The way the Manitoba Moose are playing right now, they might want to hold off on flipping the calendar.
Thanks to another strong goaltending performance from Eddie Lack and a determined overall effort, the Moose extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Friday before a crowd of 11, 684 at MTS Centre.
The two teams meet again Saturday night at 7:35 p.m. as the Moose close out a six-game homestand.
Making his sixth consecutive start, Lack made 24 saves to earn his 13th win of the season and was 2.5 seconds away from recording his second shutout.
The Moose finish the 2010 portion of the American Hockey League schedule with a record of 18-10-0-4.
Moose winger Shawn Weller opened the scoring at 13:58 of the first period, taking a pass from Joel Perrault in the slot and whistling a shot through the five-hole of Peter Mannino.
The Moose lost Perrault 3:30 into the second period when he was given a major penalty for boarding and subsequent game misconduct for his hit on Andrew Kozek.
The silver lining for the home side was that they were able to get through the five minutes without giving up a goal.
Red-hot Moose defenceman Mark Flood extended the lead at 14:33 of the second, giving him six points in his last three games and 10 in his past six games.
Friday’s game marked the first AHL contest for rookie defenceman Yann Sauve, who missed the majority of the campaign with post-concussion syndrome.
Sauve picked up his first AHL point 59 seconds into the third period when his shot from the right point was deflected home by Marco Rosa during a power play, giving the Moose a 3-0 advantage.
Captain Nolan Baumgartner made it 4-0 at 6:43 of the third period, giving the Moose a second power-play marker.
A resurgent power play has been key during Manitoba’s winning streak.
After middling for much of the season, the Moose have gone 9-for-26 during the winning streak and it could have been 10 as Flood’s goal came just as a minor penalty had expired.
Mark Matheson scored the lone goal for the Wolves.
The addition of Sauve meant that Evan Oberg was back in the press box for the fifth time in six games and rookie Kevin Connauton missed a second consecutive game as a healthy scratch.
Prior to the game, the Moose received defenceman Ryan Parent on assignment from the Vancouver Canucks.
Parent appeared in seven games (one assist) with the Moose during a conditioning stint but hasn’t seen any game action since Dec. 10 when he was recalled by the Canucks.
A regular with the Philadelphia Flyers during last spring’s run to the Stanley Cup final, Parent has 106 NHL games on his resume and is expected to join the Moose for a road game in B.C. against the Abbotsford Heat on Monday.
