Moose take 1 of 2 in Hamilton

Game 1 in Hamilton saw Cory Schneider shine as he made 31 saves en route to a 2-1 victory for the Moose over the Bulldogs. Schneider was great early and often as he made some key saves on a Bulldogs power play only seconds into the game and stopped Ryan White on a penalty shot midway through the first. Shortly after the penalty shot the Moose took consecutive penalties which set up a 5 on 3 for Hamilton. Unable to score the Bulldogs peppered Schneider with 10 shots in that two man advantage. At the conclusion of the second period the score was still 0-0 with the Bulldogs out shooting the Moose 21-10.
Seven minutes into the third Schneiders hard work paid off as Sergei Shirokov sniped a shot from the face off circle over Curtis Sanford's glove to give Manitoba a 1-0 advantage. Matt Pettinger and Marty Murray drew the assists. Mere moments after the Moose tally the Bulldogs got even with a beautiful goal by Ryan Russell who took advantage of a great tic-tac-toe passing play and slid the puck under Schneider. As the game drew to a close Schneider made several outstanding saves to keep it notched at 1 and force overtime.
In overtime both clubs came out with a purpose looking to end it early. After some back to back action with some great opportunities at both ends Nolan Baumgartner finally ended the game. His shot was initially stopped by Sanford, but he fell backwards and as he did took the puck into the net with him. Assists go to Mario Bliznak and Guillame Desbiens.
Baumgartner earned first star credits for his goal as well as his solid job on the Penalty Kill while Cory Schneider drew second star in a first star effort.

In Game 2 Hamilton came out flying and scored only 23 seconds into the game. Mathieu Darche showed great patience and hand-eye co-ordination as he batted the puck out of mid-air past Cory Schneider to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Just over 3 minutes later, however, Manitoba would get even as Matt Pettinger batted in a rebound on the Power Play to tie the game at 1. Sergei Shirokov and Marty Murray drew helpers on the play. Less than 3 minutes after that Hamilton pulled ahead for good as Ryan White scored to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead, one they would not look back on.
Darche would score again in the second to extend the lead to 3-1. The shots at this point were 18-8 Bulldogs and for a second game in a row they were throwing everything they could at Schneider. It would serve to pay off as Tommy Pyatt would score on a Power Play with 35 seconds remaining to serve the final score 4-1 Hamilton. Manitoba would end up being out shot 29-15 in the game and on back to back nights could thank their goaltender for not being blown out.

The Moose will now have two days off before games in Chicago on Friday and Milwaukee on Saturday. Many people are looking forward to Friday as it marks the debut of Chris Chelios as a member of the Chicago Wolves. The 47 year old recently signed with the AHL club which plays in his hometown and is eager to make his debut. NOTE: All can watch this game FREE as the AHL is offering a free preview of their online game center service. Simply visit www.theAHL.com on Friday and check out the Moose take on Chelios on the Wolves, as well as any other AHL game on that night for free.
On Saturday the Moose end their road trip in Milwaukee to take on one of the two teams named the Admirals in the AHL (Norfolk). I was personally looking forward to this game as I would be able to see one of my favourite Canucks in Dave Scatchard play. This will not take place as Scatchard has been re-called by the Nashville Predators. Hopefully he sticks in the NHL as he continues his comeback bid.

Check back tomorrow for the weekly Thursday edition of Players of the Week, Transactions, and Players to Watch.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow us on twitter @moosehockeyblog.