Ford's third-period goal, Milic's 31-save shutout give Moose 1-0 sweep of Marlies

Manitoba completed a weekend sweep of the Toronto Marlies with a 1-0 victory in downtown Winnipeg, a defensive finish sealed by Parker Ford’s third-period goal and a 31-save shutout from Thomas Milic. The win moved Manitoba to 26-19-5-1, 58 points, and into third place in the AHL Central Division.

Ford’s goal proved decisive in a low-event contest that saw goaltending and structure dominate the stat sheet. Thomas Milic stopped every Marlies attempt he faced, finishing with a 31-save shutout, and Manitoba recorded no multi-point performances in the game. The Moose, even while protecting the one-goal lead, pressed offensively late: "Even as the game wound down and they were protecting the one goal lead the Moose continued to attack which led to a Marlies penalty with 2:13 left in the game which allowed Manitoba to keep the puck in the Toronto end for almost all of the time remaining in the game."

Manitoba’s special teams and defensive identity were central to the result. The Moose penalty kill, ranked fourth overall in the AHL, showed its attacking instincts rather than sitting back, a tactical trait that produced dangerous moments even while shorthanded: "The Moose PK, ranked 4th overall in the AHL, is partly that good because they don’t just sit back. Often they have an attack mentality which saw them be the more dangerous team on the Marlies PP which included this shorthanded 3 on 1 which included two of Manitoba’s Dman (Dylan Anhorn & Isaak Phillips) joining the rush up the ice." Those two defenders, Dylan Anhorn and Isaak Phillips, were among the defensive pairings contributing to both transition chances and the shutdown work that preserved the one-goal margin.

Lineup notes and roster context underlined the weekend performance. The on-ice group featured the following deployment: Fagemo-Zhilkin-Duehr, Shaw-Ford-Di Giuseppe, Julien-Yager-Empey, Barlow-JAD-Chibrikov, with Sautner-Bauer, Anhorn-Phillips, Clague-Barteaux on defence and Milic in goal. Additional roster notes: "Still no David Gustafsson as he continues to deal with an injury. He’s missed five straight games." The team also noted a substitution in the forward mix: "Fabian Wagner came out for Tyson Empey." Defenceman Dawson Barteaux reached a milestone with "100 games in antlers" for the Moose.

The weekend began with a 3-2 Manitoba victory on Friday night, and coach Mark Morrison reflected on that earlier win: "I thought we played well. There were certainly momentum swings throughout the game. We got ourselves into trouble in our own zone a few times with some long d-zone time, struggled to get out, but weathered the storm for a few of those and came away with a win. I thought it was well earned." Postgame media access listed the primary interviewees as: "Parker Ford until 2:58 / Thomas Milic from 2:59 until 5:05 / Morgan Klimchuk until the end."

Manitoba now heads out on a four-game road trip beginning in Abbotsford against the defending Calder Cup champion Canucks, carrying a sweep and the confidence of a 31-save shutout and a late-game, attack-first defensive approach into a crucial stretch of the schedule.