Moose On Winning Streak

Published on October 20, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


It was a weekend of firsts for the Manitoba Moose, who clinched their first win and first series of the season while hosting four new faces. By defeating the Rochester Americans in two consecutive games at the MTS Centre, the Moose are on their first winning-streak of the season.

Friday, October 17, 2008: Manitoba 3, Rochester 1

Matt Pettinger scored the game's first point, but it was Mark Cullen's third period goal that confirmed Manitoba's first win of the season, 3-1, in front of 5806 fans at the MTS Centre. AHL veterans Michel Ouellet and Jason Krog extended their point streak to three games while Moose netminder Cory Schneider made 24 acrobatic saves on 25 attempts.

Saturday, October 18, 2008: Manitoba 4, Rochester 1

Manitoba followed up their first win of the season with a powerful performance in the rematch vs. Rochester, defeating the visiting Americans 4-1 at the MTS Centre. Matt Pettinger and Guillaume Desbiens extended their scoring streak to two-games while Michael Grabner netted his first of the season on Saturday night.

Moose Notes

Déjà-Vu Game Three & Four: Last season the Moose also played their third and fourth contests of the season against the Rochester Americans at the MTS Centre. The Moose earned their first victory of the season on Oct. 16/07 vs. the Amerks with a 1-0 total. The following night the Moose fought even harder and destroyed the visitors 7-1, putting the Moose on their first winning streak of the season. History repeated itself this past weekend as the Moose stole both matches from the visiting Americans (3-1 & 4-1) to put the Moose on a winning streak after the third and fourth games of the season.

Closing out the Series: The Moose clinched their first series this season by securing two consecutive wins over Rochester. This double-header against the Amerks is the second of 25 series for Manitoba this season, 20 of which are scheduled at home. Manitoba dropped their first series of the season to Hamilton Oct. 10 & 11/08, falling 3-1 and 5-3 in regular time. In 2006, the Moose were 13-6-1-2 in the second game of a series and 10-2-1-1 after winning the first game. Last season Manitoba went 15-7-2-1 in the second game of the series and 11-1-0-1 after winning the opening contest.

Debut for Four: Manitoba's weekend match-up against the Americans showcased four new players, Matt Pettinger, Scott Howes, Trevor Ludwig, and Dirk Southern who all made their debut in antlers. Matt Pettinger earned three goals in his first two games as a Moose. Scott Howes received his first professional penalty against the Amerks for hooking in the first period on Oct. 17/08. All players on the Moose roster have played their first 2008-09 regular season game with the club, except for veteran Darryl Bootland, centre Alexandre Bolduc and rookie Travis Ramsey.

Upcoming Opponent

This week, Manitoba hosts the Houston Aeros for the first time this season. The Aeros will face the Moose on Friday, October 24th and Saturday, October 25th at the MTS Centre. Houston has played and won all four games this season, earning them first place in the West Division.

Player of the Week Nominee

Matt Pettinger

Making his Manitoba Moose debut, Matt Pettinger helped the team reverse its fortunes from the first week, as he had three goals this past week to pace the Moose to a pair of wins over the Rochester Americans. Pettinger's first goal as a Moose on Friday, Oct. 17/08 opened the scoring for the Moose in a 3-1 victory. He then followed that up with a two-goal performance the next night in a 4-1 Moose win. Pettinger also finished the week with 10 shots on net and was -1 in total.

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