Moose take five of six points

Published on November 27, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Moose went 2-0-1-0 during week eight of the AHL season, improving their record to 8-8-3-2 on the year and leaving them third in the North Division standings. The Moose started the week with a rare road victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs at Copps Coliseum. The Moose then returned home for a wild 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday night before losing a heartbreaker, 2-1 in overtime to those same Admirals on Saturday.

Going into Tuesday's game versus Hamilton, it had been over two years since the Moose had managed to earn a victory at Copps Coliseum. Hamilton scored the first goal of the game and every time the Moose looked like they were getting themselves back in it, the Bulldogs would pull in front once again. The Moose battled back from one-goal deficits on four separate occassions, before finally taking the lead at 10:05 of the third period. Brad Moran scored the game-winner on the powerplay to give the Moose a 5-4 victory, their first win at Copps Coliseum since Oct. 31/04. The Moose have now played two games at Copps Coliseum this season and have split the two games with one victory apiece.

The Moose then returned to the MTS Centre to host the Milwaukee Admirals for a two-game set on Friday and Saturday. Friday's game was a tale of two games in one, as the Moose came out flat and fell behind 4-1 after one period. But to the teams' credit, they battled back to score five unanswered goals, earning a wild 6-4 come-from-behind victory. The win was the third straight for the Moose, their longest winning streak of the season.

The Moose and Admirals faced each other once again on Saturday with the Moose looking to extend their winning streak to four games. The Admirals had other ideas however, as they stifled Manitoba's attack all game long until the final minutes of the third period. With just 1:12 remaining in the game Lee Goren fed a nice pass to Jesse Schultz, who one-timed a slapper from the point top shelf on Frederic Cloutier to tie the game for the home team. The goal was Schultz's seventh of the year, and extended his goal-scoring streak to three games. Just as the game looked as though it was destined for a shootout, the Admirals picked off a pass at their own blue line and broke in on a 3-on-1. Maxime Fortunus did his best to break up the play but the cross-crease pass from Ramzi Abid defelected off Fortunus' stick over the shoulder of Wade Flaherty with just :44 left in overtime. A tough loss for the home squad but on the bright side, the Moose did manage a point, their fifth straight game with at least one point in the standings.

The Moose now head out on a four-game road trip that will see them face the Hershey Bears and Philadelphia Phantoms twice each this week. This will leave the game versus the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on January 24th, 2007 as the only game remaining versus an Eastern Division opponent. The Moose currently hold a record of 1-4-1-1 versus the East Division this season.

MOOSE NOTES

Moose break "Copps Curse": The Manitoba Moose ended a winless streak more than two years long at Copps Coliseum last Tuesday when they defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-4. The last time the Moose won in Hamilton was a 5-4 shootout victory on Oct. 31/04 as they edged the Bulldogs 2-1 thanks to a 32 save performance from Wade Flaherty. With the win the Moose improved their record at Copps Coliseum to 5-18-2-1 and are now 1-1-0-0 in two visits to Hamilton this season. Overall, the Moose are 15-27-2-2 vs. the Bulldogs.

November Record: After going 3-5-1-1 in the opening month, the Moose have turned their season around in the month of November. The Moose are now 5-3-2-1 with 1 game left to play this month, Wednesday, November 29th versus the Hershey Bears. Last season in 16 games, the Moose compiled their best November in their AHL history as they went 9-4-1-2, earning 21 of a possible 32 points. With the success of the last few weeks, the Moose are guaranteed to finish above .500 for the month. Since joining the AHL the Moose have never finished below .500 during the month of November. The Moose currently sit third in the North Division standings with a record of 8-8-3-2 for a total of 21 points in 21 games played.

Top line is red hot for the Moose: Since Nov. 17/06 versus Rochester the pairing of Jason Jaffray and Brad Moran has been red hot. During the teams' recent success, Jaffray has tallied two goals and added six assists for eight points while Moran has chipped in four goals and four assists over that span. Jesse Schultz and Lee Goren have both seen time on that top line and they have added six goals and six assists between them. The top line has managed to collect four game-tying goals and three game-winning goals in that four-game stretch.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

The Moose will finish their season series with the Hershey Bears this week as they play two games at Giant Center on Wednesday, November 29th and Saturday, December 2nd. The Moose will be looking to avenge two losses at the hands of the Hershey Bears earlier this month at the MTS Centre. It was the first time the two teams had ever faced each other.

The Moose will also complete their four-game season series with the Philadelphia Phantoms this week, as they play two games at Wachovia Spectrum, December 1st and December 3rd. The Moose split their first two matches with the Phantoms this season at the MTS Centre, losing the first game 2-0 and then winning the rematch 2-1. The win is the only victory for the Moose over an Eastern Division opponent this season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

#20 Brad Moran - Centre

Brad Moran appeared in all three games for the Moose this week, collecting three goals and four assists for seven points...He scored the game-winning goal in Tuesday's 5-4 victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs, then scored the third period insurance marker in Friday's 6-4 win over Milwaukee - Manitoba's third in a row...On Saturday, he assisted on the game-tying goal by Jesse Schultz with one minute remaining in the third period...Moran is now second in team-scoring with 20 points (9G, 11A) in just 16 games...He leads the team now with six powerplay goals which is tied for ninth in the AHL...He has a pair of insurance goals on the season which is tied for seventh in the league.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 27, 2006


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