Heat Take On The Moose This Monday And Tuesday

Published on March 29, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - After a two game sweep at the hands of division leading Hamilton this past week, and an explosive second game that saw a plethora of penalties that led to Heat Head Coach Jim Playfair being tossed from the game, the Heat go from the frying pan into the fire as they take on their biggest rivals, the Vancouver Canucks affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, in two key divisional games that will help determine playoff seeding in the North Division.

GAME DAY SKATE BOTH DAYS:

10 am to 11 am - Abbotsford Heat

1115 am to 1215 pm - Manitoba Moose

There are tickets available for both games versus Manitoba. Call 1-877-452-HEAT.

GAME NOTES:

The Manitoba Moose enter this two game series with the Heat right in the middle of the North Division playoff battle. Last season's Western Conference champs are in fourth in the North, three points up on Toronto and four up on Lake Erie, who are trying to track down the Moose for the finalplayoff spot in the division, yet just three points away from Abbotsford in the chase for second and a first round home ice advantage...it is that close.

TheMoose have a great record this season versus the Heat. After Abbotsford opened the season series with a win in Winnipeg, the Moose have reeled offtwo shootout wins, an overtime winandtworegulation winsto holdAbbotsford to a 1-2-1-2 record. After dropping both preseason encounters here in September, Manitobaposted back to back wins in their only other appearance here at the AESC.Lawrence Nycholat scored the overtime winner back on January 12th in a 4-3 overtime win over the Heat. The Moose reeled in the Heat twice before winning the game in the extra frame. The next night, Matthieu Schneider would score just 47 seconds into the first period and Corey Schneider would shut the door, stopping all 35 Heat shots he faced, as the moose would shutout the Heat 3-0.

As with many teams, the Moose have had a few changes since their last visit to Abbotsford. Gone is Matthieu Schneider via trade to Phoenix and Michael Grabner to Vancouver in promotion. Enter newcomer Jordan Schroeder. Schroeder, still just 19 years old, recently left the University of Minnesota and therefore is eligible to play in the AHL despite his age. In his first game with the Moose versus Grand Rapids last week, Schroeder scored on his first shift of the game and added a power play goal late in the third to help lead the Moose to a 4-0 win over the Griffins. Schroeder was the Canucks first round pick, 22nd overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft

How long does your top goaltending prospect stay in the minors? If you are Cory Schneider, you continue to await the answer. The 2004 Canucks first rounder has done everything he can at the AHL level, including leading the Moose to within a whisker of winning the Calder Cup last season. Schneider has seen his regular season win totals improve every year. At press time, the goalie from Marblehead, MA has 29 wins, which is one better than the 28 posted last season and seven better than the 21 posted in his rookie campaign, on a team that might not be a strong as they were last season. Schneider knows that his future does lie elsewhere, as Roberto Luongo and his long term deal will prevent him from being a starter with the parent Canucks. The fact that Schneider's numbers improve every year despite the knowledge that his future is cloudy shows that this goalie is a difference maker and that any team facing the Moose in the playoffs know that Schneider is the money goalie who can get the job done when the chips are down.

The Moose have been led by Marco Rosa and Sergei Shirokov this season on the offensive attack. Rosa has 20 goals and 49 points while Shirokov has a team high 21 goals and is second with 41 points. Both Rosa and Shirokov have been thorns in the side of the Heat this year. Rosa has three goals and three assists versus Abbotsford this year while Shirokov has scored nine points, (1 goal and eight assists) against the Heat this year. Considering that Shirokov has just 20 assists all season, it would seem that his game elevates as he gets closer toVancouver.

The Heat will face the Moose in back to back battles this Monday and Tuesday. Get your tickets by calling 1-877-452-HEAT, go to www.abbotsfordheat.com or visit the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre Box Office.

You can catch all the HEAT action on Country 107.1 FM. Dave Sheldon and Craig MacEwen will have all the action, beginning with the Honda Way pregame show at 7 pm, followed by all the action at 7:30 pm.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 29, 2010


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