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Moose Take Down Aeros 5-3 on Teddy Bear Toss Night

December 17, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The theme of the game between the Manitoba Moose (14-10-0-4) and Houston Aeros (16-13-1-2) was Teddy Bear Toss Night as the 7,906 in attendance rained down thousands of stuffed toys onto the ice at MTS Centre in support of the Christmas Cheer Board. Meanwhile the Moose did their part to make it rain while on the power play, scoring three on the man advantage in a 5-3 win.

The Aeros scored the first goal 2:24 into the game by no hard work of their own. A partially fanned attempt on a D-to-D pass behind the Manitoba net slid in front of the goal instead and through the crease in front of Moose goalie Eddie Lack. Aeros centre Casey Almond was on the spot to deposit the giveaway past Lack to give Houston an early 1-0 lead.

Guillaume Desbiens spent the last two seasons with the Moose and returned to MTS Centre in this game after being re-assigned by the Vancouver Canucks earlier in the week. Desbiens made his physical presence known midway through the first when he leaned into three different Aeros on one shift while chasing the puck.

Shortly after that, Moose centre Joel Perrault was tripped up by Aeros defenceman Tyler Cuma after swiping at a rebound on the door step. Cuma was called for the penalty and Manitoba's power play went to work at 10:30 of the first period.

Manitoba scored on their only power play last game, but prior to that goal hadn't scored on 29 previous man advantage opportunities. Moose forward Shawn Weller made sure they weren't about to start a new streak as he buried a puck poked loose by Joel Perrault at 11:53.

At 14:51, the Aeros regained their one goal lead on a shot that had to inspire disbelief. Moose defenceman Travis Ramsey was called for interfering on Houston forward Chad Rau. Then with Ramsey in the box, Aeros defenceman Maxime Noreau let go a one timer from the middle of the blue line that deflected over the net and bounced back off of the glass, off of a Manitoba defender, off of Eddie Lack's backside and into the Moose net.

The period ended with the Moose using up most of a late power play but trailing the Aeros by a score of 2-1. The Aeros also outshot the Moose through 20 minutes, 15-8.

Aeros forwards Jon DiSalvatore and Brandon Buck charged the Moose zone on a two-on-two that backed the Moose defencemen all the way to the net. The puck became loose in Lack's crease and he coudn't track it before Buck poked it through his five hole to put Houston up by two goals at 1:17 of the second period.

New Moose forward Garth Murray made his debut and entertained Moose fans with the heaviest swinging fight they've seen this season. Murray squared off with Manitoba-born Aeros defenceman Drew Bagnall at 13:44 and both combatants threw lefts with reckless abandon until eventually tying up for good.

Desbiens didn't take too long to reacquaint himself with his favourite spot, just outside the top of the opponent's crease. Parked in front of Houston goalie Matt Hackett, Desbiens tapped in a feed by Mario Bliznak from below the goal line to close the gap to 3-2 at 15:46.

Manitoba's 30th ranked power play proved to be a shadow of its former self as the Moose capitalized on the man advantage for the second time. With a late interference penalty to Houston's Colton Gillies, Moose defenceman Mark Flood put a low slapper from the left point on net that found its way by a few shin pads before finding the bottom corner of the Houston net with 0:17 to play in the second period. The remaining time ran out with the game tied 3-3 and the Aeros leading in shots, 23-19.

Manitoba's newborn power play struck for a third time midway through the third period, this time in the form of a four-on-three. Moose forward Stefan Schneider and the Aeros Tyler Cuma in the box for roughing, Houston's Jon DiSalvatore was booked for tripping at 8:40 of the third period.

Just 10 seconds into the power play, Joel Perrault buried his third goal of the year with assists to captain Nolan Baumgartner and Bill Sweatt. The fourth Moose goal of the game produced their first lead with 11:10 left to play.

The full gamut of Moose special teams was on display in this game as the penalty kill came up bit eliminating a minor penalty to defenceman Chris Tanev with 3:05 left to play. Shortly after Tanev stepped onto the ice, the Aeros net lay vacant and Manitoba's rookie defenceman Kevin Connauton put a wrister from behind centre into the heart of the net.

Connauton's unassisted seventh goal of the season sealed the 5-3 win for the Moose on Teddy Bear Toss Night. Eddie Lack stopped 26 shots and Perrault was credited with the game winning goal along with two assists. The Aeros are back at the MTS Centre tomorrow night for the rematch at 7:30 pm CST. The Moose continue their homestand with their next five games at home, including the New Year's Eve Classic vs. the Chicago Wolves at 4 pm CST. All games can be heard live on CJOB 68 with Brian Munz.

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