Welcome back Matt Pettinger, the Manitoba Moose have missed you dearly.
Playing his first Moose game since Oct. 30 after appearing in seven games with the parent Vancouver Canucks, Pettinger potted a pair of goals in the third period to erase a 1-0 deficit and lead the Moose to a 2-1 victory over the Rockford IceHogs before a crowd of 3,522 last night in Rockford, Ill.
Goalie Cory Schneider, making his fifth consecutive start, stopped 39 shots to win his 10th game of the AHL season.
With the win, the Moose captured their fourth road game of the campaign, improve to 12-9-3-0 overall and will continue a three-game road trip tomorrow night against the Peoria Rivermen.
Kyle Greentree gave the home side a lead at 13:42 of the second period, but a double minor for high-sticking to IceHogs' forward Bryan Bickell opened the door for the Moose.
Pettinger's power play goal at 8:01 tied the contest and an even-strength marker 42 seconds later put the Moose ahead.
Newcomer Dan Sexton, who was assigned by the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, had two assists in his Moose debut.
HOOF PRINTS: Prior to the contest, the Moose released forward John Lammers from his pro tryout offer and recalled defenceman Taylor Ellington from the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL. Lammers had no points in 11 games with the Moose this season, while Ellington, a second round choice (33rd overall) of the Canucks in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, had one goal and five points in 13 games with the Salmon Kings. The Moose will be without defenceman Evan Oberg for the trip after the rookie misplaced his passport. Russian forward Sergei Shirokov had a four-game goal-scoring streak snapped last night.
ken.wiebe@sunmedia.ca
