Sports stats

Moose Earn 20th Win of the Season

December 17, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Manitoba Moose saw their win column hit 20 in their 27th game of the season by beating the Manchester Monarchs 3-2 in front of 6099 fans on Wednesday night. This is the earliest in the season the club has ever registered 20 wins in franchise history. Captain Mike Keane, Michel Ouellet and Mark Derlago were credited with the three goals, while Karl Goehring earned his 10th win by blocking 28 attempts.

Manitoba's powerful snipers came out in full-force and helped the home team net the opening goal. Surging towards goaltender Jeff Zatkoff five minutes into the contest, Zack FitzGerald's slap shot was tipped in my Mike Keane to put the Moose in the first lead of the game.

At 9:31, Moose defenseman Maxime Fortunus was dealt the game's first infraction and Manchester's powerplay unit made its debut. The home team limited all opposing scoring opportunities and killed the man-advantage to maintain their lead.

The Monarchs knotted at 15:10, when Ryan Murphy scored his second goal in as many nights by sneaking the puck between Karl Goehring's legs.

At 18:23 the Moose benefited from their first man-advantage of the night thanks to a hooking call to Trevor Lewis. It only took the home squad 40 seconds with an extra attacker, as Michel Ouellet netted his sixth of the season to put the Moose back on top.

Outshooting the visitors 16-12, the Moose and Monarchs had even-strength back-and-fourth play through the midway point of the second stanza.

Andrew Martens handed the Monarchs their second powerplay of the night when he was penalized for interference. The Moose's penalty killers, first in the AHL, stifled all of Manchester's breaks and retained their 2-1 lead after the two minute disadvantage.

Moments later, the powerplay tables turned in favor of the Moose, when the Monarchs racked up an interference penalty of their own. The visitors kept Manitoba out of their net by clearing the puck on three occasions and with a stellar stop by Zatkoff.

Local product Mark Derlago, gave the Moose a little cushion room in the early minutes of the final frame. With help from veterans Jason Krog and Michel Ouellet, the new Moose earned his fourth goal of the season by going top shelf on Zatkoff, 3-1.

Two consecutive penalties towards the Moose gave Manchester four-minutes with an additional aggressor. In the final seconds of their powerplay, Monarchs winger Scott Parse snapped the puck past Goehring to put his club within a goal of the Moose, 3-2.

The final minutes of the game saw added pressure from the Monarchs but the game would expire before either team could alter the scoreboard. Manitoba trailed in shots 22-30 but swept their only home series against the Monarchs this season with a 3-2 victory.



American Hockey League Stories from December 17, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Manitoba Moose Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central