Manitoba Moose

Week 4 Brings Extra Time for Moose

The Manitoba Moose accumulated a 2-1-1-0 record in Week 4 with two overtime decisions and one shootout victory. They visited Hamilton for a double-header early last week and split the series earning a 2-1 overtime victory in their first matchup, followed by a 4-1 loss the next night. The club then travelled to Chicago where they were beat out the Wolves in a 1-0 shootout decision – Manitoba’s first shutout of the season. The club then closed out their six-game road trip with a 3-2 overtime loss in Milwaukee, their first fourth period loss this campaign.

Monday, October 19, 2009: Manitoba 2, Hamilton 1 (OT)
Moose goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 31 shots on Monday night to carry his club to a 2-1 overtime victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs at the Copps Coliseum. Sergei Shirokov opened the scoring for the Moose while Nolan Baumgartner earned the game-winner in Manitoba’s first overtime victory this season (see game recap).

Tuesday, October 20, 2009: Manitoba 1, Hamilton 4
On the heels of a 2-1 overtime win against the Bulldogs Monday night, the Moose saw the tables turn on Tuesday when the ‘Dogs bit back with a 4-1 victory. Matt Pettinger scored Manitoba’s lone goal while goaltender Cory Schneider made 25 saves. The loss resulted in an opening series split for the North Division rivals (see game recap).

Friday, October 23, 2009: Manitoba 1, Chicago 0 (SO)
It was a goaltending dual on Friday night at the Allstate Arena, as both Cory Schneider and Manny Legace were flawless through 65 minutes of play and the game was forced into a shootout to decide the winner. Captain Mike Keane was the first Moose skater to capitalize while Matt Pettinger’s top-shelf goal confirmed a 1-0 shootout victory over the Chicago club (see game recap).

Saturday, October 24, 2009: Manitoba 2, Milwaukee 3 (OT)
The Manitoba Moose capped off their first road trip of the season with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday night at the Bradley Center. Brian Salcido notched his first of the season, while Sergei Shirokov netted his fourth. Goaltender Daren Machesney stopped 35 of 38 attempts in his third start this season (see game recap).

Upcoming Opponents:
The Manitoba Moose host the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins for their first double-header this season on Thursday, October 29th and Friday, October 30th. The Moose have not faced off against the Penguins since the 2006-07 season where they were swept by the club 0-2-1-1.

Moose Notes:

MR. SHUTOUT:
Cory Schneider stopped all 24 shots faced in Friday night’s 1-0 shootout win over Chicago, earning the club’s first shutout of the season, 71st in franchise history and ninth in Schneider’s AHL career. Last season, Schneider earned five of Manitoba’s seven shutouts. The most shutouts Manitoba has ever posted in a single season was eight in 2005-06, led by that season’s league shutout leader Wade Flaherty, who earned six in 49 games played. The last time the Moose played to a 0-0 shutout prior to a shootout was back on March 10/04 when the Moose and Cleveland Barons played to a 0-0 tie after overtime. The AHL adopted the shootout format the next season in 2004-05.

STRONG START:
Matt Pettinger continues his strong impact with the Moose after he scored the game-winner in Friday night’s 1-0 shootout victory over the Chicago Wolves. In his five appearances so far with the Moose this season, Matt Pettinger has already notched two goals and an assist for three points and six penalty minutes. In only seven career games as a Moose, Pettinger already has five goals and six points - along with a shootout winner.

BOUNCING BACK:
Every time the Moose have dropped a game this season they have bounced back immediately to win their next matchup. Manitoba is currently 4-0-0-0 after a loss and only 1-3-0-0 after a win.

Player of the Week Nominee:

For the first time this season, Moose netminder Cory Schneider is the nominee for AHL Player of the Week… This week, the Marblehead, MA native stopped 80 of 85 shots in three games played… Monday, Schneider stopped 31 of 32 shots to lead the Moose to a 2-1 overtime win, over the North Division rival Bulldogs… Then on Friday, he collected his first shutout of the season by stopping all 24 shots he faced in a 1-0 shootout win, including stopping all but one attempt in the shootout… So far this season he has accumulated a 6-3-0 record, 2.41 GAA, and 0.910 save percentage…