SAN ANTONIO -- It was another special night for the Manitoba Moose special teams units.
MOOSE 5 RAMPAGE 1
The Moose got four power-play goals, including two with a two-man advantage, and were a perfect 6-for-6 while short-handed in a 5-1 victory over the San Antonio Rampage in American Hockey League action last night.
The lone blemish for Manitoba's special teams was giving up a short-handed goal to Jamie Lundmark late in the second period.
The Moose, now 9-3 and riding a five-game winning streak, bused back to Houston shortly after the game and will face the Aeros today at 5:05 p.m. to conclude the modified Texas two-step. The team travels home tomorrow, will practice Tuesday and Wednesday before heading back out on Thursday to continue a stretch of seven consecutive road games.
"I'm not doing anything really -- the players are the one's that are working hard and following what needs to be done," said Moose head coach Alain Vigneault, whose team has won six consecutive road games. "Defensively, we're pretty solid right now."
First-period power-play goals by Maxime Fortunus and Sven Butenschon put the Moose up by a pair. Power-play markers from Nathan Smith and Butenschon in the second helped the Moose take full control of the contest.
Brandon Nolan had the other goal for the Moose, burying a beautiful backhand on a deke for his first goal of the season.
"We're gaining confidence every game," said Butenschon, who has been a rock on the blue-line during the road trip.
With Wade Flaherty given a well-deserved night off after posting three consecutive victories, newcomer Robert Gherson was left to make his Moose debut.
GOALTENDING ISSUES
Gherson didn't have an abundance of work, but was good enough to pick up the victory and add an assist.
"It took awhile to get into the game because there wasn't much action," said Gherson. "It was definitely exciting but I didn't have to anything really. I wasn't a factor in the game."
The Rampage had some goaltending issues as Brian Boucher was unable to go after re-injuring his right groin late in the second period of Wednesday's game with the Moose and veteran Steve Passmore left the club to join a team in Europe.
Veteran Moose defenceman Jason Doig was unable to play because of a groin injury he suffered late in Friday's game with the Aeros, leaving captain Mike Keane to serve as the sixth defenceman.
Keane, who notched his first assist of the season, did a nice job, taking a regular shift, killing penalties and even doing duty with the power-play unit on several occasions.
Doig is listed as day to day.
