Moose Earn Split With Wild After Best Offensive Showing of the Season – The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

The Manitoba Moose earned a split against the Iowa Wild in a two-game weekend series against their division rival. After dropping the opening game on Feb. 8, they rebounded well and put up their best offensive showing of the season the next day.

It was a tale of two games for the home squad, as the Moose showed what has plagued them all season, while also giving fans a glimpse of what they’re capable of when they’re firing on all cylinders.

Moose Drop Game 1, but Rebound Well in Game 2

Game 1, Feb. 8, 2025: IA 3 – 1 MB

There was no offense to be found for the Moose in Saturday’s game, as it looked like a complete struggle for them to execute any of their chances. On the flip side, it looked as if the Wild were just waiting for one mistake to take advantage, and a couple of bounces went their way and helped them to a 3-1 win over the Moose.

The Wild opened the scoring late in the first period when Moose defender Ashton Sautner gave the puck away just inside their blue line, leading to a grade-A chance for Wild forward Caedan Bankier. He made no mistake, beating Moose netminder Domenic DiVincentiis to make it 1-0.

Early in the second, the Wild added to their lead on the power play, making it 2-0 on a goal from Brendan Gaunce. A Ben Jones shot deflected off of Gaunce near the crease and found its way past DiVincentiis.

The Wild sealed their victory with an empty net goal by Travis Boyd to make it 3-0. It was Boyd’s second point of the afternoon. Bankier and Jones also recorded a pair of points in the game.

The Moose ended the shutout bid by Wild netminder Samuel Hlavaj, thanks to Hlavaj himself. With the game seemingly won for Iowa, Hlavaj attempted a shot on the Moose empty net and managed to shoot it right off Moose captain Dominic Toninato and into the net to make it 3-1, standing as the final score.

Game 2, Feb. 9, 2025: IA 2 – 7 MB

It can’t be overstated how much better the execution was in the Feb. 9 game, as the Moose seemingly righted the wrongs from the day before, winning 7-2 over the Wild. After scoring just one goal on Feb. 8 on a fluke bounce, the Moose made the most of all of their chances a day later to put up the most goals they’ve scored in a game all season.

The Moose got on the board first in the second game, with Dylan Coghlan jumping on a loose puck to make it 1-0. The goal came on the power play and was directly caused by a great net drive by Brad Lambert.

Just 17 seconds later, however, the Wild tied things up on an impressive goal by Wild forward Hunter Haight. He walked in with a great move and beat Moose netminder Kaapo Kahkonen to make it 1-1.

Late in the first, the Moose found another gear and added to their lead on Coghlan’s second of the game. He blasted one from the point, beating Hlavaj to make it 2-1.

Just under two minutes later, Parker Ford‘s 12th of the season made it 3-1. It was the second power-play goal of the game for the Moose, which is a rarity. If that gets going, it helps a lot of what they struggle with offensively. This was also Ford’s first game back with the Moose after spending the last several games with the Winnipeg Jets, making his NHL debut and scoring his first NHL goal against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 30.

Related: Jets’ Big Third Period Leads to 6-2 Victory Over Bruins

The Wild got one back less than five minutes into the second, as Boyd deflected one past Kahkonen to make it 3-2. This came after some extended shifts from the Moose in the Wild zone, but were unable to score.

The Moose restored their two-goal lead just past the halfway point on a goal from Axel Jonsson-Fjallby to make it 4-2. Some hard work on the forecheck allowed Dawson Barteaux to chip a pass to Jonsson-Fjallby in front and he made no mistake.

Jonsson-Fjallby made it 5-2 on his second of the game, burying a centering pass from Lambert. That new-look third line was finding a lot of success after being put together as part of the lineup changes that were made after the 3-1 loss.

The Moose made it 6-2 on a goal by Mason Shaw and added to it shortly after, making it 7-2 on Ford’s second of the contest. After mustering just one goal on Feb. 8, this was a complete reversal of fortunes.

This was the first time since Oct. 12 that the Moose scored more than five goals in a game. Oddly enough, that game was also against the Wild, as they beat them 6-4 on the road.

Execution Wasn’t There, Says Morrison After Loss

When speaking to Moose head coach Mark Morrison after the game on Feb. 8, it was apparent that the team’s lack of execution was among the key frustrations after the 3-1 loss. There were plenty of chances for the Moose to create offense in the game, but they were unable to convert until the game was out of reach.

While the effort was there, the loss was found in the details and in special teams play. It would be easy to blame the loss on the time off for the All-Star Game, but Morrison was quick to shut that down.

“I know we’re coming back from the break, but there’s no real excuses there,” Morrison said. “I thought we should have been better with our execution, and execution on the power play. It’s something that needs to be fixed because it’s kind of been an issue for us throughout the year.”

The lack of power play success, as Morrison said, has plagued them all season. The Moose have been sitting at the bottom of the American Hockey League (AHL) in terms of power-play percentage for nearly the entire year, and there doesn’t appear to be any immediate solutions that have worked.

The biggest problem with that is the difficulty it causes the rest of the offense, as they now have to make up that difference at even strength. The issue with that, however, is that they are struggling in that aspect as well.

There were plenty of opportunities for the Moose to take advantage of, largely thanks to forced mistakes by defenders, but they didn’t generate much despite the opportunity. That’s what caught the eye of Morrison, as it was put in the player’s hands and the execution just wasn’t there.

“Some of the responsibility has to be put on them,” Morrison explained. “They need to execute. We had some odd-man rushes today that we didn’t generate any offense off of because of the execution.”

Finding Their Identity Again

The identity of this Moose team, which was discussed at length after their last homestand against the Grand Rapids Griffins, involves crashing the net to create offense on second chances. That was another aspect of the offensive effort that wasn’t there on Feb. 8.

I asked Morrison about the importance of that identity after that loss, and about how those chances seemed hard to come by.

“We didn’t execute, but when we did, I don’t disagree with you, we didn’t get any second opportunities, ” Morrison said. “Part of that is [Iowa] doing a good job clearing the net, and part of it is that we just have to be a little bit stronger and a little bit more determined to get those loose pucks.”

Well, the message was received, as the Moose had no issue executing on Feb. 9, putting up seven goals before the end of the second period. Their aggression on the forecheck and tenacity near the net paid off, and they looked like a completely different team.

I spoke with Lambert after he recorded three assists in the 7-2 win about getting to the net and reestablishing that identity, and the young forward emphasized how important it is to get to those loose pucks.

“I think the difference tonight was that we were getting those rebounds,” Lambert said. “[We were] just driving to the net and getting pucks and bodies there, and creating some chaos.”

Tough Task Ahead Against Division Leading Stars

The Moose continue their six-game homestand against the Central Division-leading Texas Stars this week, with a pair of games on Feb. 12 and Feb. 14. The Moose are winless against the Stars this season in four tries, being outscored 19-7.

In speaking with Moose assistant coach Morgan Klimchuk after the game, he thinks that if the Moose play as they did in the second game against the Wild, they can measure up against any team, even the high-powered Stars.

“[Texas] is hard to play against with the puck, they’re offensively gifted, and their special teams are good,” Kilimchuk explained. “Reflecting on what gave us success today, both special teams were good, five-on-five was consistent, honest hockey from our group. If you play that way, it doesn’t really matter who you’re playing, you’ll have success.”

Tough to argue with that, especially after seeing how well things clicked in that win for a full 60 minutes. That’s exactly what they’ll need if they’re to find any success against the Stars.