The Manitoba Moose split their first home series of the season with the Hamilton Bulldogs in Week 8, but picked up three of a possible four points in the two-game battle. The club earned a 5-3 victory in Game 1 on Friday night, but dropped a 5-4 overtime decision in the rematch on Saturday. Sergei Shirokov earned a team-high four points (2g & 2a) in Week 8 to position himself a top the Moose leader board with 17 points (9g & 8a) while goaltender Cory Schneider started in both match-ups and stopped 66 of 74 shots.Friday, November 20, 2009: Manitoba 5, Hamilton 3 The Moose and Bulldogs battled until the very last seconds of the game - scoring four goals combined in the final two-minutes - but ultimately the Moose came out victorious with a 5-3 win in front of 8,415 fans at MTS Centre on Friday night. Sergei Shirokov notched his team leading eighth goal, Erik Christensen notched his first of the season in his Moose debut, Mario Bliznak earned his third and Mike Keane recorded two empty-netters. Goaltender Cory Schneider set aside 33 of 36 shots in his ninth win this season.
Saturday, November 21, 2009: Manitoba 4, Hamilton 5 (OT) The Manitoba Moose dropped their third overtime game this season with 5-4 decision to the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday night in front of 13,582 at MTS Centre. With 1:07 left in the fourth period, Hamilton's P.K. Subban netted the game-winner on goaltender Cory Schneider to split the club's second series this season.
Moose Notes
BACK IN BLACK: The Moose are set to embark on their third road trip this season, starting Wednesday with their opening battle against Rockford. The club will then face-off against Peoria on Saturday and close-out their road tour with their last regular season game against Chicago. Manitoba currently holds a 3-5-1-0 away record this season and suffered three consecutive losses during their last three-game trip. When on the road, the Moose sit in 20th place overall on the powerplay leader board (12.5 per cent) and eighth place overall on the penalty killing leader board (87.2 per cent).
BEST FOR LAST: Both teams hustled until the final seconds of play on Friday night - scoring four goals combined in the final two-minutes. The club set a new season record for fastest two goals by both teams - clocking in at 10 seconds (P.K. Subban, 19:19, 3rd period & Mike Keane, 19:29, 3rd period). The franchise record for two goals by both teams is set at seven seconds and occurred in 2002 (Bob Nordella (5:59) & Pat Kavanaugh (6:06) in 1st period vs. Chicago).
CAPTAIN MAKES IT HAPPEN: Moose Captain Mike Keane fired the only two Manitoba shots in the third period on Friday night and capitalized on both of them. The veteran right-wing notched two-empty netters, one shorthanded, to confirm a 5-3 victory for his club over the Bulldogs. After 23 games this campaign he sits fifth on the Moose leader board with eight points (6g & 2a).
Upcoming Opponents
On Wednesday, the Moose are visiting the Rockford IceHogs for the first of two away games against the club this season. Last season, the Moose finished 1-1-0-2 against the IceHogs, bringing their all-time record against the Chicago Blackhawks affiliate to 3-3-0-2 (2-1-0-1 at the MetroCentre).
Player of the Week Nominee
Sergei Shirokov
For the first time this season, Moose right-winger Sergei Shirokov is the nominee for AHL Player of the Week... This week, the Moscow, Russia native recorded a goal and an assist in Friday's 5-3 victory over the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs... He finished the night +2... In the rematch on Saturday night, Shirokov added another goal and assist to earn first star honors in a 5-4 overtime loss to the 'Dogs... This was his fourth multi-point game this season... He finished the night +2... In two games this week, the rookie sniper recorded three shots and finished +4... He sits atop the Moose leader board with 17 points (9g, 8a).
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
• Digg this story
• Add to Del.icio.us
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
