Moose Split Pair In Week Eight

Published on December 3, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Moose split two road games this past week, suffering their first shutout of the season Friday night in Iowa but rebounding with a 3-2 victory the following night at Quad City.

Friday, November 30, 2007: Moose 0 - Stars 4 L

More than tripling Manitoba's shot-count through 40-minutes of play, the Iowa Stars scored two goals in both the first and second periods en-route to trouncing the Moose 4-0 Friday night. Tobias Stephan earned the shutout for Iowa, while Manitoba's Drew MacIntyre registered his first loss in five games.

Saturday, December 1, 2007: Moose 3 - Flames 2 W

Rebounding from a shutout loss and halting a three-game losing skid, the Manitoba Moose earned a 3-2 victory over the Quad City Flames Saturday night. Jason Jaffray scored a second-period goal and then the game-winner in the final minute, and Drew MacIntyre stopped 32 of 34 shots for the Moose win.

This week, Manitoba closes out the season's longest road trip of the season Tuesday night in Iowa before hosting the Houston Aeros in back-to-back games this weekend. This weekend's games kick off a six-game home stretch that carries the Moose through to the Holiday break.

MOOSE NOTES

SUFFERING A SHUTOUT: For the first time this season, Manitoba failed to find the back of the net and suffered a 4-0 shutout at the hands of the hometown Iowa Stars Friday, Nov. 30. Coincidentally, Manitoba's final shutout loss of the 2006-07 season was also in Iowa (Apr. 1/07, 1-0 L). Last season, the Moose lost an AHL franchise record eight shutouts, compared to a franchise-low one in 2005-06. Including Friday night's loss, the Moose have suffered 45 shutouts in 12 IHL and AHL seasons but have dealt their opponents 59 goose-eggs, including Drew MacIntyre's 1-0 victory over Rochester Oct. 16/07.

NOTES ON NOVEMBER: With last night's 4-0 loss at Iowa, Manitoba closed out the month of November with a 6-4-1-0 (.591) record and 13 of 22 possible points. Their November '07 record is the club's fifth-best showing in seven AHL Novembers, bettering the .500 the club posted in November 2002 and 2003. Last season, the Moose earned 15 of 24 (.625) possible points in the 11th month, while the club's best November showing was in 2004-05 when the Moose went 6-2-0-2 for 14 of 20 points (.700). Since joining the AHL in 2001-02, the Moose have never finished below .500 in the month of November.

DECEMBER DETAILS: Like in November, the Moose have 12 games scheduled for the 12th month of the year, starting with Saturday night's 3-2 victory at Quad City and ending with a New Year's Eve game vs. Lake Erie. Last season, Manitoba played a franchise-record 17 games in the month of December, going 8-5-2-2 (.588) to tie the club record for most December wins and post the third-best December win percentage in seven AHL seasons. Manitoba's best-ever December was in 2004-05 when the team went 6-3-1-0 for a .650 win percentage, and the club's worst year-ending performance was in 2001-02, when the team earned 17 of 32 points to finish .531. Again, like in November, the Moose have never finished below .500 in the month of December.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

The Moose face the Iowa Stars for the second time in five days Tuesday night in Des Moines. The Stars dealt the Moose their first shutout loss of 07-08 Saturday night, earning the early upper hand in this four-game season series between both clubs. Coincidentally, Manitoba's final shutout loss of 06-07 also occured in Iowa (1-0, Apr. 1/07). The Moose now have an all-time record of 6-3-0-0 vs. the Stars, including a 2-3-0-0 record at Wells Fargo Arena. With 13 goals and 27 points, Toby Petersen tops Iowa's leaderboard, while Tobias Stephen is the club's top netminder with an 8-4-0 record, 2.36 GAA, and 0.909 SV%, as well as two shutouts (including one vs. the Moose).

The Moose host the Houston Aeros for the first and only time this season Friday and Saturday nights at the MTS Centre. The Moose went 1-3-0-0 vs. the Aeros in 07-08, including dropping both games of their home series Mar. 20 & 21/07. The back-to-back losses marked the third and final time that the Moose lost two games of a series in regulation time last season. Manitoba is 13-14-0-1 (6-8-0-0 at home) vs. the Aeros, and the season series between both clubs wraps up Jan. 10 & 12/07 in Houston. Nolan Schaefer (5-4-0, 2.40 GAA) and Barry Brust (5-7-1, 2.58 GAA) share Aeros netminding duties, and Erik Reitz leads all Houston skaters with five goals and nine assists for 14 points.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

#15 Jason Jaffray - Left Wing

Jason Jaffray appeared in both games for the Moose this week, scoring one goal and one assist for two points...He set-up the game-winning goal Saturday night in Manitoba's 3-2 last minute victory over the Quad City Flames... He - like the rest of his teammates - were shutout Friday night in Iowa... The two points this week moved Jaffray into a tie for second place in team scoring with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points, despite the fact Jaffray has missed six games... Jaffray now leads the team in goals with eight... He also finished the week with three shots and was a +3.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 3, 2007


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