deficit — over the remaining 40 minutes.

The Winnipeg Jets’ American Hockey League affiliate opened their 2023-24 campaign with a 4-2 loss at the hands of the visiting Calgary Wranglers at the downtown rink on Friday.

Nikita Chibrikov and Brad Lambert found the back of the net to spur a hot start for the hosts. Jeremie Poirier, Cole Schwindt, Adam Klapka and Clark Bishop answered for the Wranglers, who paired their goals in short spans on this night.

Perhaps the opening tilt was no more trying for any player than goaltender Oskari Salminen who allowed four goals on 21 shots in the loss. It looked as though it might be one of those nights for reigning AHL goaltender of the year, Dustin Wolf.

Chibrikov struck first, though it may end up being one of the easiest goals he’ll ever score. Just as the game passed the 60-second mark, Chibrikov floated a soft dump into the Wranglers zone. A jump, skip and a hop fooled Wolf, as the puck slid through the wickets to give the hosts an early advantage.

Wolf ended with 28 saves in the win.

The Moose’s highly-touted prospects showed their speed and talent right from the jump, drawing a pair of penalties and owning an 8-0 shot advantage in the first 10 minutes.

The hosts intensified the pressure as as the period wore on and were awarded their second of three power plays on the night, as a result. The Moose converted on this opportunity, as a sweet tic-tac-toe play started by Daniel Torgersson and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby was finished by a wide-open Brad Lambert, who was waiting near the top of the face-off circle and ripped a quick wrister under Wolf’s glove hand to double the lead.

The blistering start to the season would end there, though. The Moose couldn’t find the same magic coming out of the intermission.

Meanwhile, the Wranglers improved their play in the middle stanza and came on late with a pair of goals. The first came off the stick of Poirier, who fired a worm burner that navigated a pair of skates and found its way under Salminen’s pad.

A too-many-men penalty later sent the visitors to the power play in the dying seconds of the frame. The Wranglers won the ensuing draw and the puck found Schwindt, who kicked a pass back to his stick before snapping a quick shot over Salminen’s near shoulder to knot things with five seconds left.

The game-winning goal came early in the final act, shortly after the third Moose penalty expired when Klapka had an open look at the top of the circle and beat Salminen under his blocker — another one he would’ve liked to have back.

The Moose will try to find the winning path when they wrap up a two-game mini-series with the Wranglers on Sunday (2 p.m.).

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam