AHL Manitoba Moose

Manitoba Moose Weekly

March 1, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


MOOSE CONTINUE TO BUILD THROUGH BUSY WEEK

The Moose had a busy stretch with two road and two home games this past week against fellow Central Division opponents in Iowa and Charlotte.

Monday, Feb. 22, 2016: Manitoba 2 vs. Iowa 3

The Moose entered the game riding a season long four game winning streak. Their opponents, the Wild had other plans as they took the lead by scoring the game winning goal with just 1:52 to play in the third. Patrice Cormier and Chase De Leo had the goals for the Moose. (Full game recap)

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016: Manitoba 1 vs. Iowa 2

The rematch was another tight battle between the two teams but it was a former Moose Maxime Fortunus who had the last laugh. Fortunus scored with just over 10 minutes to go in the third period to give Iowa the victory. Thomas Raffl scored the lone goal for the Moose while Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves.

Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016: Manitoba 7 vs. Charlotte 2

Manitoba had a season high seven goals and earned their largest margin of victory over an opponent this season. Austen Brassard led the way scoring two goals and adding an assist for a three point night. Forwards Ryan Olsen (1G, 1A), Patrice Cormier (1G, 1A) and John Albert (1G, 1A) also recorded multi-point games.

Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016: Manitoba 1 vs. Charlotte 2

The second game between the two teams was the opposite of the first as goals were at a premium. The Moose and Checkers went scoreless for two periods before Charlotte scored on a Derek Ryan goal. JC Lipon responded shortly after with a goal of his own but Ryan got his second of the game during a scramble in front late in the game to give Charlotte the win. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves in the loss.

Mar. 4 Mar. 5

The Moose head on the road for a quick two-game road trip to the state of Texas where they will face the San Antonio Rampage on Friday and the Texas Stars on Saturday.

AUSTEN BRASSARD

Forward Austen Brassard finished off the week strong, highlighted by a big performance on Saturday against the Charlotte Checkers. Brassard had a career high three point night scoring two goals and adding an assist. The Windsor, ON native has been displaying his ability to score all season as he has a 22.6 shooting percentage, among the best in the entire AHL.

SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT:

The Moose have continued to show signs of improvement this season and the month of February was no different. Manitoba posted their first winning record over the course of a month as they were 6-5-1-1 during February. The team also doubled their road win totals for the season this past month. Offensively the Moose had their best month of the season scoring an average of 3.53 goals-per-game which is up dramatically from where they started the season averaging 1.38 goals-per-game in October.

MORE FOR MORRISSEY:

Rookie defenceman Josh Morrissey recorded an assist in each game against Charlotte on the weekend. In total, the Calgary, AB native has four points (0G, 4A) in his last five games. He hit the 100 shot plateau this week making him one of five players on the Moose this season with 100+ shots. Leading scorer Chase De Leo, John Albert, Scott Kosmachuk and JC Lipon are the others but Morrissey is the only defenceman on that list.

BIG FEBRUARY FOR LIPON:

Forward JC Lipon scored a goal for the second consecutive game to wrap up the week on Sunday. He scored five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 12 games during the month of February. Lipon has been especially hot against Charlotte this year where he has scored five goals in five games. The Moose will face the Checkers again twice at the end of this March as Lipon can build on those totals.

ONE AND ONE-A :

The Moose continue to get spectacular goaltending from Connor Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie. Hellebuyck has now played six games since being sent back to the Moose. In those six games, Hellebuyck has a 2.03 goals against average and a .938 save percentage. In his one start this week Eric Comrie made 31 saves to pick up his second consecutive win. Comrie reclaimed the AHL league lead in saves and has 1,123 on the season. He also ranks seventh in minutes played with 2,195.

ROSTER MOVES:

Manitoba had many moves this week starting with the Winnipeg Jets trade of Andrew Ladd which also included Moose defenceman Jay Harrison and forward Matt Fraser go in the package to Chicago. To help fill those spots the Moose first called up forwards Axel Blomqvist and Jimmy Lodge on Friday and forward Jiri Fronk and defenceman Brennan Serville on Saturday from their ECHL affiliate the Tulsa Oilers. The Moose also had a look at defenceman Jake Baker who was signed to a tryout agreement after several Moose players were ill with the flu heading into the weekend.

ROOKIE MILESTONES:

Axel Blomqvist, Aaron Harstad and Jake Baker each picked up their first career AHL points with assists in Saturday's game against Charlotte. Baker's tryout ended on Monday and he returned to Quad City of the ECHL.

Check out the Manitoba Moose Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2016


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