By Tim Campbell

THE point will have to do, if only because it didn't look like any were forthcoming on Saturday night.

Not to mention the Manitoba Moose were up against the AHL's leading shootout participants, the Quad City Flames, who are obviously experts at collecting penalty-shot wins. It was their 10th shootout victory of the season, courtesy three tricky moves on the only three shots they needed.

Manitoba added a point to its standings total courtesy of Alex Bolduc's short-handed goal with 4:42 to play, a feat made doubly difficult in that it was the only penalty-killing situation of the night.

Bolduc rattled home Danny Groulx's rebound from a three-on-two rush, bringing Manitoba back from a 2-0 second period deficit and delighting the crowd of 10,589.

The Moose, now 32-24-2-3, have alternated wins and losses in their last six games. They maintained a share, and the tie-breaker, of second place with Hamilton in the North Division. The Moose and Flames meet again this afternoon at 2 p.m. at MTS Centre.

Quad City, 39-22-2-7, has won three in a row.

It was just the second shootout game of the second half for the Moose. The other was a month ago, Feb. 1, losing to Hamilton

It was also an evening of much frustration and not even those outstanding 1948 RCAF Flyers jerseys could inspire them to get a winning streak started.

Bolduc, who netted his 17th of the season to tie Jason Jaffray for the team lead, had a chance to even the game earlier in the third but he bobbled the puck then shot it wide on a third-period penalty shot awarded after he was fouled by Flames' Adam Pardy on a breakaway.

Factor out the shootout wins, and the Moose were a full 10 wins better than the visitors - actual hockey considered - heading into Saturday's game.

But that and a paid stamp on your tax bill still won't get your street plowed.

The Moose knew how it was going to be against a team that moves and works doggedly. That and the unfortunate coincidence of having referee Bob Langdon assigned to the weekend -- he prefers penalty-free action -- simply set the table for the assignment.

Battling in the tough areas with no realistic chance of getting power-play advantages is a tall order, but one teams might as well get used to, because this is the way things lean in the AHL playoffs.

Each team had but one power play.

Manitoba was able to keep it a game heading for the third when Jaffray, despite being hooked from the blue line in, managed to convert a perfectly executed three-on-two for his team-leading 17th of the season and his fourth in the last two games.

The Moose had other good shifts but without somebody successfully pulling the trigger, those pressure times can sometimes only increase the frustration.

Especially when the opponents strike back, as Quad City did for both its second period goals.

Warren Peters and Kris Chucko, on a play that appeared to be off-side, put shots past Moose starter Drew MacIntyre in the moments following solid Moose offensive pressure.

After today's game, the difficulty factor for the Moose goes up an obvious notch. They must play nine of the ensuing 11 games on the road, including next weekend's key match-ups in southern Ontario, twice against Hamilton and once in Toronto.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

Ice Chips

Quad City 3 Moose 2

FIRST PERIOD

Dancing in the dark. No score as both clubs get to know one another but keep each other at arm's length.

Moose 0 Quad City 0

SECOND PERIOD

Flames captain Warren Peters comes off the wall with the puck and whips a wrist shot over Moose goalie Drew MacIntyre's shoulder for first blood. Kris Chucko hammers a long-range slapper past MacIntyre and the Moose are on the ropes. Jason Jaffray finishes off a perfect 3-on-2 by flipping a backhander over Flames goalie Curtis McElhinney.

Quad City 2 Moose 1

THIRD PERIOD

Moose forward Alex Bolduc is awarded a penalty shot but selects a bad angle and then loses control of the puck before whipping it wide. Bolduc atones, however, as he scores a short-handed marker to even the score at 2-2 late in the third.

Moose 2 Quad City 2

OVERTIME

Shootout you say? Make it so.

Moose 2 Quad City 2

SHOOTOUT

The Flames pump in goals on their first three shots while the Moose muster just one. Krys Kolanos gets the winner.

Quad City 3 Moose 2

Upper deck

The Moose sold tickets into the upper deck of MTS Centre for the fourth time this season on Saturday night. The club was averaging 7,528 customers per game prior to Saturday's crowd of 10,589. The Moose are third in the league in average attendance behind the Hershey Bears (8,621) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (7,662).

Sweet jerseys

Manitoba wore replica jerseys in tribute of the 1948 Royal Air Force Flyers, winners of the gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics. The club hosted Military Night at the arena with four members, Ab Renault, Andre Laperriere, Murray Dowey and Andy Gilpin, of the RAF club in attendance.

Cat scratch fever

Defenceman Daniel Rahimi and winger Pierre-Cedric Labrie were healthy scratches Saturday night while Zack FitzGerald (jaw) and Jimmy Sharrow (shoulder) also sat out.

Bashful Bob

Referee Bob Langdon finds the whistle at 9:35 of the second period and his first penalty of the night goes against the Flames. Langdon called two minors all night. Gimme a break.

Next

Quad City Flames at Manitoba, today at MTS Centre, 2 p.m. (CJOB).

-- Gary Lawless