West Coast Wrap Up

Published on November 30, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


Whenever the Manitoba Moose visit the Abbotsford Heat, you can bet on a packed house at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre. That's because resident Vancouver Canucks fans flock to the bordering city of Abbotsford to catch a glimpse of their favourite team's up-and-coming prospects on the visiting Manitoba Moose. The Moose dropped the first of two games in a shootout but came through for a capacity crowd on Saturday night delivering with a 3-1 win. The Moose continue their four-game road trip after leaving the West Coast trip with three of a possible four points.

Friday, November 26, 2010: Manitoba 1, Abbotsford 2 (SO) On a night not lacking in scoring chances, the Moose and Heat counted just one goal apiece in 65 minutes of regulation thanks to a pair of nearly unbeatable goaltenders. The Moose fired 41 shots on Heat goalie Leland Irving with only Kevin Connauton's third period power play goal finding the twine. Manitoba forced the shootout round for the fourth time this season but did not come out winners in Friday's game. Irving stoned all three Moose shooters while three of four Heat shooters converted against Eddie Lack. The Heat took the first of eight games in the season series, 2-1 in a shootout.

Friday, November 27, 2010: Manitoba 3, Abbotsford 1 Manitoba's parent club, the Vancouver Canucks, had the night off but their fans clearly didn't. Moose supporters packed the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre to capacity. Many, but not all, of the 7,044 fans were there to cheer on Canucks prospects and they weren't disappointed as Bill Sweatt and Cody Hodgson both counted goals and Eddie Lack stopped 28 of 29 shots in the win.

Moose Notes

ONLY WAY TO SCORE: No one needs to tell the Moose it takes shots to score goals. Manitoba has outshot their opponents in five of their last six games and broke the 40-shot barrier four times in that span. Manitoba broke the 40-shot barrier only once in 2009-10 and did it three times in all of 2008-09. Over the past six games Manitoba has everaged 39 shots per game. Cody Hodgson has gotten full use of his Reebok one-piece firing 23 shots in the past three games. He recorded 10 shots against Rockford on Nov. 19. Prior to their recent outburst, Manitoba's offfence had been outshot in 10 of their first 13 games.

YOUNG SWEATT STANDING OUT: Bill Sweatt, the younger brother of Moose defenceman Lee Sweatt, has stood out among a group of standout rookies on the Manitoba Moose. Sweatt is second on the team in rookie scoring (5g, 7a), next to linemate Cody Hodgson, and is first among all forwards with a +6 rating. Sweatt scored the game winning goal in a 3-1 win against Abbotsford on Nov. 27. He now has four points (2g,2a) in his past five games. Sweatt holds down the left side of Manitoba's top scoring line alongside centre Cody Hodgson (9g,5a) and right wing Sergei Shirokov (5g, 10a).

ONE'S NOT ENOUGH: There have been six games this season where the Moose have only allowed one regulation goal. That would often be enough defensive support to provide the win but Manitoba's record over those six games is 3-2-0-1. In games decided by one goal, including shootout and overtimes decisions, the Moose are 5-3-0-2.

Upcoming Opponents

The Moose left Abbotsford with three of a possible four points in two strong efforts against the Heat. They continue their current trip by touching down in Chicago for a game against the Wolves on Tuesday, Nov. 30, then wrap up the road swing in Milwaukee the following night. The Moose then return home for a pair of games against the Oklahoma City Barons on Dec. 3 & 4.

Player of the Week Nominee

Eddie Lack

Eddie Lack stopped 53 of 55 shots against the Abbotsford Heat on Nov. 26 & 27 for a weekend save percentage of 0.964... Lack has only one regulation loss in his last five starts and has allowed only six goals in that span... Among AHL goaltenders with at least 10 games played, Lack ranks fourth with a 1.99 GAA through 11 games...

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American Hockey League Stories from November 30, 2010


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