Official website of the Manitoba Moose (AHL)

Wednesday February 13 2008

Moose running hot
AHL team shoots down Stars for its 4th win in last 5 starts

By Gary Lawless

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Manitoba’s Greg Classen hunkers down for a faceoff with Iowa’s Marius Holtet at MTS Centre Tuesday night. The Moose went home with a 6-3 win.

IOWA Stars coach Dave Allison had a burr under his saddle early Tuesday morning and it likely developed into a full blown mind-splitter by night's end.

Allison felt his club had been shortchanged by Winnipeg media upon their arrival for a two-game series with the Manitoba Moose and was telling anyone who would listen that his club was here to compete and maybe do a little more.

Sadly for Allison, his goaltender Tobias Stephan had an off night and allowed at least three goals of the mouldy variety as the Moose took a 6-3 win before 6,242 spectators at MTS Centre.

Sure it was cold and maybe some were tempted to stay home for American Idol or some other drivel but for those who braved the elements and came downtown, here are 10 things that came to mind:

1Manitoba's Brad Moran, Colby Genoway and Jason Jaffray are too much to handle for most AHL defensive pairs. They rattled the puck around on a second-period power play before Moran flipped a backhand into the Iowa net. Too easy. Moran added a second later in the third. This trio can take over games.

2Jannik Hansen has spent too much time picking up Mike Keane's crumbs. The unlikely duo is sometimes inseparable at practice and Hansen has learned from the master. The dandy Dane laid out to block a shot on a penalty kill and if you had have slipped him into a Habs jersey, he would have been a dead ringer for a young Keane.

3Speaking of a young Keane, the Winnipegger could be seen on TSN's Tuesday morning loop rocking a sweet mullet. TSN put together a top-10 spinorama montage and Keane played a small role in No. 1 as he and Denis Savard celebrated Savard's goal. Keane now sports a high and tight fade but at one time could flip his locks with the best of them.

4The Moose got a first-hand look at their old captain Nolan Baumgartner and what he can still do. The rumour concerning a Vancouver-Dallas trade that would have Baumgartner return to the Moose won't go away. Stay tuned.

5Iowa's James Neal scored his fifth of the season on a wrist shot coming off the wall and looked like he could do it another 500 times. A solid skater with great size and a scoring touch. Soon to be seen in a Dallas game near you.

7Toby Petersen continues to have a fine season for Iowa. Petersen set up Iowa's first goal and now has 17 goals and 25 assists in 42 games. He's lots of player and creates for teammates.

8Alex Bolduc is officially a prospect. The Canucks can get off their wallet any day and offer him an NHL deal. The third-year Moose can skate, has size and now has 14 goals on the season. He's on an AHL contract but is as good a prospect as the Canucks have on contract. It'd be a shame to allow Bolduc to slip away.

9Stars goalie Tobias Stephan fought the puck all night and allowed three suspect goals. If he's even average on the night, Iowa most likely earns a road victory instead of a loss.

10fter losing six straight, the Moose have gone 6-2-0-1 in their last nine games and won four of their last five. February is a great time to make hay and the Moose appear to have heated up while all around them freeze. Including your faithful agent.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: Moose 6 Iowa 3

FIRST PERIOD

It's a bad start to the game for Iowa goalie Tobias Stephan. First, Shaun Heshka's point shot goes off a foot and past him in the game's second minute, then he completely whiffs on Jimmy Sharrow's harmless-looking wrister at 16:56 for a 2-0 Moose lead. The Stars rebound with a goal on James Neal's sharp wrist shot just 12 seconds later.

Moose 2 / Iowa 1

SECOND PERIOD

Ex-Moose Nolan Baumgartner ties the game for Iowa with a hot shot from the point on a power play. The Moose, however, answer with a little advantage magic of their own, getting an NHL-quality play from Colby Genoway, who collected a rebound and dished it out to the right-wing circle for Brad Moran. Moran's hot backhand gave the Moose the lead once again.

Moose 3 / Iowa 2

THIRD PERIOD

Iowa gets a lucky goal from Marty Sertich, when it goes in off Heshka's shin pad, but the Moose respond with vigour. Alex Bolduc pulls up on the right-wing boards and wires a bad-angle slapper past Stephan and then the butt-ending major to Iowa's Konstantin Pushkarev comes into play. The Moose strike on that power play with a goal by Max Fortunus, then Moran hits for his second of the game as the major expires and the Moose are home and cooled out.

Moose 6 / Iowa 3

ICE CHIPS

Game-breaker

Lots of options for the Moose, but Moran's two goals will do it as he continues to show his on-ice leadership. His three-point night gives him eight points in the last five games.

Power it up

Manitoba's six-goal outing was its best offensive night since Nov. 2, a 6-3 win in Milwaukee. The Moose had just six goals in their three previous games, but this explosion helped them move five points ahead of second-place Syracuse (with three games in hand) and six ahead of Hamilton.

Slow reversal

With Manitoba's injury/call-up absentee list down to six for Tuesday's game, there was some encouraging news on reducing that number even further. Injured defenceman Danny Groulx skated Tuesday morning and sounded optimistic that he'd be back in the lineup as early as week's end.

Powerful bug

You know when energetic Rick Rypien can't answer the bell, that's some flu bug that's got him. Rypien, and recently arrived forward Josh Pruden were scratches for the Moose Tuesday night.

Iowa at Moose, tonight at MTS Centre, 7:30 p.m. (CJOB).

-- Gary Lawless