MANITOBA 5, SAN ANTONIO 2
Mark Cullen tallied a hat trick and Jason Krog also posted three points (1-2-3) as Manitoba cruised to a 5-2 win over visiting San Antonio on Thursday at the MTS Centre in the first of a two-game set.
Second-year goaltender Cory Schneider made 22 saves to win his 10th straight game for the Moose, who captured their fourth straight win as a team.
San Antonio initially took a 1-0 lead just 48 seconds into the game when rookie Brett MacLean scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
But Cullen scored twice and Jason Jaffray once for the Moose before the period was over to give Manitoba a 3-1 advantage heading into intermission.
Krog provided additional insurance midway through the second stanza. After the Rampage’s Derek Nesbitt tallied a power play goal at 18:31 of the third period, Cullen completed his hat trick with an empty-net marker at 19:31.
Schneider has now won 10 consecutive outings since suffering a 3-1 loss to Hamilton in the Moose’s first game of the season on Oct. 10.
The Rampage saw their franchise-record winless skid reach 11 games (0-10-0-1) and will take on Manitoba in a rematch on Friday at the MTS Centre.
