Moose Continue Six-Game Homestand with Games against Houston and St. John's

Published on February 17, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


Last week, the Moose started their six-game homestand with a 4-2 loss on Thursday and then a 4-1 loss on Friday. Both losses were against the AHL-leading Hamilton Bulldogs. This week, Manitoba continues the homestand with a pair of games versus the West Division leading Houston Aeros on Wednesday and Friday. They finish the week with a home match-up with the St. John's Maple Leafs on Sunday. The Moose remain in second spot in the Canadian Division with 54 points.

Last week: Thursday, Feb. 13 - Hamilton 4 vs. Manitoba 2: To start their six-game homestand, the Moose looked for a third victory this season against the Hamilton Bulldogs. In the end, the home side fell short in a 4-2 decision. In the first, Hamilton scored the first goal. This was the tenth consecutive match that the opposition had opened the scoring in a Moose game. Manitoba responded with an unassisted goal from Chris Herperger. It was his sixth as a Moose. After one, 1-1. In the middle frame, first star Bill Lindsay scored a shorthanded marker. The hosts replied with a late goal by defenceman Nolan Baumgartner. The tally was his seventh and extended his goal streak to three games. After two, 2-2. In the third, the Moose pressed for the go-ahead goal but were stopped and Hamilton received a shorthanded marker from Jarret Stoll. The Bulldogs added another and the final score was 4-2 for the visitors. Tyler Moss had 28 saves in the losing cause. Hamilton outshot the home team by a 32-23 margin. Manitoba went 0-8 on the power play while Hamilton was denied on all three PP chances.

Friday, Feb. 14 - Hamilton 4 vs. Manitoba 1: The Manitoba Moose dropped a 4-1 decision to the Hamilton Bulldogs on Friday, February 14 in front of a season-high crowd of 8,738. The visitors took both games of the two-game series. Manitoba opened the scoring for the first time in eleven games as Mikko Jokela scored his first goal as a Moose. Midway through the period, Ron Hainsey fired a shot from centre ice that eluded Moose goaltender Alex Auld and tied the game at 1-1. With 21 seconds to go in the opening frame, Jason Ward scooped a loose puck from in front of the Moose goal and sent the Bulldogs into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead. Hamilton wasted no time padding their lead early in the second, as Salmelainen capitalized on a partial breakaway to put the puck in the back of the net. After two periods, the Bulldogs led 3-1. In the third, Bill Lindsay put the game out of reach as his breakaway goal gave Hamilton a 4-1 advantage. The Moose peppered 39 shots at Bulldogs netminder Eric Fichaud while Alex Auld stopped 24 shots for the Moose. Jokela earned third-star honours in the match.

Up Next: Manitoba (24-28-6-0) vs. Houston (37-13-6-1) - Wed. Feb. 19 & Fri., Feb. 21 - 7:30 p.m.

T.V.: none Radio: CJOB - 7:05 p.m. on both games

Aeros Watch: Houston went 3-1 last week. They won 4-2 at Milwaukee on Tues., lost 3-1 to Cleveland on Thur., beat Utah 4-1 on Sat. and defeated the Grizzlies 5-2 on Sun. The Aeros are atop the Western Conference and West Division with 81 points. They have a spectacular 19-7-2-1 home record. This will be the third and fourth meetings between the two clubs with Houston leading the series two game to none (4-1W on Jan. 18 and 6-1W on Jan. 19 in Houston). The club is led by Jean-Guy Trudel (24g, 42a) with 66 points, good for second spot in the league. Trudel is first among AHL shot leaders with 207 with Cory Larose in second with 192 shots. Trudel is tied with Hnat Domenicheli for the team-lead in goals and he is tied for second in the AHL with 42 assists. Lawrence Nycholat leads the Aeros with a +23 rating. Curtis Murphy (19g, 22a) is second in AHL defenceman scoring with 41 points and leads all defencemen with 19 markers. Goaltender Derek Gustafson leads the team among active goalies with a 2.50 Avg. (12th in the AHL) and 18 wins. The Aeros hold the league's second most shots for per game at 34.56 (57gp/1970s) and have allowed the least amount of shots per game at 26.40 (57gp/1505s). Houston is tied for the league's fourth best goals for per game at 3.39 (57gp/193g). They have the league's sixth best goals against at 2.53 (57gp/144g).

Up Next: Manitoba (24-28-6-0) vs. St. John's (21-31-5-1)- Sun., Feb. 23 - 2:00 p.m.

T.V.: none Radio: CJOB - 1:35 p.m.

Maple Leafs Watch: St. John's crept closer to the Moose with three wins last week. They swept Saint John and beat Syracuse on the road before losing 9-0 to Binghamton at the end of the week. The Maple Leafs stands in third spot in the Canadian Division with 48 points, six points behind the Moose. This will be the fifth and sixth meetings of the season with St. John's leading the series 3-1 (St. John's 5-4W on Oct. 22, 4-1W on Oct. 23 and 3-1W on Dec., 20; Moose 4-2W on Dec. 21). The Baby Leafs are 9-18-2-1 on the road. St. John's are led by Brad Boyes (21g, 25a) with 46 points. Boyes is second in the AHL defenceman scoring race. Former Moose Brad Leeb (26g, 18a) is second with 44 points and former Moose Josh Holden (17g, 21a) with 38 points. Leeb has 12 power play tallies which is good for a second place tie in the AHL. Mikael Tellqvist has the second most saves in the league at 1153 and leads the team with 11 wins. The Baby Leafs will play Manchester on Monday, Saint John on Wednesday and Friday before flying to Winnipeg for the weekend.

Moose Notes:

- The Moose played in front of the largest home crowd of the season on Friday. The attendance of 8,738 has now increased the average this season at Moose games to 6,237.

-Defenceman Nolan Baumgartner potted in his seventh of the season on Thursday against Hamilton. This extended his goal streak to three games which tied the highest in his professional career (Dec. 23-29/01 with Norfolk). Baumgartner had scored at least a point in ten of the last 13 contests. The 6'1" blueliner is fourth among active Moose with 28 points (seven goals, 21 assists).

- Chris Herperger scored his sixth goal since he arrived via a trade in mid-January. He has now registered at least one point in seven of the eight home Moose matches that he has played in. Herperger has nine points, and all six goals, during Moose home contests and three assists while playing on the road.

- Forward Pat Kavanagh added an assist on Thursday versus Hamilton and extended his point streak to a season-high four games. This tied his longest point streak in his pro career (last accomplished from Apr. 3-7/02). He has nine goals and eight assists for 17 points.

- Hamilton scored two shorthanded markers against the Moose on Thursday. This is the ninth time in franchise history this has happened and the first time since Apr. 7/02 vs. Grand Rapids.

- Defenceman Mikko Jokela blasted his first goal as a Moose last Friday versus Hamilton. In the 4-1 loss, he had a goal, five shots, a +1 rating and was selected third star of the match. Jokela has one goal and one assist in 10 contests with Manitoba and overall has 21 points during 54 AHL games this season.

- The Moose home record stands at 16-12-2-0 after 30 games at the Winnipeg Arena. Last year the squad was 15-11-2-2. In previous years, the franchise held records of: 16-12-2 (2000-01), 17-6-7 (1999-00), 17-8-5 (1998-99), 15-11-4 (1997-98), 15-12-3 (1996-97).

- Brandon Reid had an assist in the 4-1 loss to the Bulldogs on Friday. He remains in the team lead with 39 points (13g, 26a).

- The Moose scored the first goal last Friday against Hamilton. This stopped a streak of ten games where the opposition scored the first goal in a Moose game. Their record during the ten-game stretch was 3-5-2. Manitoba holds a record of 9-22-5-0 when not scoring first this season and a 15-6-1-0 mark when leading 1-0 in a match.

- Jimmy Roy and Pat Kavanagh lead with 84 PIM.

- Brian Chapman leads the team with a +5 rating.

- The team's penalty kill ranks 23rd with 80.6% (58g/299a).

- Manitoba ranks 18th in power play with 15.7% (55g/351a).

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American Hockey League Stories from February 17, 2003


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