Moore, mates reap rewards of work

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Craig Moore is only 18, but he’s the senior man on one of the Brampton Battalion’s most productive lines in recent Ontario Hockey League games.
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rThe trio of Moore and two 16-year-old rookies, left winger Barclay Goodrow and right winger Matt MacLeod, combined on the winning goal in a 3-2 verdict Sunday over the Plymouth Whalers.
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rMoore won a faceoff in Whalers territory, took the puck behind the net and left it for MacLeod, who sent it in front to Goodrow. He snapped it home at 14:08 of the third period.
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r“It was great to see those kids get rewarded,” said coach Stan Butler. “I thought they were great the whole game.”
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rThe line played strongly in a 7-4 road loss Friday night to the Ottawa 67’s. MacLeod contributed two goals and one assist and Goodrow earned one assist, setting up MacLeod’s second goal.
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r“We’ve really been clicking,” said Moore. “None of us is really flashy, but we all work hard and bang our bodies around down low, and it’s been paying off.”
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rGoodrow, six-foot-two and 209 pounds, was a first-round choice in the OHL Priority Selection in May. He has two goals and three assists for five points in 16 games. The six-foot-two, 181-pound MacLeod, chosen in the third round, has two goals and four assists for six points in nine games.
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r“Barclay has one of the best shots on our team,” noted Moore. “He’s a big guy and he opens up space for me and makes my job easier. He finds a way to get open.
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r“MacLeod had a great game in Ottawa, and he works so hard. They’re great guys who work hard every day in practice. They have lots of potential. I hope I’m showing the guys how hard you have to work, and if you do that you’ll keep getting opportunities.”
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rSaid Goodrow: “We’re all sort of the same kind of player, forwards who can grind it out and wear down the defence to create scoring chances.”
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rMoore has one goal and three assists for four points in 16 games in his second OHL season.
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r“I’m a grinder and I think I can help open some space for the other guys. I think I’m a decent passer, and I want those guys to be able to show what they can do. We’re getting chances from the coaches, and I think we’re making the most of it. The three of us have great chemistry. I hope we can stay together a while.”
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rA resident of Orleans, Ont., Moore was an eighth-round pick in the 2007 OHL Priority Selection. He played 52 games as a rookie last season, scoring six goals and adding three assists for nine points. He saw action in 18 playoff games as the Battalion advanced to the OHL Championship Series.
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r“It was an unbelievable experience. I can’t say enough about those guys. I’ve never been on a team that good, and I have never played with guys as good as Matt Duchene and Cody Hodgson.
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r“You look at guys like Hodgson and Duchene and they’re winners. They gave us all the idea of what it takes to win. It was tough that I didn’t get to play as much as I wanted, but I expected that and kept a positive attitude. It looks like it’s paying off.”