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Moose Split in Salt Lake City

November 17, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Manitoba Moose had a light week this week, playing only a pair of games in Utah against the Grizzlies. A split left the Moose six games under .500, two points up on the Toronto Roadrunners for sixth in the North Division, but only four points out of third. However, with 18 games played, the Moose have played more than any of their division rivals and are tied with the Roadrunners for the league's lowest winning percentage.

This week, Manitoba will host the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks for the first-time ever in their history. The Ducks are the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The two tangle on Friday, November 21st and Saturday, November 22nd. Both games are at 7:30 p.m. at the Winnipeg Arena. The pair is the first of six in a row for the Moose on home-ice in the span 15 days.

Last Week (1-1-0)

Wednesday, November 12/03 – Manitoba 2 @ Utah 5: The Moose opened this two-game venture into Utah with a 5-2 loss to the Grizzlies on Wednesday. Jarrod Skalde and David Gove each led the way for Utah with a goal and two assists apiece. Rene Vydareny, with his first of the season, and Jimmy Roy, with his fourth, scored for the Moose. Manitoba jumped out to a 1-0 lead after one period of play, but three consecutive Grizzlies' goals in the middle frame gave Utah the lead for good. Brandon Reid was awarded a penalty shot in the second period with the score 2-1, but failed to get a shot away in his attempt. Jason Bacashihua made 19 saves in the victory, while Alex Auld stopped 25 in taking the loss. The Moose dropped to 3-10-3-1, their worst start in franchise history.

Saturday, November 16/03 Manitoba 3 @ Utah 1: The Moose earned a split on their two-game road trip thanks to a 3-1 victory over the Grizzlies in front of 6,498 at the E-Centre. Alex Auld made his third straight start - a team-high this season – and made 25 saves for his third win of the year. After a scoreless opening period, the Moose opened up a 2-0 lead in the second thanks to Brandon Reid's sixth of the season and Justin Morrison's second on the power play. Ryan Ready, Kirill Koltsov, and Tomas Mojzis each picked up assists on the goals. Three minutes into the third, Brett Draney beat Auld to cut the deficit, but Ready iced it with his third of the season and second point on the night into an empty-net. Jason Bacashihua made 26 saves in defeat. Manitoba climbed to 4-10-3-1 to avoid the North Division basement ahead of Toronto. 3 Stars: 1.Ryan Ready; 2.Nolan Baumgartner; 3.Alex Auld.

This Week

Friday, Nov. 21/03 & Saturday, Nov. 22/03 7:30 p.m. Cincinnati (8-5-3-0) @ Manitoba (4-10-3-1) – The Moose will play the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks for the first time in their history this upcoming weekend at the Winnipeg Arena. The Ducks entered the week at 8-5-3-0, tied for third in the West Division, a point back of both the Chicago Wolves and San Antonio Rampage. The Ducks are unbeaten in their last three and have only lost twice in their previous 12. They come into the week with the sixth ranked penalty-killing unit in the league, while their power play is ranked 15th in the AHL. The Ducks possess a stingy defense, as their 32 goals against are the third lowest in the entire league. At the same time, the Ducks are getting balanced scoring from their entire roster. Their leading scorer, Tony Martensson, has only two goals amongst his 12 points, while former Providence Bruin Keith Aucoin has four goals and 11 points. In goal, Cincinnati has been riding Ilya Bryzgalov who has appeared in 12 games and collected seven wins. He has 1.66 goals against average with a .935 save percentage. The Ducks are a .500 team on the road this season at 4-4-1-0. Last year, the Ducks finished third in the Central Division, nine games below .500 at 26-35-13-6 and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Moose Notes

- Manitoba enters the week with only one win and two ties at the Winnipeg Arena to go along with five losses this season. They will play their next six games at home against teams with a combined record of 18-18-8-1.

- Moose forward Jimmy Roy needs only one goal to tie former Moose Greg Pankiewicz as the all-time leading goal scorer in franchise history with 74 goals. The AHL's Man of the Year entered the season with 69 career goals in his six seasons as a Moose and has scored four goals so far in 2003-04. He is actually third on the team in goal scoring after notching five in 50 games last year.

- On the heels of Saturday's 3-1 win over Utah, the Moose will look to win two in a row for the first time all season. The last time Manitoba won two in a row in the regular season dates back to 03/05-03/11/03 when the team won four in a row last season.

- Former Moose Jason King is leading the NHL in goal scoring amongst rookies with nine goals this season with the Vancouver Canucks. That total actually leads the Canucks team. He is second in the league amongst rookies with 12 points overall.

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