NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Moose Win a Wild One 6-3 in Lake Erie

October 29, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Manitoba Moose opened a seven-game road trip in Lake Erie taking on the Monsters in a game where no period was alike. After a scoreless first, the second period made a roller coaster seem mellow with seven goals including five in six minutes. In the end the Moose won a wild one 6-3 in front of 6,402 fans at Quicken Loans Arena.

Early in the first period, the play buzzed around the Moose net where former Lake Erie netminder Tyler Weiman stood. He would be tested frequently early on as Manitoba's Chris Tanev and Joel Perrault both took minor penalties within the first five minutes of play. The league's 30th ranked power play couldn't make the Moose pay on either opportunity.

The best scoring chance for either team through 20 minutes came with less than 10 seconds remaining in the period. Monsters defenceman Cam Gaunce sent a shot toward the Moose goal that rebounded to Lake Erie winger Tom Zanoski. Zanoski slapped at the loose puck twice but couldn't bury it by Weiman's extended left arm. Weiman froze the puck preserving a scoreless first period. At the end of one, the Moose had outshot the Monsters 8-7.

Shortly after killing off a Monsters minor penalty that carried over from the first period, Matt Olver converted a Moose turnover in the neutral zone into the first Monsters goal by picking the far corner of the net while rushing down the left wing. The first goal of the game was scored unassisted at 2:17 of the second period.

Monsters defenceman Cam Gaunce caused another scramble in the Moose crease with a low shot on Weiman that this time led to the second goal of the game for the Monsters. With two Lake Erie forwards crashing the crease, Zack Cohen fired his chance by the sprawling Moose tender making it 2-0 for the Monsters.

Five minutes into the second period, while cutting into the Lake Erie slot Marco Rosa was fed a soft pass by Moose linemate Jordan Schroeder that he wired past Jason Bacashihua for the first Manitoba goal of the game. Rosa's marker cut the Monsters lead to 2-1 at 5:12 of the second.

That one-goal spread lasted hardly a minute. Circling the Moose net, Lake Erie's Ben Walter fed a slick behind-the-back pass to Greg Mauldin at the right side of the crease and before Weiman could slide across, the Lake Erie captain had buried the third Monsters goal of the game at the 6:19 mark of the second period.

Two minutes later with the Moose rushing three-on-two into the Monsters end, Moose captain Nolan Baumgartner's original shot was stopped by Bacashihua but the rebound caught the goalie far out of position giving him no chance with Manitoba's Shawn Weller on the doorstep. Weller buried his first of the season to once again bring his team within one goal.

After five goals in just over six minutes, the floodgates momentarily closed and the Lake Erie Monsters turned up the tempo with a physical forecheck. Moose defencemen took a few solid hits below the goal line with the biggest of them absorbed by Travis Ramsey as a hit by Justin Mercier dislodged the plexi-glass behind Ramsey.

With 2:05 remaining in the second period, Moose centre Joel Perrault scooped up a puck in the Monsters zone and made no mistake on a wrist shot placing it top shelf behind Bicashuhua in the Lake Erie net. The assists on the tying marker went to defenceman Kevin Connauton and winger Kevin Clark.

Then Moose rookie Cody Hodgson stepped into a drop pass from Sergei Shirokov with 48 seconds left in the second period that he was able to blast by Bacashihua, giving Hodgson his second goal of the season and his team their first lead in the game. The wild second period finally ended with the Moose up 4-3 but trailing Lake Erie in the shot department, 14-17.

The Monsters pressed hard to tie the game in the early minutes of the third period but Weiman stood tall, especially while turning away Lake Erie's captain Mauldin on a shorthanded breakaway.

A fortunate bounce in Lake Erie's end found its way to the front of the Monsters net where Stefan Schneider was waiting to bury his second of the season, extending the Moose lead 5-3 at the 12:53 mark. Kevin Clark picked up his second assist of the game on the play.

The puck was coughed up in the Lake Erie slot to Cody Hodgson whose quick shot bounced off a Monsters defender and onto the stick of Sergei Shirokov, who deposited the puck into a wide open cage. Shirokov's first goal of the season gave the Moose a three-goal lead at 15:22.

After five consecutive goals by the Moose, the clock ran out with Manitoba up 6-3 on Lake Erie. Tyler Weiman made 22 saves against his former team while Bacashihua was able to stop 15 of 21 Moose shots in the loss.

The Moose head to Grand Rapids for part two of a three-games-in-three-days weekend. They will face off Saturday night against the Griffins in Van Andel Arena at 6 p.m. CST, then it's back to Cleveland on Sunday for a second season clash with the Monsters at 2 p.m. CST.

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from October 29, 2010


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.

OurSports Central