Manitoba Moose

Moose split series with Chops

The Manitoba Moose split their first-ever series against the Iowa Chops in Week 8 earning a 4-3 shootout victory against the visiting club and then falling 4-3 the next night. Maxime Fortunus netted his first two goals of the season on Friday night, earning second star honours while Mark Derlago and Olivier Labelle both earned their first AHL points of the season in their weekend debut in antlers.

Friday, November 28, 2008: Manitoba 4, Iowa 3 (SO)
Playing their first-ever game against the Chops, the Manitoba Moose battled to beat Iowa 4-3 in a shootout on Friday night in front of 7091 spectators. This home victory extended Manitoba’s winning-streak to nine games at the MTS Centre. Earning second star honours, Maxime Fortunus scored his first two goals of the season while Mark Derlago and Olivier Labelle both earned points in their 2008-09 AHL debut with the Moose. Karl Goehring, the third star, saved 28 shots for his fifth win this season (see game recap).
 
Saturday, November 29, 2008: Manitoba 3, Iowa 4
Contrary to the previous night, the Moose outshot the Chops 29-18 but were unable to outscore their opponents and dropped their first game at home in nine contests to the visitors from Iowa, 4-3. Mario Bliznak, Michael Grabner and Pierre-Cedric Labrie were credited with the three Moose goals while goaltender Karl Goehring stopped 14 shots in front of 10,755 fans at the MTS Centre. (see game recap).

Upcoming Opponents:
The Moose head to Houston on Tuesday for the first of four straight games in the Lone Star State. The Moose play the Aeros again on Thursday afternoon, followed by San Antonio Friday evening, and then close out the trip Sunday night against the Rampage.

Player of the Week Nominee:

Moose rookie centre Mario Bliznak is this week's nominee for Moose Player of the Week... This week, Bliznak appeared in both games for Manitoba and scored a goal and an assist while finishing the week +3... As a result, Bliznak now has two goals and seven assists for nine points which leaves him fifth in team scoring... However, he is now +13 which is tops on the Moose.

Moose Notes:

SUPERIOR IN A SHOOTOUT:
Friday night’s 4-3 shootout victory over Iowa was Manitoba’s first venture into overtime and first shootout encounter this season. Prior to Nov. 28th, Manitoba’s most recent regular season shootout experience was on Mar. 28/08 vs. Rochester (4-5 L). The most shootout losses the Moose have recorded in a single season is 14 and it occured twice (1998-99 & 1999-00).

INSTANT IMPACT:
In their first game in the 2008-09 AHL season, Mark Derlago and Olivier Labelle both made their mark against the Iowa Chops on Nov. 28/08. Derlago netted the game’s first goal 2:07 into the contest. He also was chosen as a shooter in the shootout where he scored one of the three Moose goals. Olivier Labelle earned a helper on Maxime Fortunus’ second goal of the night, third goal of the game and extended his point streak to two-games with another assist on Saturday.

NOTES ON NOVEMBER:
With last Saturday’s 4-3 loss against Iowa, Manitoba closed out the month of November with a 9-2-0-0 (.818) record and 18 of 22 possible points. This is the best November record to date in franchise history. Last season, the Moose earned 13 of 22 (.591) possible points in the 11th month. Since joining the AHL in 2001-02, the Moose have never finished below .500 in the month of November.

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