Moose cruise past Bulldogs, extend win streak to four

Published on January 23, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Moose hit the ice this past Friday and Saturday with an intensity level that seemed lacking in previous weeks. Hamilton jumped to an early lead with a power play goal in the first period of Friday's game but the Moose answered back with three goals in the final three minutes of the period as they went on to a 4 - 2 victory. The Moose rode that momentum to a 4 - 1 win on Saturday night to extend their winning streak to four games. Manitoba's second line consisting of Lee Goren, Ryan Bayda and Jason Jaffray combined for five of Manitoba's eight goals on the weekend and 11 of 24 points.

Manitoba will now take their four-game winning streak on the road for four games in five nights. They will take on Rochester on Wednesday night, Philadelphia on Friday, Syracuse on Saturday, and close the trip with a Sunday afternoon game in Hamilton.

MOOSE NOTES

Blink and You'll Miss It: After Prestin Ryan scored at 16:57 of the first period of Friday night's 4-2 win over Hamilton, Ryan Bayda followed it up with a goal 1:30 later, and Lee Goren capped things off with a third goal just 0:37 later, thus the Moose recorded three goals in just 2:07. This total came just 1:20 shy of the Moose record for fastest three goals set by Peter Sarno, Justin Morrison, and Sergie Varlamov in the second period of a 7-4 win over St. John's on April 2nd, 2004.

Sensational Second Line: With a second line consisting of Bayda, Jaffray and Goren netting three of Manitoba's four goals and totalling seven points between them in Friday night's 4-2 win over Hamilton, then came out with two goals and four points the following night in a 4-1 win over the Bulldogs, the Moose showed the depth of their current roster. During the two wins against the Bulldogs, Bayda recorded three goals and an assist, Goren two goals and two assists and Jaffray added three helpers in the homestand.

Still Searching: With no goals in 60 combined games played, Moose rookie defencemen James DeMone and Nathan McIver are still in search of their first career professional goals. DeMone and McIver are also the only active Moose players to have played more than ten games, without a goal. DeMone has recorded four assists and has added 90 penalty minutes in 27 games with the Moose. McIver sits with two assists and 74 penalty minutes in 33 games with Manitoba this season.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Rochester Americans

Wednesday, January 25th

The Moose play their first of four games in five nights on Wednesday night in Rochester looking to split the season series at three games a piece. The Americans currently sit fifth in the North Division, with a 21-20-1-1 record. The Amerks feature strong special teams, ranking third in the league on the powerplay with a 20.7% efficiency rate and a penalty kill rate of 84.3% for seventh best in the league.

Philadelphia Phantoms

Friday, January 27th

Following a one day break the Moose will travel to Philadelphia to play the Phantoms in the first of three weekend games. This will be the fourth and final time these teams will meet this season, with the Moose looking for a season sweep of the Phantoms. The defending Calder Cup champion Phantoms currently sit in last (sixth) place in the East Division with a record of 17-23-0-4. Philadelphia features the league's 15th best penalty kill with a rate of 83.2% however have a league worst 11.2% rating on the powerplay.

Syracuse Crunch

Saturday, January 28th

The Moose will play a Saturday evening game against their North Division rivals, the Syracuse Crunch. Syracuse sits in third place in the North Division, six points behind the Moose. This will be the third match-up between these two teams; they split a two-game series at the MTS Centre in December. The Crunch feature the league's sixth best powerplay with an efficiency rate of 19.6%. They have struggled killing penalties however, with a kill rate of 80.4%, good enough for 23rd in the league.

Hamilton Bulldogs

Sunday, January 29th

The Moose will head into the All-Star break with a Sunday matinee affair at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. The Moose have taken four of five games from the Bulldogs this season, however the home team has been the victor in all of these matches. Hamilton currently sits in last place in the North Division with a record of 17-28-0-2. The Bulldogs powerplay is ranked 15th in the league with a 16.2% scoring rate while their 80.1% efficiency killing penalties ranks 24th in the league.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

Lee Goren

Lee Goren hit his stride this week after his reassignment from the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 30. In two games with the Moose this week, the Winnipeg, MB native scored two goals and added two assists for four points. He ended the week with nine shots and was a +3 in the plus/minus category. Friday night, he scored a goal and had two assists in a 4-2 win over Hamilton, including the game-winner. On Saturday, he chipped in with a powerplay goal. Goren already has four goals and five assists for nine points in 10 games since rejoining the Moose this year.



American Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2006


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