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Moose Dropped 5-1 by Bears on Super Bowl Sunday

February 6, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


Sports fans look forward to this day each and every year. While it may not have been the Super Bowl at the Giant Center in Hershey, there was still plenty at stake on Sunday afternoon in the final season series game between the Manitoba Moose (28-15-1-5) and Hershey Bears (31-14-1-3). The game remained tight into the third period but the Bears built a convincing lead the Moose could not overcome with four goals in the final frame. Hershey scored a convincing 5-1 win in front of a crowd of 8,054.

Both teams' offences came out a tad timid compared to Saturday's 5-4 final. By the 10 minute mark of the first period, the Bears and Moose combined for three shots. The Moose had an early power play after a penalty by Brian Willsie but failed to register a shot on Hershey goalie Todd Ford.

Tyler Weiman got the start in Manitoba's net giving him his first taste of action since Jan. 26. Weiman had a record of 6-1-0 in the January. He also had a 1.70 goals against average and 0.940 save percentage for the month.

The shots at the end of 20 minutes read an even 5-5 with few challenging either goalie. The pace of the opening period was not surprising as Saturday night's physical tilt concluded just 16 hours earlier.

Weiman faced his first test early in the second period when Yann Sauve was guilty of hooking down a Hershey forward 48 seconds in. The Bears moved the puck around well on the man advantage, then Brian Willsie walked to the top of the right circle and snapped his 22nd goal of the season to the top corner behind Weiman. The Bears opened the scoring at 1:08 of the second period and snapped a string of 21 consecutive penalties killed by the Moose.

The Moose escaped with a win on Saturday because they were able to quickly answer back after Hershey's offence struck. The same happened on Sunday as Bill Sweatt tied it back up 4:35 after the Bears' first goal. Todd Ford crossed his crease bracing for a one-timer by Sweatt, but the Moose rookie whiffed on the attempt sending a knuckle-puck at Ford that fooled the Hershey netminder. Sweatt's 13th goal of the season was assisted by Jordan Schroeder and Evan Oberg, playing in his 100th AHL game.

There were no lack of chances on the man advantage for either team as referees Marcus Vinnerborg and Ryan Fraser doled out four minors to each team in the first two periods. Manitoba's final chance of the second period nearly yielded a shorthanded goal as Weiman denied a high rising shot by Keith Aucoin. The Moose are the only team in the AHL to not have allowed a shorthanded goal against this season.

A Manitoba man advantage was shortened by a hooking minor to Guillaume Desbiens, giving both teams four skaters aside. The wide open four-on-four then led to the tiebreaking goal with Hershey's Boyd Kane on the door step converting a feed from behind the Moose net by Ashton Rome at 7:13 of the third period. Kane's 14th goal of the season gave Hershey a late 2-1 lead in a game where scoring chances came few and far between.

Weiman was keeping the Moose in the game turning away a dangerous shot on a Bears two-on-one. But before the puck left Manitoba's zone, Zach Miskovic wired a slap shot from the high slot that skipped by the skates of two Moose shot blockers and past Weiman at 10:48.

The Bears then built up a 4-1 lead the Moose would have a much more difficult time overcoming. Desbiens took his second minor penalty of the third penalty, then while on the power play Hershey's Kyle Greentree stood in the slot and swept in a rebound for his 19th goal of the season.

With their third goal in 2:50 of play, Ashton Rome buried another rebound past Weiman giving the Bears a 5-1 lead. The Moose faced a four-goal deficit with 6:22 to go.

As is bound to happen in a blowout game, the gloves eventually came off with 5:50 remaining. Manitoba's Garth Murray squared off with Patrick Wellar, then in the same stoppage Kyle Greentree and Moose winger Shawn Weller went at it. Neither fight lasted more than 15 seconds but was definitely enough action to fire up the crowd at the Giant Center.

The Moose registered a total of 17 shots in the game scoring just once on Todd Ford. Meanwhile the Bears chalked up five on 19 shots against Manitoba giving them convincing 5-1 win on Sunday afternoon. The Eastern Conference road trip ends on Tuesday in Wilkes-Barre as the Moose visit the AHL's first placed team. Brian Munz brings you the action live on CJOB with game time at 6:05 p.m. CST. Next home action is Friday, Feb. 11, when the Moose host the San Antonio Rampage at MTS Centre.

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