Moose sweep series

Published on February 28, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


Decked out in Southdale Lakers uniforms, the Manitoba Moose did the community club proud as they swept their four-game season series over the Peoria Rivermen with a 5-2 win in front of 15,003 fans on Saturday night. Manitoba scored four of their goals in the first period with Mario Bliznak, Greg Rallo and Tommy Maxwell earning singles while Jason Jaffray netted two. Curtis Sanford recorded consecutive wins over the Rivermen, blocking 23 shots.

Manitoba's powerplay unit made they debut at 1:40 when Cam Paddock was penalized for slashing. The Moose failed to register a shot on their first man-advantage, testing goaltender Manny Legace only once in the opening five-minutes.

The Moose opened the scoring at 7:34 when Tommy Maxwell's initial shot was completed by Mario Bliznak to put the home team on top on their fourth shot of the night.

At 11:57, Captain Mike Keane fed the puck to a perfectly positioned Jason Jaffray, who wired it passed Legace, 2-0.

The line made up of Mario Bliznak, Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Tommy Maxwell produced their second goal of the night, this time courtesy of Maxwell. Earning his first goal of the season, Maxwell snapped the puck into the net for the club's third unanswered goal.

On their 10th shot, the Moose connected again. Mike Keane and Alexandre Bolduc earned their second helpers allowing Jason Jaffray to net his second goal of the game putting the Moose in a 4-0 lead.

The Rivermen decided to switch goaltenders for the second period, putting Ben Bishop between the visiting pipes.

A second period scrap between Tommy Maxwell and Eric Neilson resulted in five-minutes fighting majors for each player, however Neilson walked away with a two-minute instigating penalty as well as a 10-minute instigating misconduct to put the Moose back on the powerplay. The club wasn't able to test Bishop before the two-minutes expired and the home team went zero-for-two on the man-advantage.

Peoria benefited from their first five-on-four when Pierre-Cedric Labrie was called out for slashing at 11:17. The visitors were finally able to break their goose-egg when Steve Wagner slapped the puck passed Sanford, 4-1.

Five-on-five hockey finally paid off for the Rivermen when Curtis Fraser's shot, initially stopped by Sanford, bounced its way over the line to cut Manitoba's lead in half, 4-2.

Back and fourth play consumed the majority of the third period, with the puck earning equal time on both ends of the ice. With 2:23 left in the game, Greg Rallo scored to confirm a 5-2 victory for the Manitoba Moose in front of a sold out house.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2009


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