Sports stats

Record nine straight wins at home for first-place Moose

March 12, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Manitoba Moose continued their winning ways when they hosted the Iowa Stars for a two-game set at the MTS Centre in week 23. The Moose earned two more victories to increase their first place lead in the North to four points and move back into a tie for first place in the entire Western Conference with the Chicago Wolves. Manitoba improved their record to 36-17-7-4 for 83 points, and improved their home record to 22-7-3-2, just two wins shy of the franchise record for most home wins in a season.

Friday, March 9, 2007: The Moose welcomed the Iowa Stars to the MTS Centre for the first time this season after earning a 3-1-0-0 record against them last season including two victories at the MTS Centre. Manitoba started slow in this one failing to register a shot on goal in the first 15:00 of the game. J.J. Hunter scored a goal just as time ran out on the first period to stake the Moose to a 1-0 lead after one period of play. Jason Jaffray added his 30th of the season in the second period to become just the eighth player in Moose history to reach that mark. Stars forward Yared Hagos got the visitors back in the game when he scored on the powerplay early in the third period, but J.J. Hunter scored his second of the game for insurance and Nathan Smith put the nail in the coffin at the 16:25 mark with his 16th of the season. The Moose set a new franchise record in the process with their eighth straight home victory.

Saturday, March 10, 2007: Saturday night was Military Night at the MTS Centre where the Moose honoured our Canadian Forces by wearing a special camouflage jersey that had a patch with the names of all Canadian Soldiers killed in Afghanistan as well as a yellow ribbon to show their support for our troops. A crowd of 9,684 fans, the third largest of the season at the MTS Centre, took in the game which was preceeded by a special ceremony to honour the Canadian soldiers who lost their lives overseas. Alex Edler scored an early shorthanded goal for the Moose to set the tone for the game, then Jason Jaffray notched his team-leading 31st of the season at 16:26 of the first to give the home-side a two-goal lead after 20:00. The Stars battled back in the third period to get within a goal with 5:30 left in regulation but Lee Goren salted the game away for the Moose with an empty-netter. The victory was the fifth straight for the Moose, their 14th in their last 15 games and their record ninth straight at home. The win also improved Manitoba's overall record versus Iowa to 5-1-0-0 and 2-0-0-0 this season.

This week Manitoba heads out on their second last road trip of the season and their last "three-games-in-three-nights" stretch. The Moose start the trip with back-to-back games in Grand Rapids Friday, March 16th and Saturday, March 17th, before closing out the three-game trip on Sunday, March 18th in Peoria.

MOOSE NOTES

Undefeated in new duds: For the second time in as many nights, Manitoba donned an alternate jersey to face the Iowa Stars on Saturday. It was the fourth time the Moose have shifted from its standard home white jersey this season. Friday night the Moose wore their "heritage" jersey and were victorious 4-1, while Saturday night's 3-1 victory in their camouflage military tribute jersey was the team's latest win in four games with unique gear: on Jan. 5/07 the Moose defeated the Rochester Americans while wearing a special-edition "Team Canada" jersey, and on Feb. 10/07 Manitoba beat Syracuse 5-2 in a brown and black "Old Time Hockey" jersey. Last season, the Moose were 2-3-0-0 when wearing an alternate jersey.

New Franchise Record at home: Saturday night's win over the Iowa Stars was Manitoba's ninth win in a row at the MTS Centre, setting a new franchise record for consecutive home wins. The team improved upon the new mark of eight that they set the night before when they broke the old record of seven straight victories at home set between Nov. 10 - Dec. 5/99. The last time the Moose failed to register two points at home was Feb. 2/07 vs. Chicago when the team fell 3-2 in overtime. The last time Manitoba lost outright was Jan. 19/07 when San Antonio defeated the home team 5-2. Saturday's win improves Manitoba's home record to 22-7-3-2, just two wins shy of the franchise record for most home wins in a season. The Moose have six games left at the MTS Centre this regular season with their next coming against the Houston Aeros Tuesday, March 20th.

Celebrating the Big 3-0:With his second period goal Friday night, Jason Jaffray became the eighth player in Manitoba Moose history to score 30 goals in a single season. Jaffray added his 31st of the season the following night to push his total to 68 points this season, good for top spot on the Moose leaderboard. Last season, Jesse Schultz won Manitoba's goal-scoring title with 37 regular-season goals, and Lee Goren is the only other player on the current Moose squad to hit the 30-goal mark(32 goals in 2004-05). Manitoba's franchise mark for the most goals by a single player in a season is 45 set by Scott Thomas in 1998-99.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Manitoba will pay their last visits to the Van Andel Arena this season when they take on the Grand Rapids Griffins this Friday and Saturday. The Moose are 2-1-0-1 versus the Griffins this season, with both losses (regulation and shootout) coming in Grand Rapids. The last time these teams played each other was at the MTS Centre Nov.7 and 8/06 where the Moose defeated the Griffins in back-to-back games by identical 2-1 scores.

Manitoba finishes their three-game road trip with their first visit to the Carver Arena at the Peoria Civic Center. Earlier this season the Moose swept a two game series over the Peoria Rivermen Dec. 8-10/06 at the MTS Centre. That series was a turning point for the Moose on the year as it snapped a four-game losing streak and started a stretch where the team earned points in 16 of 17 games. Last season the Moose went 1-3-0-0 versus the Rivermen, losing both games played in Peoria.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

#37 Lee Goren - Right Wing

Lee Goren appeared in both games for the Moose this week - both victories for Manitoba as they stretched their new franchise record home winning streak to nine games...Goren scored his 21st goal of the season and added two assists for three points...He also fired six shots on net to now lead the team with 181 shots on net this season...He also finished the week +2 to run his season plus/minus to +5...He is third in team scoring with 21 goals and 36 assists for 57 points in 56 games...Goren is now on a five-game point scoring streak and has collected 16 points in his last 16 games dating back to Feb. 2/07...As a team, the Moose have now won five in a row again and have been victorious in 14 of their last 15 games..The Moose have not lost at home since an overtime defeat to the Chicago Wolves on Feb. 2/07...They have not lost in regulation at the MTS Centre since Jan. 19/07 vs. San Antonio...



American Hockey League Stories from March 12, 2007


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.

Other Recent Manitoba Moose Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central