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TGIF...I don’t think so: The Manitoba Moose will play 25 games on Friday evenings this season, the most of any day of the week. Last Friday’s overtime loss at the hands of the Rochester Americans was the first point that the Moose have earned in six games played on Friday nights. The Moose now sit at 0-5-1-0 on Fridays and will be looking for their first Friday night win this week at home when they face the Milwaukee Admirals at the MTS Centre.
Moose earn first shutout: With Saturday night’s 1-0 blanking of the Syracuse Crunch, the Manitoba Moose earned their first shutout of the season. Dany Sabourin earned his first shutout as a member of the Moose stopping all 27 shots fired at him. Last season, the Moose set a franchise record with eight shutouts, three of those coming on the road. Wade Flaherty had six shutouts, setting the record for most shutouts in a single season by a Moose goaltender. At this same point last season, the Moose had already earned three shutouts with road shutouts coming in Milwaukee and San Antonio, while they also shutout the Cleveland Barons at the MTS Centre.
Record vs the North: Tuesday’s game versus the Bulldogs is the last in a three-game road trip in which the Moose faced three of their North Division rivals. So far, the Moose have earned three of a possible four points on the road trip, including a shutout of Syracuse on Saturday and a tough overtime loss to league leading Rochester on Friday. This season the Moose have played nine games versus North Division opponents and hold an overall record of 4-3-1-1. Seven of those nine games have come on the road where the Moose are now 2-3-1-1. Last season, Manitoba was 23-11-5-5 against the North Divison.
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The Moose went 1-0-1-0 during week seven of the AHL season, improving their record to 6-8-2-2 on the year and leaving them third in the North Division standings. The Moose started the week with a tough overtime loss to league leading Rochester at the Blue Cross Arena on Friday and then followed that with a dramatic last second shutout victory over the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday.
Going into Friday's game versus Rochester the Moose knew they were going to be in for a tough task as the Americans held the best record in the AHL and had yet to lose at the Blue Cross Arena this season. Things didn't look too good for Manitoba either as they trailed 3-1 with less than 10:00 to play in the third period. To the team's credit they kept battling and at 12:09 Brad Moran scored a powerplay goal to bring the Moose within a goal of the Americans. Then with just :43 seconds to play, Jesse Schultz scored on a nice give-and-go with Jason Jaffray to tie the game and send it to overtime. Unfortunately the Moose surrendered the game-winner just :13 into the extra frame, but they did manage to earn a point in a building where points haven't come easy for any team this season.( see the recap)
The next night the Moose travelled to Syracuse for the first of eight meetings with the Crunch this season. This was the first time the teams had met since their hard fought playoff series in the '05-'06 Calder Cup Playoffs that saw the Moose win 4-2. This was also the first time that long time Crunch forward Brad Moran would face his former squad. Moran still holds several of Syracuse's franchise records including points (241), assists (143), games played (334), powerplay goals (38), and shorthanded goals (9). Goaltending was key in this one, as it looked as though this game was destined to go to overtime as a scoreless draw. Unfortunately for the Syracuse fans, Jason Jaffray had other ideas, as he picked the puck out of a scrum just inside the Crunch blueline, walked in and wristed a shot through the five-hole on Ty Conklin with just :05 left to play in regulation. The goal was Jaffray's team-leading 12th goal of the season and his third game-winner. Dany Sabourin, playing in only his second game as a member of the Moose, earned his first shutout as a member of the team and the first shutout for the Moose this season.( see the recap)
The Moose will now play Hamilton at Copps Coliseum on Tuesday, November 21st. The winner of that game will stand alone in second place in the North Division standings behind Rochester. Currently the Moose are one point behind Hamilton for second and one point ahead of Grand Rapids who sit fourth. The Moose will then come home to host the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday, November 24th and Saturday, November 25th at the MTS Centre.
 The Moose play Hamilton at Copps Coliseum on Tuesday, November 21st. The game will be a battle for second place in the North Division standings. The Moose will look to reverse their troubling history playing at Copps Coliseum where their record in 25 visits is only 4-18-2-1 including a 5-3 defeat to Hamilton earlier this season on Oct. 6/06. The last time the Moose won in Hamilton was a 5-4 shootout victory over two years ago on Oct. 31/04 as the Moose edged the Bulldogs 2-1 thanks to a 32 save performance from Wade Flaherty. Overall, the Moose are 14-27-2-2 vs. the Bulldogs.
 The Moose will then return home to face the Milwaukee Admirals for a two-game set on Friday and Saturday at the MTS Centre. The Moose will be looking to avenge a 2-0 shutout loss suffered at the hands of the Admirals earlier this year. Since joining the AHL in 2001, the Moose are 12-11-0-2 in 25 games against Milwaukee. |
 Jason Jaffray appeared in both games for the Moose last week, recording a goal and two assists for three points… His lone goal was the game-winner in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Syracuse to snap a three-game winless skid… The goal came with :05 left in regulation time... He also fired five shots at the net in Syracuse... He collected a pair of assists Friday night in Rochester in Manitoba's 4-3 overtime loss... Jaffray is the team's leading scorer with 17 points in 18 games to remain in the AHL's top 20 scorers... His team-leading 12 goals is fourth in the AHL... His third game-winning goal is tied for tops in the league. |
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