Sports stats



Moose Sweep Ontario

March 10, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Manitoba Moose earned six points in Southern Ontario this past week, allowing only one goal against in three games at Hamilton and Toronto. The Moose are now on a four-game winning streak and have gone six consecutive games earning at least a point.

Friday, March 7, 2008: Manitoba 2 - Hamilton 0 W

An explosive second period highlighted by two powerplay goals and 17 shots on net gave the Moose a 2-0 lead over the Bulldogs Friday night. Though Hamilton came on strong in the final frame, rookie goalie Cory Schneider stopped all 24 attempts to record his fifth win in a row and first professional shutout.

Saturday, March 8, 2008: Manitoba 3 - Toronto 0 W

On the heels of Schneider's 2-0 shutout, Drew MacIntyre played a perfect game Saturday in Toronto, backstopping his club to a 3-0 win over the Marlies. The shutout extended Manitoba's shutout streak to 127:23 and their winning streak to three games.

Sunday, March 9, 2008: Manitoba 3 - Hamilton 1 W

After two straight shutouts, the Moose returned to Hamilton and beat the Bulldogs 3-1 Sunday afternoon to extend their winning streak to four games and sweep the three-in-three stretch. Moose rookies ruled the rink, as Schneider made 13 saves for his sixth straight win and Michael Grabner scored two goals.

This week, the Moose continue their five-game road stretch with a weekend series in Hershey on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Manitoba's next home games are scheduled for Wednesday, March 19 and Thursday, March 20 vs. the San Antonio Rampage.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Saturday, Mar. 15 & Sunday, Mar. 16: The Moose visit the Hershey Bears (33-25-1-5, 4th East) for the first and only time this season on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. On Feb. 27 & 28/08, the Moose and Bears split a two-game set at the MTS Centre, with the Bears taking the first game 4-3 and the Moose answering with a 4-2 win the following night. Manitoba's all-time record now sits at 2-4-0-0 against Hershey, including one overtime win at Giant Center on Nov. 29/06. Alexandre Giroux is the Bears top scorer with 23 goals and 49 points in 52 games, while Daren Machesney is the club's best backstopper with a 19-8-2 record, 2.46 GAA, and .918 SV%.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

#35 Cory Schneider - Goaltender

Rookie Cory Schneider is the nominee for Moose Player of the Week for the first time in his career... This week, he appeared in two games and stopped 37 of 38 shots - both games at division-rival Hamilton in the midst of a heated playoff race with the Bulldogs... Schneider has now won six games in a row to run his season record to 14-10-1... Since Dec. 14, Schneider is now 11-3-1... Friday's 2-0 victory was Schneider's first shutout of his pro career... During his six-game streak, his goals against average is 1.33 while his save percentage is .945... This past week, Schneider's goals against average was .5 and his save percentage was .973... He has now climbed to 16th in the AHL in goals against average at 2.50 and 29th in the league with a .907 save percentage.

MOOSE NOTES

A PAIR OF PERFECT GAMES: The Moose went six straight periods without allowing a goal this past week, setting this season's record for consecutive shutout minutes at 130:33. Shutouts in Hamilton Friday night and Toronto Saturday night also marked the first time the club registered two straight shutouts since Apr. 4-13/07, when the club went 136:58 without allowing a goal. The Moose have now earned three shutouts this season (Drew MacIntyre with two, Schneider with one), while the club has been shutout in five games. The franchise record for most consecutive shutout minutes is 179:56, recorded over four games by Tyler Moss from Dec. 16-21/03. Last season, the Moose tied a franchise record by winning eight shutouts and set an AHL franchise record by losing eight.

TANDEM 'TENDERS: Moose goaltenders Cory Schneider and Drew MacIntyre each registered shutouts this past week, marking Schneider's first perfect game of his pro career and MacIntyre's second of the season. By following up his shutout with a 3-1 win at Hamilton Sunday afternoon, Schneider extended his winning streak to six games and improved his goals against average to 2.50 and his save percentage to .907. MacIntyre sits third among all AHL goaltenders with a .927 SV% and fourth in GAA with 2.13. Since the new year, both goaltenders are below 2.00 GAA and above 0.930 SV% (MacIntyre with 1.93GAA, .932SV%; Schneider with 1.85GAA, and .930SV%).

ROAD WARRIORS: By winning three straight games in Hamilton and Toronto this past week, the Moose have set this season's record for longest road winning streak (four games, dating back to Feb. 24 at Peoria, 4-2W) and most consecutive games gaining a point (six games, dating back to Feb. 28 vs. Hershey, 4-2W). Manitoba has also won nine of their past 11 road games, improving their record to 19-12-1-0 (.597) when playing away from the MTS Centre. The club is 18-12-1-3 (.588) at home. Over six AHL seasons, the club's best road record was 22-12-2-4 (.625) in 2004-05. Last season, the Moose were 20-13-4-3 (.588) when playing away from the MTS Centre.

NOTES ON THE NORTH: The Moose earned six points in the North Division standings in Week 22, securing sole posession of second place and putting the club within seven points of first place Toronto. Because the fifth team in the West and fourth team in the North compete for the final spot in the North Division playoffs, only the top three Northern teams are guaranteed a spot in the post-season. Manitoba (77 pts) is five points up on Syracuse (72 pts) and eight points ahead of Hamilton (69 pts). The Moose and Crunch each play two games this week, while Hamilton and Toronto play three games each. In the West, only one point separates fourth-place Houston (73 pts) from sixth-place Peoria. The Moose are 22-10-2-1 vs. the North and 13-13-0-2 vs. the West this season.

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from March 10, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central