Official website of the Manitoba Moose (AHL)

Moose RinkSide

Moose RinkSide

Manitoba Lotteries Corporation

Toyota Canada

The Fairmont Winnipeg

Updated: Feb. 12, 2008 at 10:02 PM CST

Stars succumb to Moose slapshots

By Jen Sharpe
www.moosehockey.com

He couldn't know it at the time, but Shaun Heshka's first period slapshot would set the tone for Manitoba Tuesday night. Four slapshots from the far point and two goals by Brad Moran found their way past Iowa netminder Tobias Stephan, propelling the Moose to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Stars.

>> Click to view photos of tonight's game.

>> Click here to see official scorer's sheet

First Period

The Moose wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Only 1:31 into the game, defenceman Shaun Heshka further distanced himself from a 48-game goal-less drought by tallying his second goal in three games and third of the season. Though Stars netminder Tobias Stephan stopped the initial shot from the point, the rebound redirected off his helmet and into the net to give the Moose an early 1-0 lead.

Shortly after the goal, tripping penalties to Zack FitzGerald and Greg Classen, as well as fighting infractions to Mike Brown and Richard Clune, netted Iowa back-to-back powerplays. The Stars used the man-advantages to take a 7-1 shot lead but were unable to get an equalizer past Moose goaltender Drew MacIntyre.

In the final five minutes of the opening frame, Manitoba's powerplay unit made its debut, as B.J. Crombeen was called for slashing. Though a powerplay goal eluded the Moose, the home team got lucky with a disallowed, even-strength Stars goal and then a legit point shot courtesy of Jimmy Sharrow that bumbled past Stephan and put the club up 2-0.

But the two-goal lead wouldn't last long, as James Neal beat MacIntyre 14 seconds later to set the score at 2-1 heading into the first intermission.

Second Period

Just over five minutes into the second, Iowa attempted to tie things up on their third powerplay of the game. Taking inspiration from both Manitoba goals, former Moose captain Nolan Baumgartner pulled the trigger from the blue-line and got the puck into the net to even the score at two.

Eager to get their own powerplay goal and restore their lead, the Moose set themselves up in the Stars zone while Perttu Lindgren served an interference penalty. Early in the man-advantage, Stephan stopped Greg Classen's shot but surrendered the rebound to Colby Genoway, who slipped it over to a streaking Brad Moran. With an open net in front of him and a defender sliding towards his ankles, Manitoba's leading scorer fired the puck home to put the Moose up 3-2.

A powerplay for each club helped close out the second period. After 40 minutes of play, the Moose trailed 19 shots to 15 but held a one-goal lead.

Third Period

The third period would bring about a third goal for Iowa. With Classen serving a high-sticking penalty and the Stars on their sixth powerplay, Marty Sertich received a pass from behind the net and directed a sharp-angle shot at MacIntyre. The puck slipped across the goal-line to tie the game at three with just over 15 minutes to play.

A handful of penalties at the midway point of the final frame resulted in back-and-forth powerplays. Just as Classen left the box for the second time, Alexandre Bolduc capitalized on a coughed-up puck near the Stars bench. After shaking off a defender and losing his teammates to a line-change, #49 opted for the slapshot, directing the puck from the top of the face-off circle into the net to put the Moose up 4-3.

Bolduc's goal would prove to be Manitoba's first of three in the third. At 13:19, a slapshot from the far point would fool Stephan for the fourth time, this time originating from blue-liner Maxime Fortunus. Less than a minute later, Genoway and Moran repeated their feat from the second period, with Moran transforming #29's pass into his club's sixth goal of the game.

Manitoba carried the three-goal advantage through the final five minutes, securing a 6-3 victory for the home team Tuesday night.

Game Summary

SCORING	1	2	3	T
Iowa	1	1	1	3
Manitoba	2	1	3	6

Feb 12, 2008 - MTS Centre

FIRST PERIOD:

1. Manitoba, S. Heshka (3) (B. Moran, J. Hansen) 1:31
2. Manitoba, J. Sharrow (5) (G. Classen, M. Keane) 16:54
3. Iowa, J. Neal (6) (T. Petersen) 17:08

Penalties - Z. FitzGerald Mtb (tripping) 3:41, R. Clune Iow (fighting) 7:12, M. Brown Mtb (fighting) 7:12, G. Classen Mtb (tripping) 7:12, B. Crombeen Iow (slashing) 14:28

SECOND PERIOD:

4. Iowa, N. Baumgartner (5) (D. Jancevski) 7:29 PP
5. Manitoba, B. Moran (13) (C. Genoway, G. Classen) 10:57 PP

Penalties - S. Heshka Mtb (high-sticking) 5:36, A. Bolduc Mtb (holding) 7:29, P. Lindgren Iow (interference) 10:42, A. Bolduc Mtb (holding) 13:45, D. Jancevski Iow (holding) 17:05

THIRD PERIOD:

6. Iowa, M. Sertich (16) (C. Conner, K. Pushkarev) 4:38 PP
7. Manitoba, A. Bolduc (14) (M. Keane) 9:35
8. Manitoba, M. Fortunus (3) (G. Classen, M. Grabner) 13:19 PP
9. Manitoba, B. Moran (14) (J. Jaffray, S. Heshka) 14:15

Penalties - G. Classen Mtb (high-sticking) 3:15, E. Graham Iow (hooking) 5:02, G. Classen Mtb (high-sticking) 7:31, K. Pushkarev Iow (major - butt-ending, game misconduct - butt-ending 58.5) 9:11, J. Hansen Mtb (roughing) 9:11

SHOTS	1	2	3	T
Iowa	11	8	9	28
Manitoba	8	7	12	27

POWER PLAYS:

Iowa Stars 2-7. Manitoba Moose 2-6.

GOALTENDERS:

Iowa Stars
Stephan 27-25-2
Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 21 GA: 6 [L]

Manitoba Moose
MacIntyre 25-18-2
Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 25 GA: 3 [W]

Attendance:
6,242

Three Stars

Three Stars

MTB - Brad Moran
MTB - Alexandre Bolduc
MTB - Greg Classen

What's Next

The Moose and Stars face-off in a rematch Wednesday night at the MTS Centre. The hockey club trades jerseys for suit jackets for the Manitoba Moose Yearling Foundation Gala Dinner Thursday evening, and then heads back on the MTS Centre ice Saturday night and Sunday afternoon vs. the Toronto Marlies.

Moose Image Gallery

Photos by Travis Golby, the Manitoba Moose. Click on one of the thumbnails at right to reveal a larger version of this image.

Photos by Travis Golby. Click on one of the below thumbnails to reveal a larger version of the image above.

Contact Us | MTS Centre | Employment | Sponsorship | Mission Statement | Hockey Links | Site Map | Privacy Policy