by Anthony Fusco | AHL On The Beat
The Manitoba Moose never counted themselves out of playoff contention.
Even in the midst of an 11-game losing streak from Dec. 29 to Jan. 24.
The team knew if they continued working to improve, the results would eventually turn, with success to follow.
Mired in the slump, the Moose struck out on the road for nine consecutive games split by the AHL All-Star Classic. It was a stretch that could end any hopes of a playoff berth, but Manitoba used the run to save its season. The team broke skid in the first game of the trip with a 5-3 win in Rockford on Jan. 27. The Moose felt energized and ready to make up some ground in the standings.
“It’s a big relief to end the losing streak there,” mentioned Parker Ford after the victory. “We just battled. We knew we had to come out of this and there was only one way and that was through work.”
The streak was broken, but the team was at the bottom of the AHL standings. The Moose understood they needed to kick their effort into high gear to have any chance of reaching the Calder Cup Playoffs. The club posted a 6-2-0-1 record in the nine straight road games, quickly launching back into playoff contention.
Manitoba was only getting started. The trend of doing the little things right set up a massively rewarding March.
The Moose pulled together a record of 10-3-1-0 during the month, which brought the club from contention to controlling its own destiny. The success of the month also garnered the club some league recognition, as goaltender Thomas Milic was named the Player of the Week for the period ending on March 17. The netminder, a 2023 Winnipeg Jets fifth-round selection, allowed just four goals on 85 shots that week in three Moose wins. The run was part of another road swing that saw the Moose go 5-1-0 against Central Division competition.
Manitoba capped off the successful March with forward Brad Lambert capturing league Rookie of the Month honors two weeks later. Lambert was third in the AHL with 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 13 games, and his 14 assists paced the league. Notably, the 2022 Winnipeg Jets first-round pick recorded 14 points (4g, 10a) at even strength.
“Brad’s done a great job up to this point,” said head coach Mark Morrison. “He’s learned a lot and has become a better hockey player throughout the year. I think he also understands that his team and his linemates have been a huge help for him. I give a lot of credit to Jeff Malott, who has been on his wing all season, and has helped him. Brad will give credit to everyone around him, but he works very hard every day and has turned into a good pro.”
After concluding their losing streak, the Moose put together a 20-10-1-1 record over the next 32 games to clinch a berth in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs. The 20 wins tied them with the Rockford IceHogs for the most in the division since Manitoba’s lowest point of the campaign. The Moose officially booked their ticket to the postseason with a 7-4 win over Iowa last Saturday, followed by a Chicago Wolves loss later that evening.
Forward Kristian Reichel was named the team’s MVP for the campaign the next day. He leads the Moose with 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) in 33 games since the turnaround began and is tied for the club’s goal-scoring lead overall. After recording a hat trick and a four-point outing in the eventual clinching win, Reichel was able to reflect on exactly how far the team had come to arrive at this point.
“It wasn’t easy,” Reichel chuckled. “We were just trying to get out of the basement. Then when we got out of the basement we kept pushing. We talked about having to play desperate hockey when these final games come. We needed to be ready.”
With only a handful of games left in the season, Morrison is well aware of where his team stands and how they need to perform to achieve success.
“I think we were a much better hockey team. Even though we had lost 11 in a row, I think we were better,” Morrison explained. “After we lost seven, eight, nine, we didn’t deserve to lose 10 and 11. We were a better team by then. We were trying to get out of it, and we worked hard to get out of it. I think we became a better team for it. We put a lot of defensive zone coverage work in practice and now you can see the benefit of that.
“Was the 11-game losing streak nice to happen? No. Did it help our hockey club get better? Yes.”
If you allow it, adversity can tear a team down. However, if the right conditions are met and everyone involved has a growth mindset, it can act as a galvanizing force and pull a team together. The Moose rallied around the idea their playoffs began in late January and continue to hold that mentality as the post-season approaches.
Moose captain Jimmy Oligny hasn’t played since the eighth game of the season after sustaining a significant injury. As he works through rehab, Oligny has been alongside his club through the highs and lows this season. The veteran is proud of how they responded.
“I think it was a good thing for us to go through,” Oligny told media on Friday following his first practice with the whole team in months. “That slide is something we don’t ever want to get back to. We made huge improvements within the team, and you can see that the guys really grew from that experience. I think it made us stronger. Now we can look ahead to playoffs, and everyone is excited. I think it was a good thing for us.”
The Moose learned hard lessons, but came out the other side eager to prove they are up for the challenge of the Calder Cup Playoffs.