It was a rare start and an all-too-familiar result for Daren Machesney.
As in many of his appearances, Machesney played well but received little or no offensive support as the Manitoba Moose fell 2-0 to the Marlies on Saturday afternoon in Toronto.
Starting for the first time since Jan. 31, Machesney made 30 saves but is now 4-12. The Moose fell to 28-26-5-1.
The Marlies have taken three of four games from the Moose the past eight days.
Arborg product James Reimer made 31 saves to record his first American Hockey league shutout.
After sitting out two games with an "upper-body" injury, defenceman Lawrence Nycholat returned to the lineup, leaving Marty Murray as a healthy veteran scratch.
Forward Michael Grabner (five straight games with a goal) and Dan Sexton (five straight games with a point) saw offensive streaks end.
The Houston Aeros host the Moose on Friday.
TAKE IT OUTSIDE: Syracuse, N.Y. was the site for the first outdoor game in the 74-year history of the AHL on Saturday afternoon.
The Syracuse Crunch beat the Binghamton Senators 2-1 before a crowd of 21,508 to eclipse the single-game AHL attendance record.
Moose GM Craig Heisinger attended, but said it's too early to say whether his team would be willing to host one down the road.
"You sort of have to mull it over and digest it," said Heisinger. "It's a neat atmosphere. I went to see what it's like. I think the work is probably worthwhile. If you ever get one of those days where you can't pull it off because of weather then you've got a headache, but that hasn't happened to this point.
"Syracuse did a good job with the game and I imagine it was a huge success for them. I just don't know the appetite for sitting outside (in Winnipeg) in January or February to watch a game. I don't know how it would be received."
ken.wiebe@sunmedia.ca
