AHL Game Recap: Moose Split Series Against Belleville in Convincing Fashion (26/11/2025)

The Manitoba Moose (10-7-2-0) tied their season-high five goals in a 5-1 win over the Belleville Senators (10-8-2-0) Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre.

There was contributions from the entire lineup as Manitoba saw goals from Samuel Fagemo, Brad Lambert, Mason Shaw, and Jaret Anderson-Dolan.

Moose goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis stopped 22 of 23 shots he faced, earning him the third star of the game in the win.

“He’s a very serious young man, to say the least,” Moose assistant coach Bob Nardella on DiVincentiis’ performance. “He wants to be in there every night. He wants to play every minute,” Nardella said.

DiVincentiis’ performance wasn’t the only bright spot in the Moose’s win. The win was collective, with strong performances coming from the entire lineup.

Samuel Fagemo’s two goal performance earned him the first star of the game, while captain Mason Shaw was the second star of the game with one goal and an assist.

The first period was a goaltending clinic by both Domenic DiVincentiis and Jackson Parsons. DiVincentiis stopped all 11 shots he faced, including several high danger chances by Belleville.

“The biggest difference was our start,” Moose goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis said about how he saw the game. “We got on them right away, I think more so in the second period, that’s when we really started to gel and step on them,” DiVincentiis continued.

DiVincentiis was a massive part of the Moose’s first period dominance as he stopped all 11 shots he faced. There weren’t too many big chances for Belleville, but they attempted to strike when the iron was hot.

“We didn’t give up too many grade A opportunities, and I think that’s the difference between today and yesterday.”

On the other side of the ice, Belleville’s Parsons only stopped three recorded shots on goal, but Manitoba generated quality rushes and got in close to the goaltender.

Shots on goal wasn’t the story of the game, it was the utilization of special teams as each team had a power play, penalty kill, and then a chance for four-on-four hockey.

The second period was a big difference for both teams. Belleville was swarmed by the Moose for the majority of the period and got burned because of it.

Manitoba killed two penalties that could’ve shifted momentum back into neutral territory if Belleville scored, but Manitoba spent more time outside the defensive zone on the penalty kill.

“The penalty kill held true with not allowing a power play goal,” Bob Nardella on the utilization of special teams throughout the game. “A big part of that was Dom [DiVincentiis], he made some really good saves when we were shorthanded.”

Even from distance, Belleville showed their strengths. They got shots on goal and created rebounds that ultimately generated chaotic situations where it seemed like Manitoba scrambled to clear the puck. Regardless of the score after 20, Manitoba neutralized Belleville’s push in the first period, and that led to a breakthrough.

“The first period, we weren’t really too happy with it [the power play], but everything else was good,” Bob Nardella said about how he saw the first period.

Manitoba broke through in the second period and solved Parsons. The Moose took their energy up the ice with an effective transition and crashed the net, leading to the first goal of the game 1:54 into the second period.

Mason Shaw notched the opening goal, kicking off a dominate 20 minutes by Manitoba. His line drove the net and made an effective usage of the crash crease play, leading to Shaw getting the easy drive to put the puck in the net for his fourth of the season.

“The more important thing is we play the right way, play hard defensively,” Moose captain Mason Shaw on the team’s play and his goal. “When we do that, like we did in the second period, we’re hard to contain,” Shaw continued.

Shaw had a two-point performance, but he was all over the scoresheet in multiple ways with big hits, penalties, and shots.

“After the first period, we talked about passing and shooting opportunities.”

The Moose waited over 10 minutes before adding any insurance to their lead, but they wouldn’t waste any time later in the period.

Shaw fired the puck at the net and it deflected right to Jaret Anderson-Dolan’s stick for his third of the season and the insurance marker for Manitoba at 11:05.

Belleville got themselves into some penalty trouble late in the second period, giving the Moose 1:55 of power play time. Manitoba’s power play, coming into the game was a less-than-ideal 13.5% and already 0/2 on the night, struck twice in 21 seconds to put the exclamation mark on the game.

The first of the two goals was Brad Lambert’s first goal of the season in classic Brad Lambert fashion. Colby Barlow patiently set up the play, moved it to Ville Heinola, and Heinola fed it across the ice so Lambert could put his signature touches and rifle it past Parsons.

21 seconds later, Samuel Fagemo joined the scoring explosion for his first of the game and sixth goal of the season. Manitoba displayed a strong sense of confidence throughout the entire second period, outshooting Belleville 21-4 in the second period alone.

“Special teams, a lot of times will win and lose your games,” Bob Nardella said about the power play’s effectiveness late in the second period. “If you get that going in the game, you’re good,” Nardella added.

The second period ended, and Belleville was eager to regroup after giving up four goals and allowing Manitoba to control the period.

Manitoba pushed even harder in the third period to put away the Senators, but Belleville showed some life as they scored 56 seconds into the period.

Arthur Kaliyev’s shot was punched through by Olle Lycksell’s tip for his first of the season to cut the deficit to 4-1, but Belleville couldn’t answer again.

Fagemo got his second of the game and his sixth of the season after Tyrel Bauer’s shot on goal bounced off Parsons’ pads. Fagemo was in the right place at the right time as he was able to bury the loose puck to make it 5-1 Manitoba.

“He just puts his head down and goes to work,” Bob Nardella said about Fagemo’s performance. “You can see it every day, he’s a true professional.”

Fagemo has six goals on the season for the Manitoba Moose. He’s proved effective regardless of where he’s in the lineup, but getting a chance to flourish in a system that rolls all four lines has taken his game to the next level.

Manitoba has made noise in the American Hockey League with their system this season. They rebounded after a rough 1-4-1-0 start to the season and sit above a .500 winning percentage because of it.

Contributions up and down the lineup is a massive factor to the Moose winning seven of their last eight games. Having 12 skaters record a point in the 5-1 win over Belleville is another big step in a positive direction for the Moose.

With three straight games against a divisional opponent, Manitoba will shift and refocus their efforts to the next back-to-back series and a rematch against the Chicago Wolves.

“We liked what we did in the last series against them,” Mason Shaw said about facing Chicago again for Manitoba’s next three games. “Divisional games are huge.”

Manitoba is currently tied with the Milwaukee Admirals for second place in the AHL Central Division standings. Even though Milwaukee has four games in hand, the Moose could create a gap by continuing their winning ways.

The Manitoba Moose welcome back the Chicago Wolves at Canada Life Centre on Saturday and Sunday to wrap up their home stand. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:00 pm CST for both games.