Moose Update For The Week of 11/15/09 – 11/21/09

(My apologies for the lateness of this update. I sort of banged up my right foot on Saturday night, and I’m having trouble walking or sitting still because of it. It’s not anything overly serious–it should heal on its own–but it’s enough of a bother that I’m doing this a day later than planned. Anyways, on to the update…)

Coming off a couple of wins over their division rivals, the Toronto Marlies, the Manitoba Moose looked to extend their streak against another North Division rival, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Find out the details of what happened below in this Moose update for the week of November 15, 2009 to November 21, 2009. For those looking for a more statistical look at how the Moose did during the past week, please visit that version of this report at Hockey’s Future Vancouver Canucks message board.

Pettinger Placed On Waivers By Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they have put forward Matt Pettinger on NHL waivers. Despite this, Pettinger is expected to dress for the Canucks tonight in their match-up against the Colorado Avalanche.

Pettinger, 29, has played in six games for the Canucks this season, picking up two points (1-1-2), two penalty minutes, and four shots on net. The Edmonton, Alberta native started off the season practicing with the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings before getting picked up by the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. In seven games with the Moose, Pettinger had four points (2-2-4) and a +2 rating.

Ducks Send Christensen To The Moose

The Manitoba Moose, who up until last week were struggling to find the back of the net, received a temporary boost to their offensive corps today. The Anaheim Ducks loaned forward Erik Christensen to the Moose for a conditioning stint.

Christensen, 26, has played in nine games for the Ducks this season, failing to pick up a point. While he has struggled so far to score for Anaheim in 2009-10, the Edmonton, Alberta native has shown the ability to score at the AHL level. In his last stint in the league in 2006-07, Christensen picked up 24 points (12-12-24) in 16 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Moose Update For The Week Of 11/08/09 – 11/14/09

Moose fans got to see their team take on the Toronto Marlies in a pair of games over the weekend, and did not leave disappointed either night. Find out the details below in this Moose update for the week of November 8, 2009 to November 14, 2009. For those looking for a more statistical look at how the Moose did during the past week, please visit that version of this report at Hockey’s Future Vancouver Canucks message board.

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The Week That Was

Moose forward Marty Murray opened the scoring off a juicy rebound just under two minutes into Friday’s game to give his team a quick 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until the midway mark of the first, when Ryan Hamilton deflected a Tyler Bozak pass to tie the game up at one. From then on it was all Moose, as Marco Rosa went top-shelf on Joey MacDonald a minute into the second to put Manitoba ahead 2-1. Darryl Bootland picked up his first goal of the season off a Marco Rosa pass to give the Moose a 3-1 lead, then proceeded to duke it out with Jonas Frogren in a unique form of celebration. With under three minutes to go, Sergei Shirokov broke his five-game goalless drought by converting on a Travis Ramsey pass to make it 4-1 Manitoba. Neil Petruic capped off the scoring with his first of the year midway through the final frame to give Manitoba its first win six games, and first regulation win since October 16th. The five goals were the most scored this season by the Moose (they also scored five against Abbotsford in a 5-4 shootout win on October 14th), and it was the first time the team had scored more than two goals in a game in 13 games.

Schneider Sent Down, Funk Out With Another Concussion

The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they have sent down goaltender Cory Schneider to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. This of course means that Roberto Luongo will return for tonight’s game against the St. Louis Blues, likely in a backup role to fellow netminder Andrew Raycroft.

Schneider, 23, played in one game for the Canucks in his latest stint with the team, stopping 45 of 47 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars last Friday. 40 of those 45 saves came in the first two periods alone.

Moose Update For The Week Of 11/01/09 – 11/07/09

Were the Manitoba Moose able to win their first game in regulation since mid-October? Find out below in this update for the week of November 1, 2009 to November 7, 2009. For those looking for a more statistical look at how the Moose did during the past week, please visit that version of this report at Hockey’s Future Vancouver Canucks message board.

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The Week That Was

The Manitoba Moose and Norfolk Admirals faced off for the first time ever, just over eight years after the Moose entered the AHL from the now-defunct International Hockey League (IHL). The Ads made their presence felt early into their first visit to the MTS Centre, as former Brandon Wheat King Ryan Craig scored off a rebound just 1:29 in to give his team a 1-0 lead. Just past the halfway mark of the first, Matt McCue one-timed Tommy Maxwell’s pass from behind the net to even up the game at one. For those keeping track, this was the first goal and points scored by the fourth line this season, a period of 15 games. The score stayed even until the early stages of the third, when Brandon Bochenski converted on the power play to put the Admirals up for good. Paul Szczechura added an empty-netter late in the game to give Norfolk a 3-1 win over Manitoba.

Canucks Sign Pettinger; Moose Bring Back Latendresse

After a short stint with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, the parent Vancouver Canucks have signed left winger Matt Pettinger to a contract. The details of Pettinger’s contract have not been released, as per team policy.

The move to bring Pettinger in was brought about by the injury bug that has hit the Canucks hard this season. Currently, there are at least seven players (Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin, Pavol Demitra, Ryan Johnson, Jannik Hansen, Alexandre Bolduc, and now Michael Grabner) out with various types of injuries, leaving the team with 11 healthy forwards. In total, the Canucks have lost 75 man-games due to injury and have not had less than three players on their injured list, yet somehow have an 8-7 record.

Moose Update For The Week Of 10/25/09 – 10/31/09

The Manitoba Moose concluded their busiest month of the season last week. Were they able to resolve their offensive woes, despite missing nearly half their lineup? Find out below in this update for the week of October 25, 2009 to October 31, 2009. For those looking for a more statistical look at how the Moose did during the past week, please visit that version of this report at Hockey’s Future Vancouver Canucks message board.

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The Week That Was

The Manitoba Moose entered Thursday’s game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins down eight regulars from their lineup. Four of those players (Michael Grabner, Sergei Shirokov, Alexandre Bolduc, and Cory Schneider) were up with the big club; three (Lawrence Nycholat, Matt Pope, and Eric Walsky) were out with injuries/aimlents; and Nathan McIver was out due to a one-game suspension he received for a hit he delivered on Chicago Wolves forward Angelo Esposito last week.