Weekly Manitoba Moose Report - AHL

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - The Manitoba Moose secured second place in the North Division and quashed a six-game losing streak, the club's longest in AHL history, with two wins over the Syracuse Crunch this past week.

Thursday, January 24, 2008: Syracuse 1 - Manitoba 3 W
The Moose ended their six-game skid with a 3-1 victory over the Crunch on Thursday night at the MTS Centre. Moose captain Mike Keane earned his 600th professional point by tallying two assists in the game, and goalie Drew MacIntyre stopped 18 shots for his 15th win of the season.

Friday, January 25, 2008: Syracuse 1 - Manitoba 3 W
For the second night in a row, Manitoba sacrificed the first goal but answered with three to beat Syracuse 3-1 Friday night. Defenceman Jimmy Sharrow registered two assists and goaltender Drew MacIntyre stopped 27 shots for his second consecutive win heading into his AHL All-Star appearance Sunday and Monday evenings.

IT STOPS AT SIX: By registering a 3-1 win over Syracuse Thursday night, Manitoba ended a six-game losing streak, their longest in seven AHL seasons and second longest in franchise history. Prior to the game, the Moose hadn't registered a win since Jan. 5/08 when the club defeated the Rochester Americans 3-2 at the MTS Centre for their fourth straight win. Manitoba's longest losing streak was eight games between Jan. 25 - Feb. 11/01. That streak ended with a 4-1 home victory over Cleveland on Feb. 14/01.

TIGHT RACE FOR 2nd, 3rd, & 4th PLACE: By earning four points vs. Syracuse in Week 16, the Moose maintained sole possession of second place in the North Division. With 49 points, Manitoba is two points ahead of Syracuse, five points ahead of Hamilton, and six points ahead of Grand Rapids heading into this week's games. With the Moose, Bulldogs, and Crunch all vying for four points and the Griffins up for a possible six this week, the mid-section of the North Division standings could look a lot different by the end of the weekend. At the top of the heap, the Toronto Marlies continue to dominate with 65 points in 44 games.

NOTES ON THE NORTH: With back-to-back wins over Syracuse this past week, the Moose registered their sixth straight win over Divisional opponents and improved their record to 17-7-2-0 vs. the North. The last time the Moose lost within their division was in Syracuse on Dec. 29/07 (3-2). Manitoba's AHL-record six-game losing streak was suffered at the hands of West Division teams (Houston, San Antonio, & Peoria), dropping the Moose record vs. the West to 6-11-0-1. Manitoba plays outside their conference for the first time Feb. 27 & 28/08 vs. the East Division's Hershey Bears.