Manitoba Sweeps Peoria with 4-1 Win

Published on December 28, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Peoria Rivermen (20-10-2-1) never feel farther from home than when they play at the MTS Centre. Without a win in Winnipeg since Jan. 18, 2008, including five losses, the Rivermen hoped to snap that streak on Tuesday night against the Manitoba Moose (17-10-0-4). The Rivermen didn't solve Manitoba goalie Eddie Lack until late in the third period as Lack turned away 33 of 34 shots. His effort in front of 7,543 fans helps the Moose secure their fifth straight win by a score of 4-1.

When a goalie's hot, you leave him in, which is probably why Eddie Lack made his fifth straight start for the Moose following his fourth win in a row on Monday night against Peoria. In the opposite net, the Rivermen replaced Jake Allen with Ben Bishop after Allen surrendered four goals in a 5-2 loss the night before.

That move paid off early for Peoria. 1:30 into the game Manitoba's Joel Perrault was gifted the puck with time alone in front of the Rivermen net off of a mishandled pass by Peoria's Nathan Oystrick. Perrault pulled around Bishop's poke check but couldn't slide the puck through the goalie's fivehole.

Midway through the first period Eddie Lack matched his counterpart with two difficult saves against Peoria's Nick Drazenovic and Ryan Reaves on a two-on-one. Drazenovic let go a slap shot from the right circle that deflected to Reaves for what would usually be a tap in goal, but Lack slid across for the right pad stop.

Matching penalties to Manitoba's Guillaume Desbiens and Peoria's Nikita Nikitin at 15:19 put both teams in a four-on-four situation. That matchup would soon result in the first goal of the game by Moose leading scorer Sergei Shirokov. Joel Perrault tried to dance around Peoria's Ian Cole but the Rivermen defender poked the puck loose onto Shirokov's stick in the slot. He buried his third goal in three games by wristing one under Bishop's right arm at 15:33 to give Manitoba an early 1-0 lead.

Manitoba ended the first period leading 1-0 and on their first man advantage of the game with 0:26 to carry over into the next frame. There were 31 shots on goal exchanged in the first 20 minutes, 16 by the Moose and 15 by Peoria.

Lack and Bishop tried to steal the show stopping the next 13 combined shots on goal but the enforcers took centre stage at the midway point of the game. First Peoria's Ryan Reaves and Manitoba's Garth Murray tangled, then not to be outdone Manitoba's other resident fighter Tommy Maxwell dropped the gloves with Anthony Peluso at the drop of the puck.

With under a minute left in the second, Moose defenceman Lee Sweatt took his team leading 95th shot of the season that deflected off the stick of a Peoria defender and took a circus bounce up and over the 6'7" Rivermen goalie, Ben Bishop. Bishop never caught sight of the lobbed puck and Sweatt's fifth goal of the season gave Manitoba a 2-0 lead with 0:37 to go in the second period.

The period wrapped up with Manitoba leading 2-0 and outshooting Peoria 29-25. There were six minor penalties dished out in the second period, three to each team, but neither power play could capitalize.

Guillaume Desbiens is the type to clean up around the net and almost did early in the third period. Instead his linemate Jonas Andersson stood just outside the crease and scooped Desbiens' rebound past Bishop at 2:06 to make it 3-0 for the home team.

One of the more infamous enemies at MTS Centre has been Peoria winger, and former Hershey Bears forward, Graham Mink. Mink shared words with a few Moose players throughout the game but was tossed at 7:31 of the third period for jawing with referee Andy Thiessen.

On the ensuing power play, Manitoba's aforementioned fighter Tommy Maxwell scored his first goal since Nov. 3 by stretching over Ben Bishop sprawled in Peoria's crease and tapping in a loose puck. Scored at 9:38, Maxwell's second of the season put the Moose up by four and was assisted by Billy Sweatt and Marco Rosa.

Eddie Lack's perfect night was ruined by Winnipeg native Derek Nesbitt with 5:52 left to play in the game. After knocking down a rebound at the top of Lack's crease, Peoria forward Nesbitt wired his ninth goal of the season between the pads of Manitoba's goaltender to close the gap to 4-1.

Nesbitt's marker was too little, too late for Peoria as the Rivermen dropped their sixth straight game at MTS Centre by a score of 4-1. Eddie Lack turned away 34 shots while Ben Bishop stopped 41 of 45 Moose chances. Next up on the Moose schedule is their annual New Year's Eve Classic. The Moose welcome the Chicago Wolves this Dec. 31st. Game time is 4:00 pm CST. The first 5,000 fans will receive a Manitoba Moose collectors cup. Hear the action live on CJOB 68 with Brian Munz and Jim Toth.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 28, 2010


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