Moose slay Monsters for fourth straight win

November 18, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


CLEVELAND, OH. -- Playing their first-ever game against Lake Erie, the Manitoba Moose battled back from an early one-goal deficit to beat the Monsters 4-2 Sunday afternoon. Manitoba out-shot Lake Erie 38-18, and the road victory extends the Moose win-streak to four games. Earning first star honours, Alexandre Bolduc scored the game-winning goal and added an assist to lead all players with two points.

With 21-year-old Cory Schneider and 22-year-old Mike Wall backstopping the Moose and Monsters respectively, the first game of an eight-game season series between Manitoba and Lake Erie got underway.

While Moose and Monsters powerplays couldn't click in three early man-advantages, Lake Erie's even-strength snipers helped the home team net the opening goal. Surging towards Schneider with four minutes left on the clock, T.J. Hensick snapped his fifth of the season over Schneider's left shoulder. Despite trailing 14-5 in shots after 20 minutes, the Monsters headed to the first intermission up 1-0.

A late first-period penalty allowed the Moose to start the second on the man advantage, and Manitoba capitalized on their third powerplay opportunity of the game. Holding back near the blue line and holding on to the puck, veteran defenceman Danny Groulx slid between the face-off circles and fired past Wall to tie the game at one.

Just over three minutes later, Alexandre Bolduc gave the Moose their first lead of the game with a quick corner shot that sailed into the Lake Erie net. A disallowed Monsters goal nearly evened the score, but the Moose held on to their one-goal lead through the game's halfway point.

In the dying minutes of the second, Bolduc added an assist to his point total, earning a helper on rookie Mason Raymond's sharp-angle, wraparound goal. As the seconds ticked down, another Moose rookie -- Michael Grabner -- beat Wall to put the Moose up by three. Grabner's goal was Manitoba's fourth of the period, matching the club's best single-period scoring effort of the season.

Up 30-9 in shots and 4-1 on the scoreboard after two periods, Manitoba did their best to resist a desperate Lake Erie squad, but a short scrap beween Zack FitzGerald and Mark Rycroft at the four-minute mark resulted in an extra two minutes for FitzGerald and a third powerplay for the Monsters. 1:42 into the man advantage, Dan DaSilva cut Manitoba's lead to two to put Lake Erie back in the game.

With Wall on the home bench for the final two minutes of the game, six Monsters skaters struggled to score on Schneider, but the first-year netminder held strong for a 4-2 win -- Manitoba's fourth victory in as many games.



American Hockey League Stories from November 18, 2007


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