The Manitoba Moose were quickly dispatched in the Calder Cup Playoffs this week, getting swept by the Texas Stars in the best-of-three Central Division first-round series.
The series, played entirely in Texas to determine who faces the number-one Central seed in the second round, was not kind to the Winnipeg Jets’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. In Tuesday’s Game 1, the Moose got out to an early 1-0 lead but then allowed four straight and saw their third-period comeback fall short, ultimately falling 6-3.
In Thursday’s Game 2, with their backs against the wall, the Moose fired 41 shots on Stars’ goaltender Remi Poirier, but couldn’t get one past him and lost 2-0.
“The effort was there and there was certainly no quit in them, as they’ve given us all year,” head coach Mark Morrison said after the game. “Proud of them. We just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
Moose Had Big Turnaround After Historically-Poor First Half
The AHL’s playoff format is generous, with 23 of 32 teams qualifying. Although the early exit is undeniably disappointing, it was admirable they made it to the dance at all given their historically-poor first half.
Through 36 games of their 72-game schedule, the Moose were dead last in the AHL at 12-23-1 and on pace for the fewest wins in franchise history. They appeared to lack drive, pride, and confidence and saw the wheels fall off in spectacular fashion with a franchise-worst 11-game losing streak — going 0-10-1 in those 11 games — between Dec. 23, 2023 and Jan. 29, 2024.
Related: Manitoba Moose Had Serious Struggles in First Half of AHL Season
Playoffs seemed a pipe dream then, but the Moose dug deep, came together, and found an identity from there. They went 22-12-1-1 in the second half to finish 34-25-2-1 and fifth in the Central.
“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,” Morrison told AHL writer Anthony Fusco recently. “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.”
As a result, the Moose entered the postseason feeling good about their chances of making some noise as an underdog as they’d played…
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