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Moose bitten by Monsters

February 18, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


WINNIPEG, MB - With the Lake Erie Monsters (29-22-3-5) riding their bumper and a group of three other teams on their tail, the Manitoba Moose (29-20-1-5) entered Friday night's game against Lake Erie with a slipping grip on first place in the North Division. The Monsters sat tied with the Moose entering the game with a shot at taking over the lead. Lake Erie's Greg Mauldin opened the scoring and his teammates followed suit, putting five in total past Moose goalie Eddie Lack. Jason Bacashihua shut the door for the Monsters making 29-saves in a 5-1 Lake Erie win in front of 8,301 at MTS Centre.

When it comes to the American Hockey League, it's not always injuries on your own team that will shake things up. With recently signed Geoff Waugh added to their blue line in Friday night's game, the Moose have dressed their 12th different defenceman. Five of those 12 that have dressed for the Moose are currently on the roster of the Vancouver Canucks.

Manitoba's offence didn't exactly come flying out of the gate as the Lake Erie Monsters had registered nine shots on Eddie Lack before the Moose got one on Jason Bacashihua. Lack handled all nine shots giving his offence a chance to find their legs.

In an attempt to force some chemistry in his lineup, Moose coach Claude Noel tried some new forward cominations with some showing promising signs in the first. Newly matched forwards Aaron Volpatti and Jordan Schroeder weaved into Lake Erie's end setting up a screened shot by Volpatti that nearly fooled Bacashihua. Then Schroeder made a blind pass to Volpatti in the slot that Bacashihua made an even bigger save keeping the game scoreless.

Both teams skated four aside following conicidental minors late in the first period. The result was Lake Erie scoring the first goal of the game at 15:11. Monsters forward Greg Mauldin out-muscled a Moose defenceman in the corner and skated behind the Moose net before centering to Ben Walter for a tap in from teh door step.

Then two minutes later, Lake Erie's Luke Walter was stopped by Lack after charging down the right wing for a shot. But Walker poked the rebound into the crease where Justin Mercier slapped home the second Monsters goal of the game.

The first period came to a close with Lake Erie leading 2-0 on the board and outshooting the Moose, 15-9.

Just 0:29 into the second period, Lake Erie granted the Moose their second power play of the game as Travis Gawryletz hauled down a Moose forward with a trip. Manitoba failed to score on the man advantage, according to the game sheet, but Gawryletz had hardly stepped out of the penalty box at 2:34 when Guillaume Desbiens ripped a wrist shot from the left circle through Bacashihua for the home team's first goal. Desbiens' fifth of the season, assisted by Mark Flood and leading scorer Sergei Shirokov, cut Lake Erie's lead in half 2-1.

The line of Schroeder, Volpatti, and Mario Bliznak wreaked havoc in Lake Erie's zone late in the second period but they came out empty handed again. The Monsters answered back on the same shift. Lake Erie crashed Eddie Lack's crease and with the goalie sprawling at the top of his crease and the puck laying behind him, a Moose defender deflected it into his own net and Lake Erie's Luke Walker was credited with his ninth goal of the season. The Monsters goal extended their lead to 3-1 at 14:48 of the second period.

Moose defenceman Geoff Waugh pinched from the blue line on a percieved chance but while retreating from the front of Lake Erie's net, Waugh clipped Monsters defenceman Matt Generous with a high stick resulting in a four-minute power play for the visitors. The Moose diligently killed off the first two minutes, but Lake Erie scored on a screened point shot by Joel Chouinard at 19:01 of the second period. The period would end shortly after with the Monsters leading the Moose by a 4-1 score.

Five minutes into the third period, Moose defenceman Ryan McGinnis caught Lake Erie forward Mike Carman in the numbers a few feet from the boards resulting in an ugly hit from behind. Fortunately, Carman popped back up but McGinnis sat down for boarding at 5:24.

The Moose killed off that penalty but were put to the test again later when Guillaume Desbiens was called for hooking. Their penalty kill wasn't able to neutralize this man advantage as Lake Erie's Matt Ford placed a wrist shot perfectly over Eddie Lack's right shoulder giving the Monsters a late 5-1 lead.

Manitoba eventually outshot the opposition 30-29 but the final score was nowhere close to that. Jason Bacashihua stopped 29 shots in Lake Erie's 5-1 win over Manitoba. With Friday night's win, the Monsters took over top spot in the North Division from the Moose.

The Moose will celebrate minor hockey in their province tomorrow night when the home team will wear Gateway Flyers jerseys on 'Hockey Night in Manitoba'. In the jerseys belonging to Gateway Community Club, the Moose host the Lake Erie Monsters in a rematch with game time at 7:30 p.m. CST. Brian Munz and Jim Toth have the action live on CJOB 68. Listen live online at www.cjob.com.

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