MANITOBA HOSTS ABBOTSFORD FOR REMATCH TOMORROW NIGHT
By Christina Caligiuri
In their first game back after a seven-day holiday break, the Manitoba Moose earned a 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat in front of 7,748 fans at MTS Centre on Sunday night. Evan Oberg and Nathan McIver both notched their first goals of the season while Michael Grabner and Brian Salcido rounded out the scoring. Goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 24 of 25 shots in his 15th victory this campaign.
Keith Seabrook’s holding penalty at 1:59 put the Moose on the first powerplay of the night. A mere five seconds into the man-advantage Brian Salcido blasted the puck from the point allowing it to trickle past Matt Keetley to open the scoring.
Manitoba returned the favor at 4:01 when Pierre-Cedric Labrie was penalized for roughing. Even though the visiting Heat fired two shots on Cory Schneider, they couldn’t get one past the starting net minder.
The Moose earned some cushion room 2:08 into the second frame. With a fed from Sergei Shirokov, Michael Grabner went top shelf over a sprawled Keetley for a 2-0 lead.
A 6:38 Nathan McIver notched his first goal of the season when he snuck the puck through Keetley’s five-hole for a three-goal lead. A minute and a half later, Evan Oberg scored his first goal when he directed the puck over Keetley’s glove. After the goal, Abbotsford swapped goaltenders and put Leland Irving between the pipes.
By the midway point of the final period, the Moose were leading the shot clock 30-20. On Abbotsford’s 23rd shot of the night and on their fifth powerplay they broke onto the scoreboard. With a scramble in front of Schneider’s crease, Kris Chucko slid the puck over the goal line, 4-1.
Back-and-forth play consumed the remainder of the game and the Moose earned two points with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Heat.
| Scoring | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Manitoba | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
MTS Centre, Dec 27, 2009
Penalties
Penalties
Penalties
Penalties
| Shots | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford | 6 | 7 | 12 | 25 | |
| Manitoba | 13 | 12 | 7 | 32 |
POWER PLAYS:
Abbotsford
1 / 5 | 10 min / 5 inf | 1 G + 2 A = 3 Pts
Manitoba
1 / 5 | 10 min / 5 inf | 4 G + 7 A = 11 Pts
GOALTENDERS:
Abbotsford
36, M. Keetley (L), 28:08, 19, 15, 4
35, L. Irving , 31:52, 13, 13, 0
Manitoba
35, C. Schneider (W), 59:56, 25, 24, 1
ATTENDANCE:
7748
1. MTB - S. Shirokov
2. MTB - M. Grabner
3. MTB - E. Oberg
The Moose close-out their doubleheader with the Heat tomorrow night at MTS Centre.