Manitoba Moose Get Shot Down By The Houston Aeros 3-0 In AHL Action

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com – HOUSTON, TX. -- In the first and only morning face-off of the regular season, the Manitoba Moose saw their four-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Houston Aeros. Aeros goaltender Nolan Shaefer stopped all 21 Moose shots for a 3-0 shutout victory, his fifth of the season. Manitoba is now winless in three games vs. Houston heading into Saturday night’s rematch.

With 9,000 school kids in the crowd, Canadian AHL All-Star teammates Drew MacIntyre and Nolan Schaefer started the Thursday matinee in net for Manitoba and Houston. After an opening three minutes of back-and-forth play, Alexandre Bolduc was dealt an interference penalty, giving Houston the first man-advantage of the game. On the Aeros' third shot on the powerplay, Steve Kelly got the puck past MacIntyre to give the home-team an early 1-0 lead.

The powerplay opportunities continued for Houston, with Zack FitzGerald taking a two-minute minor at 7:16. The five-on-four didn't last long, however, as Houston's Ryan Hamilton went to the penalty box 37 seconds later. Though neither team managed to score on those powerplays, the Aeros extended their lead to two goals near the period's halfway point. Pouncing on Paul Albers' rebound, Peter Olvecky beat MacIntyre for the second time to put the Aeros up 2-0.

A handful of collisions in the Moose zone resulted in a scrap between Rick Rypien and Brandon Rogers between the benches. When fists stopped flying and the blood was cleaned up, Houston netted extra boarding and tripping penalties and Manitoba benefited from a five-on-three powerplay. Despite the two-man advantage, the Moose were unable to beat Schaefer and the club headed to the first intermission trailing 12 shots to six and down 2-0.

Manitoba more than doubled up Houston in shots through their fifth powerplay at 5:44, but the visitors continued to be stymied by Schaefer. As the period progressed, the Moose assumed their first shot-lead before offering up a 34-second two-man-advantage and closing out the period on the penalty kill.

As the seconds ticked down and the Aeros set themselves up in the Moose zone, Maxim Noreau drilled the puck from the point and put Houston up 3-0 after 40 minutes of play.

In the final seven minutes of the game, a pushing match behind MacIntyre's net triggered two minutes of four-on-four play. A short time later, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to Nathan McIver gave the Aeros their fifth powerplay of the game. Though the home team was unable to increase their lead, fans were thrilled by an intense fight in the Houston zone upon McIver's return to the ice.

Although the Moose attempted to break Schaefer in the game's dying minutes, the Aeros goalie stopped Manitoba's four-game win streak by holding on for a 3-0 shutout victory.