Appleton Spearheads Moose win over San Antonio
October 21, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release
The Manitoba Moose (3-3-0-0) hosted the San Antonio Rampage (1-5-0-0) at Bell MTS Place for a matinee dust-up on Sunday. Mason Appleton opened the scoring just 1:32 into the contest by sneaking a shot past Ville Husso from below the goal line. The lead was short-lived as Rampage defenceman Sam Lofquist's shot redirected off a defender and into the Moose goal to tie the game just two minutes later. That was all the scoring the teams could manage with the goaltenders shutting things down from there. Eric Comrie made 12 saves in the period, while Husso turned away 13 as the teams went to the intermission in a 1-1. tie.
The middle frame opened with the Rampage taking a 2-1 lead on a power play goal from Mitch Reinke 51 seconds into the period. The visitors held the lead until the 5:20 mark when C.J. Suess finished off a pretty setup from Kristian Vesalainen and Appleton on the power play to tie the game 2-2. Seth Griffith added to the Manitoba lead with a breakaway tally after being set free by a stretch feed from Peter Stoykewych. The barrage continued with Appleton notching his second of the game on slick tap-pass from Emile Poirier for a 4-2 lead at 11:52. The two connected again when Appleton sprung Poirier, who sniped his first with the Moose to leave the score at 5-2 after 40 minutes.
San Antonio crept closer on the scoreboard midway through the third courtesy of Nikita Soshnikov who blasted a one-timer by Comrie on the power play. Any comeback hopes were quickly put to bed when Mason Appleton finished off his hat trick, converting on a nifty drop pass from Vesalainen. Appleton's five-point night led the way in a 6-3 Moose victory.
Quick Hits
Mason Appleton is the 10th player in franchise history to record a five-point game, and just the third to tally three goals and two assists
Kristian Vesalainen tallied three assists for his first North American pro multi-point game
C.J. Suess' fifth goal of the season ties him for the lead among AHL rookies
Jansen Harkins recorded his first professional multi-assist game with two helpers
Quotable
Forward Mason Appleton on when he scored his last hat-trick - "First hat trick in a long time. I can't remember when the last one was, but it felt good. It felt good to get the win too."
Head Coach Pascal Vincent on how the Moose generate offence - "I think the way we're going to score are goals is going to be different then how we did last year. The goals we're going to score is driving the net, going to the net, first touch on the rebounds, and more like a playoff type of goals you're going to see. It's not necessarily going to be pretty."
Linked Up
Game Summary: https://mbmoo.se/2EBAS0f
Highlights and Post-Game Coverage: moosehockey.com/moosetv
Photo Gallery: https://mbmoo.se/2ySbAEJ
What's Next?
The Moose hit the road next weekend for games in Milwaukee and Rockford. Tune into the games on the Moose App, at moosehockey.com/listenlive or TSN 1290 (Oct. 30) starting 15 minutes before puck drop.
American Hockey League Stories from October 21, 2018
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