Moose Notch Sixth-Straight Win

October 31, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Manitoba Moose didn't need to dress up for Halloween to scare the Rockford IceHogs, as two-quick goals would do the trick and earn Manitoba a 2-1 victory on October 31st. This victory stretches Manitoba's winning-streak to six consecutive games, registering four at home and two on the road. In the season's first meeting between the two clubs, goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 19 shots for his fifth win and Moose rookie Guillaume Desbiens notched the game-winner on his third shot of the night.

With Cory Schneider starting the game in net for Manitoba and Corey Crawford between the pipes for Rockford, the Moose and IceHogs got underway at the MetroCentre in Illinois. Only 20 seconds into the contest, a slashing fine was delivered to Rockford's Pascal Pelletier giving Manitoba the night's first powerplay. The man-advantage eventually timed-out and Manitoba was leading by four shots as the club's went back to even-strength.

At 12:07 Jordan Hendry was called for hooking, but the Moose's second powerplay would only last five-seconds as Michael Grabner took a tripping penalty at 12:12 to even the odds. The short five-seconds proved too short for either team to capitalize and both squads remained at zero.

In the final minutes of the first, Shaun Heshka's face came in contact with Pelletier's stick resulting in a four-minute high-sticking penalty for the Rockford defenseman.

The visiting Moose started the second stanza with an extra player, but a tripping call to Zack FitzGerald followed by a slashing penalty to Alexandre Bolduc gave the IceHogs a 56-second five-on-three.

Schneider's reflexes were tested in the early seconds of the penalty kill as he made five solid saves to keep the match-up scoreless. Rockford's Pelletier proved to be in the right place at the right time by netting a rebound on the powerplay to put his team in the game's first lead.

At 11:15 things started to heat up when Andrew Archer was reprimanded for interference. Moose winger Jason Jaffray capitalized on the opportunity and netted his second of the season, closing the gap at one.

Less than a minute later, Guillaume Desbiens extended the Moose's lead even further as he stole the puck away from defenseman Hendry and slapped it into an empty net, 2-1.

The neutral zone saw plenty of action in the early minutes of the third, as both the Moose and IceHogs scrambled for control of the play. Manitoba got a break at 3:38 when Michael Blunden was dealt a slashing minor, offering the Moose their fifth powerplay of the game. The Moose failed to score on the man-advantage and led Rockford in shots 23-17.

With 5:50 left to go in regulation time, Tim Hambly was called with an interference penalty putting the Moose on their sixth powerplay against the IceHogs. The penalty timed-out and eventually so did the game as the Moose recorded their sixth-straight win with a 2-1 victory over Rockford.



American Hockey League Stories from October 31, 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.

OurSports Central