Moose Start Six-Game Homestand Tuesday

Published on January 20, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


Last week, the Moose were swept for the first time on a road trip this season. They travelled to Texas and began the trip with a 2-1 loss to the San Antonio Rampage. On Saturday, the club lost 4-1 and 6-1 on Sunday to the Houston Aeros. Manitoba flies back home and starts a six-game homestand on Tuesday against their Canadian Division rivals the Saint John Flames. Game time for Tuesday's match is 7:30 p.m. CT. The Moose remain in second spot in the Canadian Division with 42 points.

Last week: Wednesday, Jan. 15 - Manitoba 1 vs. San Antonio 2: In a close, tight-checking affair, the San Antonio Rampage defeated Manitoba by a score of 2-1. There was no scoring in the first. This was the fifth consecutive match that the Moose played to a scoreless result in the first period. All the scoring was done in the second. The home side pocketed two unanswered goals, both on the power play. The Moose received their lone goal from Pat Kavanagh. His unassisted effort was a shorthanded tally. This was his second SHG of the season and the team's ninth of the 2002-03 season (tied for third spot in the AHL). After two, the Rampage led 2-1. In the final frame, the hosts did not allow Manitoba the tying goal and extended their unbeaten streak to nine games with a 2-1 victory over the Moose. San Antonio outshot the visitors 32-24. Tyler Moss earned third star with a 30 save performance in the loss.

Saturday, Jan. 18 - Manitoba 1 vs. Houston 4: In the first, the Moose came out strong and held the majority of the play only to see Houston score the game's first goal. After one, the Aeros led 1-0. In the second, Aeros' Dan Cavanaugh scored the first of his two goals on the night. It was the eventual game-winner. Manitoba narrowed the lead to one when Zenith Komarniski fired home his 11th of the campaign. Rookie Nathan Smith assisted on the play. Cavanaugh added his second to end the period and the hosts had a 3-1 advantage heading into the third. Houston scored shortly after the one minute mark to end the scoring and walked away with a 4-1 home victory. Alex Auld made 22 saves in the losing cause.

Sunday, Jan. 19 - Manitoba 1 vs. Houston 6: The Aeros started the scoring with a quick goal at the 24- second mark of the first frame. This was the fastest opponents' goal scored to begin a game this season. Manitoba responded with a marker less than a minute later. Brandon Reid intercepted a pass and blasted home an unassisted goal. This was Reid's 11th of the season and moved him to within two points of the team scoring lead. The home side answered back with a late goal scored by Lawrence Nycholat with four seconds left in the period. This would prove to be the game-winner. After one, Aeros 2-1. In the second, the hosts scored three times and led 5-1 after two periods. In the third, the Aeros added one more marker and won their second straight match against Manitoba by a score of 6-1. Tyler Moss made a season-team high 36 saves in the losing cause.

Up Next: Saint John (15-22-3-1) vs. Manitoba (19-21-4-0) - Tues. Jan. 21 & Wed., Jan. 22 - 7:30 p.m. CT

T.V.: none Radio: CJOB - 7:05 p.m. both games

Flames Watch: Saint John went 2-1-1 last week as they beat St. John's 4-1 on Wed., defeated Hamilton 4-1 on Fri., tied the Baby Leafs 1-1- on Tues. and lost 3-0 to Hamilton on Sat. The Flames are third in the Canadian Division with 34 points. This will be the fifth and sixth meeting of the season between the two clubs with both teams winning two games each (Moose 5-3 W on Nov. 22, 4-3 W on Nov. 23; Saint John 4-2 W on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19). Saint John are 7-10-1-0 on the road. The team is led by Robert Dome (11g, 19a) with 30 points. Matthew Lombardi leads the team with 14 markers and Jason Morgan has the team lead with 21 assists. Lombardi is tied for 11th for AHL rookie scoring with 28 points. Micki DuPont has 152 shots, fourth in the AHL. Darcy Verot is fourth in the league with 158 PIM. Netminder Levente Szuper leads the team with a 2.55 Avg. (19th best in the AHL) and Dany Sabourin has 8 wins. The Flames hold the league's most shots for per game at 36.93 (41gp/1514s) and have allowed the third least amount of shots per game at 27.71 (41gp/1136s).

Up Next: Hamilton (34-7-4-3) vs. Manitoba (19-21-4-0) - Fri., Jan. 24 & Sat., Jan. 25 - 7:30 p.m. CT

T.V.: none Radio: CJOB - 7:05 p.m. both games

Bulldogs Watch: Hamilton saw their 25-game streak of earning at least a point snapped last week. They still continue to roll with a couple of wins and a tie last week to sit atop the AHL with 75 points, 11 clear of the next team. They have a stunning 18-4-1-1 road record. This will be the first meeting of the season with last year's season series tied at 5-5-1-1. The two clubs now play eight times before the regular season ends. The club is led by AHL leading scorer Benoit Gratton (19g, 36a) with 55 points. Gratton is the league leader in assists and second with eight game-winners. Jason Ward (19g, 35a) is second in league scoring with 54 points. Francois Beauchemin leads the AHL with a +28 rating. Hamilton has four active players with a plus/minus rating over 20. Goaltender Mathieu Garon leads the league with a 1.77 Avg. and Ty Conklin is 11th in the AHL with a 2.42 Avg. They both have 15 wins. Garon has the second best Save Pct. at .937. The Bulldogs have the best penalty kill in the league at 89.1 % (7g/248a). They have the league's best goals for per game at 3.73 (48gp/179g) and best goals against at 2.06 (48gp/99g). Hamilton holds the league's third most shots for per game at 33.58 (48gp/1612s) and have allowed the sixth least amount of shots per game at 28.10 (48 gp/1349s). Hamilton plays Albany on Wed. before travelling to Manitoba for the weekend series.

Moose Notes:

- Moose goalie Tyler Moss made a season team-high 36 saves in the 6-1 loss to Houston on Sunday. Moss played in two of three games this week. He stopped 30 shots on Wednesday against San Antonio for third star honours. This was the second time this season that Moss had played in consecutive games. Moss has seven wins and a 3.20 Avg.

- Forward Zenith Komarniski added his 11th against Houston on Saturday. Komarniski (11g, 8a) has now moved into a tie for sixth spot in Moose scoring with 19 points. He is one of six Moose players with at least 10 goals potted this season.

- Forward Pat Kavanagh scored his second shorthanded marker of the season on Wed., tying Steve Kariya for the team lead in this category. He had registered a goal in consecutive games and now has recorded six goals and four assists in 33 games this season. Kavanagh is one shy of 250 games played in his AHL/IHL career.

- Brandon Reid notched his 11th of the season on Sunday and moved him to within two points of the team scoring lead at 32 points. Reid is only seven goals short of his personal career high set last year during his rookie campaign.

- The Moose record stood at 7-11-2-0 after the first 20 road games. Last year the squad was 10-9-1-0. In previous years, the franchise held records of : 12-4-4 (2000-01), 9-9-2 (1999-00), 11-6-3 (1998-99), 7-13-0 (1997-98), 5-10-5 (1996-97).

- Rookie Nathan Smith added his second assist of the season on Saturday. He had not registered a point since December 21. He now has four points in 25 games with 12 penalty minutes.

- Rene Vydareny played in his 100th game as a Moose on Sunday and had a +1 rating. Herbert Vasiljevs played in his 400th game in his AHL/IHL career on Saturday and had three shots

-The Moose lost for only the second time during afternoon games and suffered their first loss on Sundays this season. They hold a solid 4-2-2-0 record in games played in the afternoon this season. Manitoba also have a record of 2-1-2-0 in games played on Sunday.

- Tyler Bouck was not in the lineup on Sunday and that leaves Brandon Reid as the only Moose to play in all 44 matches so far this season.

- Alex Auld is 14th among AHL goalies with a 2.47 Avg.

- Ryan Ready still leads team scoring with 32 points (14g, 18a).

- Justin Kurtz (4g, 15a) leads Moose defencemen with 19 points.

- Jimmy Roy leads with 74 PIM.

- Tyler Bouck, Pat Kavanagh and Brian Chapman lead the team with a +5 rating.

- Manitoba has taken 31.48 shots per game (44gp/1385s), good for 11th place in the league.

- They rank fifth in the league for shorthanded markers with nine.

- The team's penalty kill ranks 20th with 82.2% (43g/242a).

- Manitoba ranks 20th in power play with 14.8% (42g/283a).

Inferno Update: Columbia is in second spot in the Southeast Division with 53 points. Justin Morrison (19g, 35a) is tied for 10th in ECHL scoring race with 54 points. He had four points (1g, 3a) in the last four matches. Tim Scott (13g, 16a) has 29 points. Denis Martynyuk (9g, 9a) sits with 18 points in 31 games, Paul Cabana (2g, 6a) has eight points in 16 games and defenceman Regan Darby has three assists in 18 games.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 20, 2003


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