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Moose Split Two Series In Week 19

February 18, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Manitoba Moose earned four of eight possible points this past week by splitting a two-game series vs. Iowa and then Toronto. For the Saturday night and Sunday afternoon games vs. the Marlies, the Moose attracted a franchise record 24,805 fans to the MTS Centre.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008: Manitoba 6 - Iowa 3 W

He couldn't know it at the time, but Shaun Heshka's first period slapshot would set the tone for Manitoba Tuesday night. Four slapshots from the far point and two goals by Brad Moran found their way past Iowa netminder Tobias Stephan, propelling the Moose to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Stars.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008: Manitoba 1 - Iowa 4 L

Though Jannik Hansen scored the first goal of the game to give the Moose an early 1-0 lead, the Stars answered with four to secure a 4-1 victory Wednesday night. The loss was Manitoba's first at home vs. Iowa in six all-time games played between both clubs over the past three seasons.

Saturday, February 16, 2008: Manitoba 3 - Toronto 5 L

Three quick goals, including two by Hansen, in the first 10 minutes gave the Moose an early 3-0 lead, but the Toronto Marlies answered with five goals in the final two frames to secure a 5-3 come-from-behind victory Saturday night. Toronto's Scott Clemmensen made 15 saves for the win, Manitoba's Drew MacIntyre stopped 19 for his 14th loss of the season, and a sell-out crowd of 15,003 took in the game.

Sunday, February 17, 2008: Manitoba 5 - Toronto 2 W

Reeling from Saturday night's 5-3 defeat, the Moose got the payback they were looking for Sunday afternoon by beating the Marlies 5-2 in front of 9,802 fans. Hansen and Moran tallied three points each, while rookie goalie Cory Schneider stopped 22 shots for his ninth win of the season.

This week, the Moose head back on the road for four games starting Wednesday night in Chicago. The club then completes a weekend three-in-three by playing Grand Rapids Friday and Saturday nights and then Peoria Sunday afternoon.

MOOSE NOTES

PLAYING FOR A PACKED HOUSE: Manitoba set a new franchise record for highest attendance in back-to-back games this past weekend, as the Moose and Marlies drew 15,003 Saturday night and 9,802 Sunday afternoon. The combined attendance of 24,805 eclipsed the previous two-game record of 23,827, which was set Nov. 17 & 19/04 when the team followed up the MTS Centre's grand opening with a lower-bowl sellout of 8,812. If the Moose draw over 8,775 fans to their next home game (Feb. 27/08 vs. Hershey) the club will then also beat the record for highest attendance in three consecutive home games. Previous to Saturday's game, the Moose had two complete MTS Centre sell-outs: Nov. 17/04 vs. St. John's and May 13/05 vs. Rochester (a playoff game). The Moose are currently third in AHL attendance by drawing an average of 7,579 fans per home game. Last season, the team's average attendance was 7,769.

NECK-AND-NECK IN THE NORTH: The mid-section of the North Division standings remains tight. With 60 points, second-place Manitoba is two points ahead of Hamilton and three points ahead of Syracuse. With four games scheduled, both the Moose and Bulldogs can earn a maximum of eight points this week, while the Crunch play three times and can only earn up to six points. At the top of the heap, the Toronto Marlies continue to dominate with 75 points in 53 games.

KILLER CROSSOVER: To compensate for the West Division's extra team, if the fifth-place West Division club finishes with more points than the fourth place North Division club, the Western team will cross over to compete in the North for the Calder Cup Playoffs. Currently, the Milwaukee Admirals are fifth in the West with 61 points, putting them four points ahead of the North's fourth team (Syracuse). With approximately 25 games left in the regular season, the Western Conference playoff picture is anything but clear.

THOUGHTS ON SHOTS: For the first time in 10 games, the Moose out-shot their opponent Sunday afternoon (25-24 vs. Toronto, 5-2 W). Previous to the game, the last time the Moose outshot their opponent was Jan. 25 vs. Syracuse (29-28, 3-1W). So far this season, the Moose are 17-13-0-2 (.563) when being outshot and 11-9-2-0 (.545) when leading the shot-count.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Wednesday, Feb. 20: Wednesday night's game at Chicago is the second of four between the Moose and Wolves this season. On Feb. 10/08, the Wolves dealt the Moose their fourth shutout of the season by beating visiting Manitoba 2-0 at Allstate Arena. Over 11 IHL and AHL seasons the Moose are 28-36-3-7 vs. the Wolves. Robert Gherson is the Wolves' top netminder with a 5-4-0 record, 2.21 GAA, and .926 SV%, while Jason Krog leads all scorers with 24 goals and 74 points. Former Moose Jesse Schultz is third on Chicago's leaderboard with 16 goals and 45 points.

Friday, Feb. 22 & Saturday, Feb. 23: By sweeping both games of their last home-stand vs. Grand Rapids (2-1W Nov. 15 & 4-2W Nov. 16/07), Manitoba carries a 2-1-1-0 record (15-15-4-5 overall) into this weekend's games at Grand Rapids. Friday's game will be on MTS-TV (channel to be announced). The Moose are 5-6-2-4 all-time at Van Andel Arena. Last season, the Moose earned 13 of 16 possible points vs. the Griffins, including going 2-1-0-1 at Grand Rapids. Mark Hartigan is the Griffins' top scorer with 23 goals and 42 points, while Jimmy Howard is their top player at the opposite end of the ice, registering a 17-9-2 record, 2.61 GAA, and .914 SV%.

Sunday, Feb. 24: The Moose and Peoria Rivermen close out their four-game season series Sunday afternoon in Peoria. After registering a win in Peoria Feb. 5/08, the Moose are 1-2-0-0 vs. the Rivermen so far this season. Last season, the Moose swept their four-game season series against the Rivermen, including registering three of their eight total shutouts. Manitoba's all-time record sits at 6-5-0-0 and 3-2-0-0 at Peoria. Charles Linglet leads all Rivermen skaters with 19 goals and 52 points, while Marek Schwarz is the club's top netminder (2.57 GAA & .891 SV%).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

#20 Brad Moran - Center

For the sxith time this season and second consecutive week, Brad Moran has been nominated for the Moose Player of the Week... Moran had an outstanding individual week, averaging more than two points/game as he appeared in all four games for the Moose and recorded two goals and seven assists for a whopping nine points... Moran opened the week by scoring two goals, including the winner, and adding an assist in Tuesday's 6-3 victory over the Iowa Stars... He had a hand in Manitoba's only goal the next night in a 4-1 loss... Then on Saturday he collected a pair of assists versus the Marlies before finishing the week with three assists (tying a game-high for a Moose player this season) in Sunday's 5-2 victory... Moran now leads the team in scoring with 45 points (14 more than second-place Jason Jaffray) in 48 games... He leads the team with 31 assists (tied for 16th in the AHL) and in shots on goal with 131... He ended the week with 14 shots on net in four games and was +3 in the plus/minus category.



American Hockey League Stories from February 18, 2008


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