Manitoba Moose pick up single point but are now winless in 5 straight

WINNIPEG – It was a much better showing by the Manitoba Moose but it once again ended with a loss.

The Rockford IceHogs beat the Manitoba Moose for a second straight night as the Moose settled for a single point in a 1-0 shootout loss. The Moose had the better scoring chances and ended up outshooting Rockford 35-27.

“Execution was much better.” said head coach Pascal Vincent. “Same story. This is not magic or anything. It’s making sure you break out properly, support the puck and manage the puck. There was a five minute block in the second period where we got away from our game, and they had pretty good scoring chances from those own mistakes. But other than that we played a solid team game.”

Manitoba is now winless in five straight games overall and they’re without a victory on home ice in their last four consecutive starts.

After the two teams combined for seven goals the night before, Moose goalie Eric Comrie and IceHogs netminder Lars Johansson put on a goaltending clinic as they stopped every single shot thrown their way. Making an eighth consecutive start in goal, Comrie made 26 stops for the shutout. But his second clean sheet of the season came in a losing cause as Johansson made 35 saves.

“I thought we played a really good game.” said Comrie. “I thought we were really solid tonight. It was unfortunate we couldn’t get the win but I thought our team played the right way tonight.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I thought we played a really good game." said Comrie. "I thought we were really solid tonight. It was unfortunate we couldn't get the win but I thought our team played the right way tonight."

It was a bounce back game for Comrie who surrendered four goals on Tuesday, but he was playing a little under the weather.

“Yesterday I felt a little bit off.” Comrie said. “I was actually really, really sick yesterday. I didn’t have any energy, so I felt better tonight.”

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Spencer Abbott scored the only goal of the shootout on the IceHogs’ first attempt. Kyle Connor, Dan DeSalvo and Jack Roslovic were all stopped by Johansson in the shootout. But Connor supplied several grade-A scoring chances throughout the game.

“I thought that was his best game of the year so far.” Vincent said. “He was on the puck, he was fighting to get the pucks back, he was driving the net, he was using his skills properly.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I thought that was his best game of the year so far." Vincent said. "He was on the puck, he was fighting to get the pucks back, he was driving the net, he was using his skills properly."

Brandon Tanev and Julian Melchiori were both in the lineup after being re-assigned by the Winnipeg Jets earlier on Wednesday. Scott Kosmachuk was a healthy scratch for Manitoba. The Moose continue their four game homestand on Saturday with the first of back to back games against the San Antonio Rampage.

WATCH: Highlights of Moose 1-0 shootout loss to IceHogs

1:27 HIGHLIGHTS: IceHogs vs Moose – Feb. 22

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