BY DAVE HELLER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Mighty Ducks coach Moe Mantha might want to take whatever he has been feeding his team at home with him on the road. Getting a few more tastes of Rochester wouldn't hurt.
The Ducks held the top offensive team in the AHL to 21 shots Friday in a 2-1 win over Rochester at Cincinnati Gardens, in turn giving one of the top goalies in the league the first blemish on his record.
"Everybody was playing hard on the defensive end," Ducks goalie Tom Askey said. "It made it an easy game for me to play."
The Ducks (6-7-0-1) are now 6-1-0-0 at home and have handed Rochester (9-4-0-2) two of its four losses on the season. Cincinnati is 0-6-0-1 on the road, with the only tie coming against the Americans. Cincinnati is 5-0-0-2 in the past seven games against Rochester.
"I take them out to dinner before each (home) game, it's costing me a lot of money," Mantha joked. "A lot of guys are taking a lot of pride and being committed to home ice (advantage), now it's a matter of taking that pride and commitment on the road.
"I'll take our three lines and go against anybody."
Said Askey: "A 2-1 (victory) over a first-place hockey team is a great win, a great win."
For a while, it looked as though Askey would have another legitimate complaint for non-support.
But Craig Reichert capped a three-goal streak in a 1:26 span of the third period, putting the Ducks ahead 2-1.
"I wasn't too sure what (Wren) was going to do, I put my head down and wanted to go to the net and create a little opening," Reichert said. "He made a great pass, and I happened to tap it in."
The Ducks broke a scoreless tie 3:11 into the third period when Lee Jinman's slapshot deflected off Biron's shoulder and into the top of the net. But 26 seconds later, Amerk Eric Rassmussen banged in a rebound to tie the score at 1-1.
Rochester 0 0 1 - 1
Cincinnati 0 0 2 - 2
Third period - 1, C, Jinman 2 (Lecompte, Sandwith), 3:11; 2, R, Rasmussen 4 (Hurlburt, Nichol), 3:37; 3, C, Reichert 4 (Wren, Leclerc), 4:37.
Shots on goal: Roc 8-2-11-21; Cin 7-9-10-26. Power play opportunities: Roc 0-4; Cin 0-5. Goalies: Roc, Biron (6-1-1); Cin, Askey (4-3-1). Attendance: 5,225.
NOTE:
Ducks Left wing Jeremy Stevenson underwent surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee.
