Moose Sit Fourth in North

Author: Christina Caligiuri

March 9, 2010

The Manitoba Moose earned a 2-2-0-0 record in Week 23 after splitting their closing-season series with both Worcester and Grand Rapids.  Marty Murray earned four points (1g & 3a) in Week 23 while Manitoba held onto their fourth place standing in the North Division with 70 points.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Manitoba 3 – Worcester 1 W
The Manitoba Moose fought off a shark-attack on Tuesday night when they beat Worcester by a 3-1 score in front of 6,027 fans at MTS Centre.  Sergei Shirokov, Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Matt Pope all notched goals for Manitoba while goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 34 of 35 shots in his 26th victory this campaign.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010: Manitoba 2 – Worcester 5 L
After beating the second place Sharks last night, the Moose dropped a 5-2 decision to the Worcester club in the rematch Wednesday night in front of 6,374 fans at MTS Centre.  Manitoba finished 1-3-0-0 against the Sharks in their first-ever four-game regular season series.  Marty Murray and Travis Ramsey both scored for Manitoba while goaltender Daren Machesney stopped 38 of 43 shots in his 13th loss this campaign.

Friday, March 5, 2010: Manitoba 1 – Grand Rapids 4 L
The Manitoba Moose dropped a divisional battle last night when they suffered a 4-1 loss to the seventh place Grand Rapids Griffins in front of 9,561 fans at the Van Andel Arena.  Lawrence Nycholat scored Manitoba’s lone goal while Cory Schneider stopped 32 of 35 shots in the loss.

Saturday, March 6, 2010: Manitoba 2 – Grand Rapids 1 OTW
The Manitoba Moose closed-out their road trip in Grand Rapids with a 2-1 victory against the Griffins in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,834 spectators at the Van Andel Arena.  Sergei Shirokov scored Manitoba’s only goal in regulation time, while Mario Bliznak celebrated his 23rd birthday by netting the overtime winner. Cory Schneider stopped 42 of 43 shots in the victory.

LOOKING AHEAD:
This weekend, Rockford visits Manitoba for the first time this season to open the final two-game series between these Western Conference opponents.  Earlier this season, Manitoba won two games at Rockford on Nov. 25 (2-1W) and Dec. 6 (4-3W).  Historically, Manitoba holds a 5-3-0-2 record against the IceHogs (1-2-0-1 when playing on home ice).  Moose left-winger Matt Pettinger leads all Moose skaters with three points (2g & 1a) against the IceHogs while Cory Schneider has appeared in both wins against the Chicago Blackhawks affiliate this campaign.

NOT-SO SPECIAL TEAMS:
By allowing two powerplay goals on eight opportunities Friday night in Grand Rapids and going zero-for-six on their own powerplay, the Moose have dropped in both special team categories.  The Moose are currently second-last in the league on the powerplay, only capitalizing 12.8 per cent of the time.  In fact, the Moose haven’t notched a powerplay goal in their last 17 chances.  The club also sits 19th on the penalty kill at 81.2 per cent. They have given up four opposing powerplay goals in their last four contests.

DIVISION DETAILS:
With 14 games remaining on the regular season schedule, things are getting tight and tense in the North Division.  Currently, the Moose are in fourth place in the North Division with 70 points.  They are only four points back from the third place Abbotsford Heat and six points back from the second place Rochester Americans.  However, the fifth place Lake Erie Monsters are only four points from the Moose.  The Hamilton Bulldogs remain in top spot with 92 points.

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