Moose hit the road down 2-0

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This article was published 05/05/2018 (2771 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Perhaps the Manitoba Moose have the Rockford IceHogs right where they want them.

A strange statement, for sure, considering the Moose lost 4-1 at Bell MTS Place Saturday afternoon before 3,955 fans to dig themselves a big hole in their best-of-seven series, after dropping Game 1 Friday night by a 4-2 score.

But Manitoba has struggled on home ice while excelling on the road. And so while there was plenty of disappointment following the latest defeat, there was also a sense of opportunity and even confidence sprinkled into the post-game comments with the next three set for Rockford

“It sucks right now, you’re down 2-0 in a series. But go into Rockford, win a game, things change,” said forward J.C. Lipon. “We’re comfortable. At the end of the day everyone just has to show up and do their job, and we’ll win the hockey game.”

Manitoba did plenty of things right Saturday, including getting the first goal and out-shooting Rockford by a 34-22 count by the final buzzer. But a strong performance by IceHogs goalie Collin Delia, plus some bad puck luck around the net, made for a disappointing defeat.

“A few minor mistakes, but we created much more offence and played a much better hockey game. We just didn’t get the result we were looking for,” said forward Brendan Lemieux, who put the Moose ahead 1-0 with his goal late in the first period.

It was a highlight-reel tally, with all five Manitoba players on the ice touching the puck. Lemieux made a great play to keep the puck in the Rockford zone, getting it back to defenceman Sami Niku who walked the blue-line and dished to Patrice Cormier. The captain then fed Nic Petan, who feathered a perfect pass to Lemieux for the re-direction over Delia and his team-leading third of the playoffs.

Rockford got it back with 1:22 left in the opening frame. Goalie Eric Comrie couldn’t corral a rebound, and Tyler Sikura was able to get a stick on the loose puck.

Manitoba carried the play for much of the second period, outshooting Rockford 14-6 in that span. Yet the IceHogs got the only two goals of the frame.

With Peter Stoykewych in the box for tripping, veteran Chris DiDomenico was given all kinds of time and space to skate into the slot and beat Comrie through a screen on the power play.

Lemieux nearly tied it during a mad scramble around the IceHogs net but the puck somehow stayed out.

“We were getting it to his crease. It would have been nice to get one of those bounces. It’s tough in the playoffs when you get down. We just didn’t have the jam,” said Lipon.

With just under four minutes to play, defenceman Carl Dahlstrom wired a shot through the point that went through a maze of traffic and beat Comrie

“The second period was probably our best period so far in this series. We had some good chances, good looks,” said coach Pascal Vincent.

And things went from bad to worse for the Moose, as Niku was taken hard into the boards with a clean hit and appeared to suffer an arm or shoulder injury. He went immediately to the dressing room and didn’t return to action. Coach Pascal Vincent didn’t have an update on the severity following the game.

They certainly could have used the AHL defenceman of the year as they enjoyed a couple power plays of their own in the third period, minus their quarterback. There were a handful of close chances but Delia shut the door the rest of the way.

“Sami’s a huge part of the team and a huge part of the power play. But this is playoff hockey, and the next guy has to step up. Everybody’s got to do their job. There’s no excuse for our power play not scoring,” said defenceman Cameron Schilling.

Andreas Martinsen scored into an empty-net with nine seconds left to round out the scoring.

“That’s kind of the thing of playoff hockey. Sometimes you play really well and you might deserve a game, but you don’t win it. I think it’s important for us to know that was a good game for us, we played hard, we had our chances, we just have to capitalize on those chances. If we stick to our system we can definitely win these games,” said Schilling.

Rockford has more than 1,500 games of NHL experience on their roster, courtesy of several late-season demotions by the Chicago Blackhawks. The Moose, meanwhile, are one of the youngest and most inexperienced lineups in the AHL.

“My point of view is this. Our guys want to make it to the NHL. We’re facing a team that is as close as it can be in our league to an NHL team. It’s a good time to prove that you can play against a good experienced team,” said Vincent. “It’s a great opportunity for our guys to showcase themselves and show us that they can play at that level.”

Game 3 is set for Wednesday. Manitoba was just 17-17-4 during the regular-season at home and are 1-3 in the playoffs. The Moose went 25-9-4 on the road during the year, and are 2-1 in the playoffs.

“We’re going in there with the mindset that every game is ours to win. We love playing on the road, we’re confident on the road. It’s exciting,” said Lemieux.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg