MANITOBA EARNS 4-2 VICTORY TO EXTEND POINTS STREAK TO SEVEN GAMES
By Christina Caligiuri
The Manitoba Moose swept their four-game regular season series against the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night with a 4-2 victory in front of 6,722 fans at the Allstate Arena. Mario Bliznak potted two goals while Matt Pettinger and Dan Sexton both notched singles. Goaltender Daren Machesney stopped 28 of 30 attempts to extend Manitoba’s point streak to seven straight games.
The Moose soared out of the gates and scored 19 seconds into the match-up. Marco Rosa slipped the bullet to Mario Bliznak who was waiting patiently in front of the net. The centre man tipped the puck over former Moose goaltender Drew MacIntyre to open the scoring.
Manitoba’s powerplay unit made their debut at 5:07 when Grant Lewis was handed a delay of game penalty. With the Moose situated in Chicago’s zone, Matt Pettinger squeaked the puck through MacIntyre’s legs to extend his clubs lead, 2-0.
The two teams exchanged powerplays late in the opening period, but neither club capitalized on their respective man-advantages.
The Moose capped off a momentum shift with their third unanswered goal of the night. Mario Bliznak charged the net and beat MacIntyre through his five-hole for his second of the night. After the goal, the Wolves swapped goaltenders, putting Peter Mannino between the pipes.
A defensive slip up by Chicago gave the Moose a three-on-one advantage in Chicago’s zone. Dan Sexton scored his first AHL goal when he wired the bullet past Mannino to put the Moose in a 4-0 lead.
With Sergei Shirokov serving time for tripping at 3:01 of the third period, the Wolves broke their goose-egg. With an initial shot by Johnny Pohl, Joey Crabb redirected the rebound into the net to get on the score sheet.
Chicago benefited from their third powerplay at 10:14 when Neil Petruic was serving a high-sticking call. With two shots on the man-advantage, Anthony Stewart’s wrist shot sailed over Machesney to put the Wolves within two.
Despite their two-goal third period, the Wolves couldn’t catch up and the Moose swept their four-game regular season series against the club with a 4-2 victory.
| Scoring | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitoba | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| Chicago | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Allstate Arena, Nov 28, 2009
Penalties
Penalties
Penalties
Penalties
| Shots | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitoba | 7 | 9 | 5 | 21 | |
| Chicago | 6 | 12 | 12 | 30 |
POWER PLAYS:
Manitoba
1 / 4 | 8 min / 4 inf | 4 G + 7 A = 11 Pts
Chicago
2 / 4 | 8 min / 4 inf | 2 G + 4 A = 6 Pts
GOALTENDERS:
Manitoba
1, D. Machesney (W), 60:00, 30, 28, 2
Chicago
30, D. MacIntyre (L), 30:46, 12, 9, 3
33, P. Mannino , 26:18, 9, 8, 1
ATTENDANCE:
6722
1. MTB - M. Bliznak
2. MTB - M. Pettinger
3. CHI - A. Stewart
The Moose are back at home to host the best in the North Division, the Rochester Americans, to kick off the month of December.