Road Proves Rough for Moose

Published on January 19, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Manitoba Moose wrapped their longest road trip of the season this past week with a tie and two losses. As a result, Manitoba finished their eight-game, 12-day trip with a 1-4-2-1 record. They are winless in five and have dropped to five games below .500 (16-21- 7-2) once again to begin the week.

This week, the Moose schedule slows to a crawl as they will host the division-rival Toronto Roadrunners for a pair of games at the Winnipeg Arena on Friday, January 23rd and Saturday, January 24th.

MOOSE NOTES

Goalie Johan Hedberg completed a two-game conditioning stint with Moose this past weekend. He suffered two losses, allowing nine goals on 77 shots for a goals against average of 4.32 and a save percentage of .883. He remained one win shy of Alex Auld for second on the Moose all-time wins list.

The Moose played three games this week, suffering a tie and two losses. No Moose player managed to score a point in all three games. Defenceman Jaroslav Obsut had the most points this week when he scored three assists all in Wednesday's 3-3 tie with Grand Rapids.

The recently completed eightgame road trip was Manitoba's longest since 1998 (01/28- 02/08/98). Manitoba's record during that road trip was 4-3-1. Their record over this most recent 14-day stretch was 1-4- 2-1.

Friday night's game vs. the Toronto Roadrunners will be Jaroslav Obsut's 250th in the AHL.

Three appears to be the magic number for the Moose. When the Moose gain at least a three-goal lead on any opponent this season, they are 6-0-0-0. When trailing by three at any point in a game, Manitoba is 0-10-0-0. When leading by two goals, the Moose are 7-0-2-0, but when trailing by two goals, Manitoba is only 2-9-3-1 with both wins coming in overtime.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Toronto Roadrunners

Friday, January 23rd 7:30p.m. Winnipeg Arena

Saturday, January 24th 2:30p.m.

The Moose face the Toronto Roadrunners for the fifth and sixth times this season and the second two-game series at the Winnipeg Arena...So far this year, the Moose have a record of 1-2-1 vs. the Roadrunners...In their first-ever meetings at the Arena, Toronto won the first game 4-2 (11/29/03), followed by a 3-1 (11/30/03) Manitoba victory. After Christmas, Toronto beat the Moose 4-3 (12/26/03) and then the two tied 4-4 (12/28/03)...The Moose (16-21-7-2) lead the Roadrunners (14-20-6-2) by five points in the AHL's North Division...The Roadrunners are 8-13-3-2 on the road this season...Toronto has only lost twice in its last seven (3-2-2)...Peter Sarno has collected five points (3G,2A) vs. the Moose this season...Brandon Reid has scored five points (1G,4A) for Manitoba vs. Toronto this year...Pat Kavanagh (2G,2A) and Nolan Baumgartner (1G,3A) have four points each vs. Toronto...Jamie Wright is Toronto's leading scorer with 31 points (13G,18A), while Jani Rita has 26 points (11G,15A)...Nate DiCasmirro is currently riding a four-game goal scoring streak, all on the road...Steve Valiquette has seven wins in 24 appearances with a GAA of 2.95 and a save percentage of .896...The Roadrunners rank 13th overall in the AHL in power play at 15.1% while their penalty killing is 22nd at 82.9%.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Minor Hockey Weekend January 23rd-25th Winnipeg Arena

On Friday, January 23rd to Sunday, January 25th, the Manitoba Moose in conjunction with the Winnipeg Minor Hockey Association (WMHA) will celebrate minor hockey in our province. The weekend celebration will begin on Friday, January 23rd, when tickets for the game between the Moose and the Toronto Roadrunners are half price! All players, coaches, parents, referees, volunteers, family and friends will be able to purchase tickets for the game for the one time low price of $8!!...On Saturday, January 24th, the celebration of hockey in this province will continue as immediately following the game between the Manitoba Moose and Toronto Roadrunners at 2:30 p.m. at the Winnipeg Arena, the Dauphin Kings and Winnipeg Saints will face-off in a Manitoba Junior Hockey League regular season match-up. Then on Sunday, January 25th, minor hockey will take over the Winnipeg Arena with games all day following a Manitoba Moose open practice at 10:15 a.m. and an autograph signing with the entire Moose team at 11:45 a.m. A coaches' clinic with Moose coaches Stan Smyl and Eric Crawford will also be held prior to the Moose practice at 9:30 a.m....Make sure your minor hockey team is registered for this historic weekend - the last Winnipeg Minor Hockey Weekend at the Winnipeg Arena! Call the Moose office and ask for Cheryl (982-2281) to reserve your tickets today.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2004


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