Fagemo fires two goals as the Moose return from break with dominant offensive force, silencing the Wranglers 5-1.
The Winnipeg Jets may be idle until Feb. 25, but hockey action returned to Manitoba on Saturday as their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, opened play after the break with an afternoon matinee against the Calgary Wranglers.
Entering the layoff, Manitoba had won just two of its previous six games. One of those victories, however, was an eye opener against the league leading Grand Rapids Griffins. Looking to build on that momentum and start strong out of the break, the Moose did exactly that.
Manitoba exploded for three first period goals to seize early control. Samuel Fagemo opened the scoring with his 12th goal of the season, continuing his steady offensive production. Jets prospects Danny Zhilkin and Brayden Yager also found the back of the net, giving the Moose a commanding 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. Fagemo stayed hot in the second period, striking again for his second goal of the game and 13th of the season to extend the advantage to 4-0.
The Wranglers finally broke through in the third period when former hardest shot competition winner Martin Frk beat Manitoba netminder Thomas Milic. Any thought of a comeback was quickly erased when Walker Duehr restored the four goal cushion with a shorthanded marker, making it 5-1 with plenty of time remaining. That would stand as the final score, as the Moose closed out an impressive 5-1 victory.
Goaltending has been one of Manitoba’s biggest strengths this season, thanks to the young tandem of Milic and Domenic DiVincentiis. Milic earned the start Saturday after representing the team at the AHL All-Star Classic earlier in the week and delivered another strong performance. He turned aside 23 of 24 shots, including a pair of highlight reel saves, to improve his record to 11-6-2 on the season.
Through 20 appearances, Milic now holds a 2.36 goals against average and a .909 save percentage, continuing to provide stability between the pipes.
The Moose will look to keep rolling on Monday when they host Calgary again in another afternoon matchup as part of the club’s Family Day celebration.
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