Moose Stick To Winning Resolution In Week 12

Published on January 7, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Moose ended 2007 and began 2008 with back-to-back wins against the Lake Erie Monsters, and then proved unbeatable at home this week with a pair of defeats over the Rochester Americans two games in a row.

Monday, December 31, 2007: Lake Erie 1 - Manitoba 3 W

The Manitoba Moose closed out 2007 with an exciting New Year's Eve performance at the MTS Centre. Three powerplay goals, four fights, and a individual two-goal, three-point performance from Milan Gajic helped the Moose defeat the Lake Erie Monsters 3-1 in front of 11,915 revelers. Drew MacIntyre stopped 20 of 21 shots for his 13th win of the season, and Michael Grabner extended his goal-scoring streak to three games.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008: Lake Erie 2 Manitoba 4 W

In the first game of 2008, Manitoba defeated Lake Erie 4-2 to sweep the two-game New Year's series vs. the Monsters. Defenceman Maxime Fortunus and rookie Mathieu Melanson scored their first goals of the season, while Cory Schneider stopped 27 of 29 shots for his sixth professional win.

Friday, January 4, 2008: Rochester 1 Manitoba 5 W

On the same day that Team Canada beat Team USA at the World Junior Hockey Championships, the Manitoba Moose beat the Rochester Americans 5-1 at the MTS Centre. Rookie Michael Grabner extended his goal-scoring streak to five games with a two-goal performance, while Rick Rypien earned three assists, and Drew MacIntyre made 26 saves for his 14th win of the season.

Saturday, January 5, 2008: Rochester 2 Manitoba 3 W

Mirroring Team Canada's 3-2 victory over Team Sweden at the 2008 World Junior Hockey Championships, the Canada-clad Moose defeated the Rochester Americans 3-2 Saturday night. The victory extended Manitoba's winning streak to four games overall and nine games vs. Rochester dating back to last season.

The Moose hope to keep their winning-streak alive during a four game road trip starting in Houston. The Moose play the Aeros on Thursday morning and Saturday night, followed by the San Antonio Rampage on Sunday.

MOOSE NOTES

PUTTING THE "WIN" IN WINNIPEG: The Moose were unbeatable at the MTS Centre in Week 12 against the Monsters and Americans, extending their home winning streak to five games. Manitoba's current home record reads 12-6-1-1 with their away record at 9-6-1-0. This is the longest home winning stretch this season, the next-closest being a three-game streak in mid-November (Nov. 10-16/07). The club's longest consecutive home win streak on record was nine games from Feb. 3 - Mar. 10/07.

POWERPLAY PRODUCTION CONTINUES: After going 0-for-17 on the man-advantage in three post-holiday road games, the Moose tallied eight powerplay goals this past week, including three (in their past two games) vs. the Americans. By scoring more than one PPG in three straight games (Dec. 31 - Jan. 4/07), Manitoba tied this season's record for most consecutive games with multiple powerplay goals (originally set Nov. 21-24/07). Last season, the Moose scored multiple goals in three straight games only once (Dec. 5-8/06), en-route to finishing the season 18th among 27 teams with a 16.1PP%. So far this season, the Moose sit 11th in the league's PP rankings with a 18.2PP%. Manitoba has capitalized on 20.8% of their powerplays, good for sixth in the AHL (at the MTS Centre this season).

GRABBING FIFTH IN THE LEAGUE: Week 12 was monumental for rookie forward Michael Grabner who extended his goal-scoring streak to five games for the club's longest goal-scoring streak of the season. With 24 points this season, the 20-year-old Austrian is now fifth on the AHL's rookie scoring standings, tied for first for the Moose scoring lead, and has three game-winning goals and seven points (6g + 1a) in his past five games.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Following a 2-1 shootout loss on Dec. 7 and a 4-3 loss on Dec. 8/07, Manitoba's all-time AHL record fell to 13-15-0-2 and 6-9-0-1 at home vs. Houston. The losses meant the Moose are winless in five consecutive home games vs. the Aeros. Manitoba has an all-time record of 7-6-0-1 at Houston, including 1-1-0-0 at the Toyota Center last season. Nolan Schaefer is Houston's starting netminder with a record of 14-7-0, 2.10 GAA and 0.904 SV %. Serge Payer and Steve Kelly are the team's leading scorers.

This match-up between the Manitoba Moose and San Antonio Rampage will be the first clash between both teams this season. The Moose are currently ranked fourth in the Western Conference, only one spot ahead of the fifth ranked Rampage. In the 2006-07 regular season, the Moose and the Rampage only met four times. The last time the teams met (Jan. 19/08), the Moose were defeated by the Rampage 5-2 at the MTS Centre with 32 shots on net. Josh Tordjman is the club's leading goalie with a 2.78 GAA, 0.905 SV % and a current record of 11-5-1. Joey Tenute and Bill Thomas are San Antonio's leading scorers, placed 16th and 62nd in the league.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

#40 Michael Grabner - Right Wing

Rookie Michael Grabner received his first nomination this season for Moose Player of the Week... He appeared in all four games for Manitoba this week where he scored four goals and an assist for five points, along with 11 shots and ended the week even in the plus/minus category... Grabner's week extended his team-high goal scoring streak to five games before it came to an end last Saturday... Grabner also now leads the team with four game-winning goals after scoring two this week (vs. Lake Erie, 12/31/07 & vs. Rochster, 1/4/08) and three in his last six games... Grabner is also now tied for the team-lead in points with 24 and owns the lead himself in goals with 13... He is tied for fifth overall in the AHL in rookie scoring and is tied for second amongst AHL rookies in goal-scoring.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2008


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