The Manitoba Moose made history on Sunday afternoon.
The Moose defeated the Toronto Marlies 5-1 at the Ricoh Coliseum to set a franchise record with at least a point in their 14th straight game. The win moves the AHL leading Moose three points ahead of the Marlies who sit in second place in the overall standings.
After Ben Smith opened the scoring for the Marlies, Nic Petan answered back for Manitoba and it was tied at one through 20 minutes. Petan has points in seven of his last eight games and has notched three goals and nine assists over that span.
Kirill Gotovets scored the only goal in the middle frame as his first goal as a member of the Moose had them up 2-1 after two periods.
Manitoba had a crucial penalty kill early in the third period as they kept the Marlies in check on a 5-on-3 man advantage. Shortly afterwards Jack Roslovic scored his 14th goal of the season to put the Moose ahead by a pair.
Patrice Cormier and Buddy Robinson each scored into the empty net to secure a 5-1 victory. Robinson finished the game with a goal and two assists.
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Moose goalie Michael Hutchinson stayed red hot as he made 27 saves. He stopped a combined 66 of the 68 shots he faced in two wins over the Marlies this weekend. He’s now 11-0-1 in his last 12 starts.
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Winnipeg’s Calvin Pickard made 22 stops for the Marlies as Toronto outshot Manitoba 28-27.
The victory ensures the Moose will be leading the division at the end of the calendar year, so head coach Pascal Vincent will be coaching the Central Division at the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic.
The old franchise record of 13 consecutive games with at least a single point was reached twice by the Moose. It was originally set in the 1997-1998 season and the Moose tied the mark in the 2009-2010 campaign.
Manitoba has won 16 of their last 18 games.
The Moose will now return to Winnipeg for a four game homestand that will take them through the Christmas break. Their next game is on Thursday in the first of back to back games against the San Antonio Rampage at Bell MTS Place.
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