Where have all the goals gone?

Published on January 29, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


With both Wade Flaherty and Drew MacIntyre sidelined by injuries, 21 year old rookie Julien Ellis was forced into starting goaltending duties for the week. Despite going 0-3-0, Ellis was named third star in two of the three games. The Moose started the week with a 4-2 loss in Wilkes-Barre, playing their final game of the season versus an Eastern Conference opponent. The team then travelled to Syracuse where Julien Ellis and Tomas Popperle waged a goaltending battle that was not settled until 2:18 of overtime, where the hometown Crunch pulled out the 1-0 victory, robbing Ellis of his first AHL shutout. The Moose finished the week as they made a stop in Hamilton where they were finishing their season series with the Hamilton Bulldogs. Once again the team struggled to get going on offence as the Bulldogs blanked the Moose 3-0, handing Manitoba their second straight shutout loss. The Moose have now lost their past four games and have slipped to third place in the North Division standings, two points behind the second place Hamilton Bulldogs.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007: In Manitoba's last game versus an Eastern Conference opponent this season, the Moose travelled to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to take on the Penguins. The Moose tied the game at two goals apiece early in the third period but the Penguins scored on a 5-on-3 advantage only minutes later in what proved to be the difference in the game. Although the Moose outshot the Pens 14-5 in the final frame, they could not find a way to score the game-tying goal. The Baby Pens added an empty-netter with :06 left to play, leaving the Moose winless versus the Penguins on the season at 0-2-1-1. The Moose record versus the East Division ended at 3-7-1-1 for the year.

Friday, January 26, 2007: This game boiled down to goaltending, as both teams had numerous quality scoring chances, but the goaltenders came up with the saves when called upon. Julien Ellis, making his third consecutive start for the Moose, stopped all 30 shots fired his way in regulation, while Tomas Popperle stopped all 31 shots the Moose put on him. The scoreless draw was finally settled at the 2:18 mark of overtime, where Jamie Pushor picked a fine time to score his first goal of the season for the Crunch, blasting a shot from the slot past Julien Ellis that spoiled the rookie goaltender's fine effort. The 1-0 overtime loss moved the Moose record to 2-0-2-0 versus the Crunch this season.

Saturday, January 27, 2007: The Hamilton Bulldogs scored one goal in each period and Jaroslav Halak stopped all 30 shots enroute to his sixth shutout of the season and the 3-0 victory. The Bulldogs returned the favour on the Moose, getting revenge for the 3-0 loss they suffered at the MTS Centre the last time these two teams faced each other. Mikhail Grabovski proved to be a handfull for the Moose this season as he notched one goal and eight assists in seven games played versus Manitoba. The Moose finished their season series with Hamilton at 4-2-0-2 and currently trail the Bulldogs by two points in the North Division standings for second place.

MOOSE NOTES

Moose shutout back-to-back: For only the third time in franchise history the Manitoba Moose were held scoreless in two consecutive games this week when they fell 1-0 in overtime to the Syracuse Crunch Jan. 26/07 and then were blanked 3-0 the following night at the hands of the Hamilton Bulldogs at Copps Coliseum. The last time the Moose were blanked in consecutive games was the 2003-04 season when they fell 1-0 at the hands of the Syracuse Crunch Mar. 6/04 and then competed to a scoreless draw Mar. 10/04 versus the Cleveland Barons. The Moose have now been shutout five times this season.

Perfect attendance mission impossible: After sitting out Friday night's game in Syracuse, Jannik Hansen missed his first game as a member of the Moose. Hansen was the only player to appear in every Moose game this season, and his absence ensured no Manitoba player will finish the season with 80 games played. With 47 games played, Hansen continues to lead the team in on-ice appearances, followed closely by Jason Jaffray and Mike Keane, who have played 46 games each. Last season, Jesse Schultz and Craig Darby appeared in all 80 regular season games. Nine players hold the Manitoba Moose record for most games played in a single season with 82, which was a complete season in the International Hockey League.

Moose January record: After playing 17 games in the month of December - the busiest month in Moose history - Manitoba had only nine games scheduled during January. After losing their last game of the month against the Hamilton Bulldogs the Moose monthly record fell to 5-3-1-0 and the team fell to third place in the North Division standings with 54 points, two points behind the second place Bulldogs. Since joining the AHL, the best January record the Moose have posted was back in 2004-05 when the team was 11-2-0-3 for 25 of a possible 32 points. The worst January in Moose franchise history was in 1995-96 when the team only managed eight of a possible 22 points, with a 3-6-0-2 record. Last season the Moose were 7-3-2-1, collecting 17 of a possible 26 points.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

The Manitoba Moose play host to one of its longest rivals, the Chicago Wolves, having played the Wolves during their days in the International Hockey League and the Turner Cup playoffs. The Moose have played 25 games versus the Wolves since both joined the AHL in 2001 and the Moose are 12-8-2-3 since then. The last time the Moose and Wolves met was at the MTS Centre on Mar. 18/06, where Chicago was victorious 4-2. The only time these teams met this season was back on Oct. 24/06, where the Moose battled back from a 4-2 deficit to start the third period, only to score five unanswered goals in the final frame to earn a 7-4 victory. Jason Jaffray tied a Moose scoring record with four goals in that game.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

#34 Julien Ellis - Goalie

Rookie Julien Ellis made all three starts for the Moose this week due to injuries to both Drew MacIntyre and Wade Flaherty...Ellis suffered losses in all three starts even though he allowed only seven goals in 91 shots...He almost collected his first AHL shutout Friday night in Syracuse, however Jamie Pushor scored the game's lone goal in overtime to give the Crunch the win...Ellis is now 0-6 on the season with a 3.70 goals against average and a .880 save percentage...On the week, the Sorel, PQ native finished with a 2.32 goals against average this week and a save percentage of .923.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 29, 2007


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