Moose power past Senators

Published on October 30, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Manitoba Moose scored four powerplay goals and six different players had two-point performances as they defeated the Binghamton Senators 5-3 in AHL action Saturday night.

The game got off to a great start for the Moose as Brandon Nolan scored with former Moose Pat Kavanagh in the penalty box for roughing.

Nolan's goal came off a one-timer as he picked up a Baumgartner pass and blasted it by B-Sens netminder Billy Thompson.

For the remainder of the opening period, Binghamton took the play to the Moose but Alex Auld stood tall. Antoine Vermette fired three shots in the period to lead the Senators.

At the end of the first period, Kevin Bieksa took a slashing penalty and nine seconds later Joe DiPenta was sent off for hooking.

After one period of play, the Senators had a 15-10 lead in shots but the Moose were up 1-0. However, the Moose had their work cut out for them having to start the second period down two men.

With a two-man advantage Binghamton came out flying in the second period. 53 seconds in, Brian Pothier ripped the puck past Alex Auld to tie the game at 1-1.

Binghamton kept coming at the Moose, owning the first half of the middle frame. Johnathan Aitken took a slashing penalty at the 5:43 mark, and it only took Binghamton 11 seconds to capitalize.

Andy Hedlund received a pass from Brian Pothier and one-timed it from the left point. Antoine Vermette got the other assist.

The B-Sens continued to put the Moose back on their heels, at one point outshooting them 14-4 in the third.

However, the Moose were able to regroup in the final eight minutes of the period. Jason King scored a powerplay goal with 5:32 to play as he banged in a Peter Sarno rebound to tie the game back up at 2-2.

20 seconds after the Moose goal, the Senators found themselves shorthanded again on a Greg Watson holding penalty. 24 seconds after that, Sarno took a pass from King and shot it over the glove hand of Billy Thompson. Just like that, the Moose regained their lead and were up 3-2.

An altercation occurred late in the second between Brandon Nolan and Denis Hamel. Binghamton's Brian McGrattan and Manitoba's Josh Green also got into it. The end result was a Moose powerplay - the majority of which will carry over into the third period.

The shot count after two periods was 30-21 in favour of Binghamton with the Moose recovering in the second enough to close the gap to 15-11. The score was 3-2 Manitoba heading into the third.

With that early third-period powerplay, the Moose scored a huge goal. Netting their fourth powerplay goal of the game, Ryan Kesler took a pass from Kevin Bieksa and fired it past Billy Thompson to make it a 4-2 game.

The first non-powerplay goal of the game came several minutes later. Binghamton's Neil Komadoski took a shot from just inside the blueline that Alex Auld missed. The assists went to Andy Hedlund and Antoine Vermette.

It didn't take the Moose long to get that goal back, however. 1:27 after the B-Sens' goal, Josh Green came in on a breakaway and moved in close on Thompson. When Green tried to switch from forehand to backhand he lost control of the puck but it still managed to find its way into the back of the cage.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 30, 2004


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