by Lawless, Gary , Winnipeg Free Press

ABSTRACT

The emergence of this duo as an effective pair should forecast good things for the Moose as the season grows older. [Jason Krog] was the league's MVP last season as well as its leading scorer but he's a set-up man and needs a finisher like [Michel Ouellet] to live up to his worth.

For the second night in a row the Moose take an early lead on a Michel Ouellet goal off a tidy feed from centre Jason Krog. Krog chased down the puck as he crossed the Rochester blue line and dealt a hot pass to Ouellet. The big winger one-timed it out of the air behind Amerks goalie Mike Brodeur.

Rochester's strategy pays off and they catch an early break as defenceman Cory Murphy hammers a bomb from the point that changes directions a number of times before slipping behind Moose goalie [Karl Goehring] to tie the game at 1-1. Ouellet scores his second of the game off a Krog feed on the power play and the Moose hold the lead until [Stefan Meyer] ties the game with five seconds left in regulation.

Red-hot sniper finds the net twice, but Amerks steal win in shootout

Just last season, winger Michel Ouellet counted 17 goals in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the season before that he scored 19 for the Pittsburgh Penguins. That kind of touch can be deadly in the AHL as Manitoba Moose fans are beginning to see.

Ouellet has caught fire and his two goals on Saturday night stood up for 59 minutes and 55 seconds before the Moose collapsed and eventually lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Rochester Americans.

Rochester's Stefan Meyer tied the game at 19:55 of the third and then Karl Stewart scored the winner for the Amerks, beating Moose goalie Karl Goehring in the 10th round of the shootout.

The loss was the sixth in seven starts for the Moose but they did earn a point for the shootout loss. It definitely has to be silver-lining time for a team that is in a mid-season freefall.

Ouellet's performance on this weekend is that shinier side of the cloud.

Twice a 30-goal scorer in the AHL, Ouellet has found space on a line with centre Jason Krog and pulled the trigger three times in the last two games for a season total of 11 goals.

The emergence of this duo as an effective pair should forecast good things for the Moose as the season grows older. Krog was the league's MVP last season as well as its leading scorer but he's a set-up man and needs a finisher like Ouellet to live up to his worth.

When they click, however, there are few answers at this AHL for their kind of offence. Krog is creative and brilliant with the puck and Ouellet's job is to bury his passes when they hit his stick. That's been the routine the last two games and on Saturday it should have been good enough for a win.

Goehring was strong and the rest of the club seemed to have more zip than usual but slumps seem to find ways to live on. That's what happened to the Moose, who allowed the Amerks to take four points and two wins on their weekend visit to Winnipeg.

Ouellet, who has struggled at times to find his way, seems to be adjusting to life on a line with Krog.

Twice Krog was able to draw defenders to his side of the ice and then hit a hustling Ouellet with the puck and both times the seven-year pro from Rimouski, Que., closed the deal.

The Moose have their issues with injuries and recalls to the Vancouver Canucks , forcing them to employ eight players who have seen action in the ECHL this season. That's a lot of players being forced to play above their stations in life at one time and the onus is on the top-end skaters like Krog and Ouellet to fill the void.

That happened on this night despite the eventual loss but it has to happen on a more consistent basis. It's not enough for Ouellet to show his skills every other game. He has to dominate night in and night for the Moose to have success -- and that's even more important when they're undermanned as they are now.

Ouellet has big-league finish and Krog is as stylish a playmaking centre in the AHL.

Together they can be difference-makers. If they can only get the rest of their teammates to climb aboard, this slump will find a way to die.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

Highlight

REEL

Americans 3

Moose 2 (SO)

First Period

For the second night in a row the Moose take an early lead on a Michel Ouellet goal off a tidy feed from centre Jason Krog. Krog chased down the puck as he crossed the Rochester blue line and dealt a hot pass to Ouellet. The big winger one-timed it out of the air behind Amerks goalie Mike Brodeur.

Moose 1 Americans 0

Second Period

The Amerks do to their best to suck the life out of this game. Offensive opportunities are hard to come by in a 20-minute frame that features a total of nine shots -- one for the visitors and eight for the Moose. Surprise, surprise, no scoring.

Moose 1 Americans 0

Third Period

Rochester's strategy pays off and they catch an early break as defenceman Cory Murphy hammers a bomb from the point that changes directions a number of times before slipping behind Moose goalie Karl Goehring to tie the game at 1-1. Ouellet scores his second of the game off a Krog feed on the power play and the Moose hold the lead until Stefan Meyer ties the game with five seconds left in regulation.

Moose 2 Americans 2

Overtime

Manitoba's Mike Keane misses on a breakaway and it's on to the penalty shot parade.

Shootout

The shootout goes 10 rounds before Rochester's Karl Stewart is able to ice the game and give the Amerks two points on the night and four for the weekend.

Snow, NFL

and world juniors

The Moose did their best to hold on to their market share on Saturday night as they dressed the players in Team Canada theme jerseys and played the Canada vs. Russia junior semifinal on the scoreboard during intermissions and breaks, but heavy snow and the NFL playoffs were factors that also worked against them. The club announced a crowd of 7,292, but there were almost as many empty seats as there were full in the lower bowl.

Up next: Hartford Wolf Pack

at Moose, MTS Centre, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

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