Moose Edged by Rampage in 5-4 Shootout Final

Published on December 11, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


Manitoba Moose head coach Claude Noel had a clear message regarding effort for his team following a third straight loss on Friday night. The urgency was clear the next night as the Manitoba Moose (12-10-0-4) carried the momentum early in San Antonio against the Rampage (20-7-1-0). But the Rampage erased a two-goal deficit and a high scoring affair was decided in a shootout as Mikkel Boedker notched the clinching goal and Matt Climie stopped every Moose shooter for the 5-4 shootout win in front of 6,035 at AT&T Center on Saturday night.

San Antonio had allowed the first goal of the game in seven of their previous eight games and Saturday night was no different. The Moose brought it early and opened the scoring at 5:34 as Sergei Shirokov cleaned up the rebound from defenceman Lee Sweatt's team leading 84th shot this season. By the halfway point of the first period, the Moose had outshot the Rampage 12-1.

With the recent additions to Manitoba's injured list, the Moose have had to make a few additions. Josh Aspenlind, who was recalled from the ECHL's Victoria Salmon Kings, did his part to quickly endear himself to teammates. First, he came to Mario Bliznak's aid when a Rampage defenceman smothered Bliznak for trying to bury a loose puck. Then late in the period, Aspenlind answered the bell in front of the benches and fought the more experienced Eric Neilson.

The Moose responded the way a team should respond following their third straight loss on Friday, with a dominant first period on Saturday in which they outshot the Rampage 18-7 and led 1-0 after 20 minutes.

In stride, there aren't many players at any level that can catch Bill Sweatt. Which was unfortunate for the Rampage as Marco Rosa dished Sweatt the puck with a full head of steam as he charged through the neutral zone. Sweatt strode past two San Antonio defencemen before lifting a backhanded shot by Climie's glove hand for Manitoba's second goal of the game at 8:14 of the second period.

Moose goalie Tyler Weiman stopped the first 20 shots he faced on Saturday night but San Antonio finally capitalized on the one Weiman couldn't see. The puck was fed to Rampage defenceman Garrett Stafford who unleashed a slap shot through a screen of green and white jerseys that fooled Weiman, giving San Antonio their first goal of the game at 16:21 of the second period.

Manitoba's lead was cut to 2-1 late in the second on Stafford's fourth goal of the season. They carried that lead into the second intermission with a 30-22 advantage in shots.

21 seconds of Moose power play time carried over from the second period and as San Antonio's Mikkel Boedker returned to the ice, it marked Manitoba's fifth expired man advantage of the game. Shortly after the Rampage scored on a play very similar to their first goal of the night, except that this time the puck changed direction while flying through a screen of players. A point shot by Maxim Goncharov found the stick of Rampage forward Alexandre Picard who was credited with his 10th goal of the season at 2:07 of the third period.

Moments after the Rampage tied the game at 2-2, the Moose charged back on a two-on-one break. Sergei Shirokov drove to the net serving as a decoy as rookie defenceman Kevin Connauton shelved his sixth goal of the season by Matt Climie at 2:57.

Just over a minute later, the goals continued to come as San Antonio's Alexandre Picard scored his second of the period. Petr Prucha's original shot bounced to Picard at the side of the net, who was given a couple chances to jam away at the loose puck before finally scoring his second of the game to even it up 3-3 at 4:20 of the third period.

At 7:38 of the third period, the tide officially turned on the Moose as a neutral zone turnover produced a two-on-one for Mikkel Boedker and Brett MacLean that Boedker converted for San Antonio's fourth goal of the game. After leading 2-0 at the halfway point in the game, the Moose trailed 4-3 midway through the third period.

Needing a goal late in the game, Manitoba's power play went to work for a total of 3:45 thanks to Rampage minor penalties at 13:01 and 14:46 of the third period. Just like the previous five power plays, this extended advantage ended without a Moose goal leaving the Moose down by one goal.

With key players out of the lineup, the Moose needed their secondary skaters to step up which is exactly what left winger Shawn Weller was able to do. Weller, who saw a lot of power play time in this game, spun and fired a loose puck in the slot that caromed off the post and in for the crucial game tying goal with less than a minute to play. The final 0:55 ran out and the Moose and Rampage headed to extra time tied 4-4. Weller's tying marker was assisted by Bill Sweatt and Joel Perrault.

The five minutes of overtime resulted in few chances and no goals, so for seventh time this season the Moose would need a shootout to decide a winner. San Antonio scored on three of four chances and Mikkel Boedker scored the shootout winner as the Rampage took a 5-4 final. Manitoba will end their current road trip on Tuesday night in Texas to take on the Stars at Cedar Park Center. Game time at 7:30 pm CST. Catch the game live with Brian Munz on CJOB 68, listen online at www.cjob68.com. Next home action is on Friday, Dec. 17 when the Moose host the Houston Aeros.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 11, 2010


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