Moose Blank Aeros 1-0

Published on December 18, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Houston Aeros (16-14-1-2) allowed four unanswered goals late in a 5-3 loss to the Manitoba Moose (15-10-0-4) on Friday night and were sure that Saturday's rematch would be a little tougher for the hometown team. Three fights in the first period weren't enough to provide an edge though. A late goal by Sergei Shirokov and a 20-save shutout effort by Eddie Lack resulted in a 1-0 win in front of 7,616 fans at MTS Centre.

"Steady" Eddie Lack made his third straight start in Manitoba's net following a second straight win on Friday night. In the previous two games, Lack stopped 45 of 49 shots for the Moose. But the home team's most crucial save in the early part of Saturday's rematch with Houston came from Kevin Connauton. While standing behind his goalie, Manitoba's rookie defenceman batted a puck out of the air that was twirling toward the goal line.

Stefan Schneider has made a name for himself on the Moose by killing penalties and not taking them, but he was the first to stand up for teammate Travis Ramsey when Aeros forward Carson McMillan hit the burly Moose defenceman head first into the boards. Schneider didn't look out of place as he dropped the mitts in his first pro fight at 13:37 of the first period.

Four more pairs of gloves hit the ice in a rare dual fight at 15:23. Inspired by a solid check by Josh Aspenlind on Houston's Cody Almond, who scored twice for the Aeros on Friday night, Almond fought Aspenlind and at the same time Travis Ramsey fought Houston's Matt Kassian. Luckily for the understaffed linesmen, one fight wrapped up before the other with Ramsey and Kassian escorted to the box first followed by Almond and Aspenlind.

Late in the period, Eddie Lack kept the game scoreless with a clutch blocker save on an attempted chip shot to the top corner by an Aeros forward. The fight-filled first period ended without a goal and the Moose outshooting the Aeros 8-7.

There were no real scoring chances produced in the second period until nearly eight minutes in when Lack made two pad saves on an Aeros two-on-one, followed later in the play by a reflex glove save off a snap shot in the slot by Houston's Petr Kalus.

The Moose produced only six shots in the second period, none of them any threat to Houston goalie Anton Khudobin. On the other side the Aeros put seven shots on Lack that Manitoba's goalie turned aside to keep the game 0-0 after 40 minutes.

Moose forward Sergei Shirokov led the Moose with three shots through two periods. His fourth shot gave Manitoba a 1-0 lead at 3:51 of the third period. Shirokov sat to the left of the Houston net where a low shot by Travis Ramsey deflected off of Khudobin's pads onto his stick for an easy goal. Shawn Weller drew the other assist on Shirokov's seventh goal of the season.

Marco Rosa took a holding penalty in the offensive zone with 4:34 left to play. But Houston could not take advantage as they were stonewalled by Manitoba's fifth ranked penalty kill.

With Khudobin on the bench in the game's dying minutes, Manitoba skaters allowed few shots and fewer quality chances through to Eddie Lack supporting the rookie goaltender to his first shutout win of the season. Lack stopped all 20 shots in total and the Moose won 1-0 to complete their third home series sweep of the season. The Manitoba Moose head into their Christmas Break on a three game winning streak and resume action at MTS Centre on Dec. 27 for the first of back-to-back games against the Peoria Rivermen. Game time on Dec. 27 & 28 is 7:30 pm CST. Also, tickets are available for New Year's Eve Classic at MTS Centre against the Chicago Wolves.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2010


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