Recap: Moose Lick Their Wounds And Head For Home

Well, at the beginning of this road trip, I had optimistically predicted that the Moose were going to aim high and end up snagging 5 out of a possible 6 points when they played three games in three nights against the Hamilton Bulldogs, Lake Erie Monsters and Syracuse Crunch.

They managed to emerge from their most recent road trip battered, beaten and clutching to a meager 2 points. Nostradamus, I ain't.

Unfortunately, the losses weren't the only bad news for the Moose. Forwards Jannick Hansen and Ryan Shannon wound up back on the IR after the game against Hamilton, Hansen suffering from a concussion and Shannon re-injuring his knee. Hansen is going to be out a minimum of 7-10 days, per precautionary measures for players with concussions and Shannon is out for an indeterminable amount of time.

So, time to do a quick rundown of the Crunch game. Following that, I'm going to part one of my thoughts on the Moose this season (part of the reason why this post took so long to get up) and a quick preview of tonight's game against the Lake Erie Monsters. I'll also do a Press Clippings post later today, so look for that in a subsequent post.

In a nutshell? The Moose did not have a good game against the Crunch. Special teams killed the Moose, as they were not able to get anything going on the man advantage and were smashed on the penalty kill, with Syracuse scoring early in the first period to get a 1 goal lead and then scoring a short handed goal not too long after that. The early lead led to the Moose falling down into a hole that they couldn't get out of for most of the game. While I don't like to make the excuse that it was fatigue that killed the Moose, it had to have been a factor for them, as they were doing a lot of chasing and watching out there, with the Crunch more or less toying with them all game.

Michael Grabner extended his goal scoring streak to a mighty 2 games (*cough*) and looks to finally getting some bounces going his way. The goal he scored was a beautiful one, as he turned on the jets and came from out of NOWHERE to backhand a drifting puck past goaltender Kowalski. He's been putting forth a great effort in the last month or so, but just hasn't been lucky with the puck. Goals usually come in bunches, so here's hoping he'll continue to have a strong effort with the back to back games the Moose have with Lake Erie. Also of note is that Salmon King call-up, Milan Gajic, has been performing quite well with him. As mentioned in my previous post, they seem to be developing some chemistry there and Gajic has been able to pot a couple of goals himself. Hopefully this trend will continue, as Gajic is about the only player who has been serving in relief duty for the Moose who hasn't been a complete disaster.

Which unfortunately brings me to two recent call-ups for the Moose, forwards Aaron Slattengren and Chris Blight. Neither had particularly strong games, as they were constantly giving up the puck or getting bowled over by Crunch players and didn't really look like they belong out there. I'm hoping that either Moran and Hansen will get healthy soon or these two will start getting their acts together. The other relief player for the Moose, Mathieu Melansson, had a game where he didn't stick out, for good or for ill. Here's hoping the 22 year old, who has posted 34 points in 25 games with the ECHL Florida Everblades, will do well. Hockey's Future writer, Leslie Traff, had some rather glowing praise for him, saying he should be picked up by a professional club for this season.

Here's hoping he makes the most of it with the Manitoba Moose!

Defenseman Luc Bourdon, who has been off and on with his play since coming back from a call-up with the Vancouver Canucks, had a so-so night, throwing a couple of hard hits and getting back to the physical play that forced me to pay attention to him and did a decent job of QBing the power play. Consistency is a problem here, though, with him.

On the other hand, defenseman Zack FitzGerald had a great night, playing a gritty, physical game and absolutely destroying Derek Dorsett after the Crunch player took offense to a hit from Fitzy. I'd say that this fight was probably the most entertaining fight of the year thus far, ranking right up there with Bourdon's tilt against Ference at the start of the season or Jaffray's tilt against Kendall McArdle, where Jaffray broke his jaw feeding him knuckle sandwiches.

Unfortunately, the good moments were few and far between, and despite a late third period resurgence, the Moose were unable to solve the Crunch. With the loss, the Crunch have moved to within 1 point behind the second place Moose, but it should be important to note that the Moose have 5 games in hand. Here's hoping they will be able to improve their fortunes against the Monsters and can gain some ground on the Toronto Marlies, who are ahead of the Moose by 11 points and have had a stranglehold on first place in the North Division all season thus far.

Preview & Recap: Moose vs. Bulldogs, Monsters and Crunch

Well, I am now back and settled in at my abode so updates will now be a little more frequent and informative. I wasn't able to catch Thursday's game, but I did manage to check out yesterday's win against the Lake Erie Monsters. A solid effort from the team, and they were rewarded with the duke.

That said, there is some bad news to have come out of yesterday's game. For those who haven't heard, the injured reserve for the Moose has grown by a few more, as Ryan Shannon and Jannick Hansen are both out. Shannon re-injured his knee and Hansen suffered a concussion as a result of actions in Thursday's game. Here's hoping to a speedy recovery for both of them.

Outside of that, though, the Moose looked quite good in last night's win over the Monsters. Victoria Salmon Kings player, Milan Gajic, has been playing quite well with winger Michael Grabner and look to be developing some chemistry with each other. Grabner scored a goal that I wouldn't exactly classify as a highlight reel candidate, but it was the eventual game winner and his performance out there was enough to get him the first star consideration.

Speaking of good performances, the veteran captain Mike Keane has been able to lead by example, lengthening his goal scoring streak to 2 games and has been stepping it up with his play as of late. As well, a player that I've singled out now for some time, Swiss player Juraj Simek, had a very strong game, generating some chances and having a consistent effort all the way through that night. I would say this has probably been the best game I've seen from him. Here's hoping he's going to be turning the corner here.

Nathan McIver was another stand-out in last night's game, including a nice moment where he was able to foil a short handed chance by the Monsters with a nice poke check. Out of all the blueliners, I would say McIver has been the most consistent player thus far. Great to see.

The most impressive player for me last night, though, was Corey Schneider, who was absolute nails against the Monsters. He was able to weather an early storm against the Monsters, who had a fairly strong first period and then faltered as the game went on. He wasn't really tested as the night went on, but he was very strong when he needed to be. Of note was that I saw Schneider getting out of his net and playing the puck more, which seems to indicate to me that he's gaining confidence. Really great to see and I really hope that Arniel will feel confident about giving him some more games. The lone goal that Schneider did let in was one where he had zero chance at stopping...lack of defensive zone coverage allowed a Monster defender to come in and bury his chance.

The Crunch are coming up! More to follow, post-game!

Preview: Manitoba Moose @ Hamilton Bulldogs

The Moose begin their 3 game road trip later tonight. Unfortunately, the Moose are going to be going into these match-ups light Brad Moran and Colby Genoway. Good old Gary Lawless, from the Winnipeg Free Press, has more information on this matter. Of note is that the Moose have signed centerman Aaron Slattengren to a pro tryout contract. With Gajic now pivoting the top line for the Moose, it'll be interesting set of games for this club. Shannon hasn't hit 100% out there, so I see him and Gajic competing with one another for prime ice time.

As I've stated previously, now is a prime time for the rookies on the team to start asserting themselves. Grabner, I believe, has been stepping it up and trying to find ways to put the puck in the net, but is having a hell of a time of it. The rest of the forwards really do need to do something to distinguish themselves. I also wouldn't mind having more of a focus put on the blueline and hopefully Scott Arniel will try to get the defense to contribute more offensively. With snipers like FitzGerald (*cough*) as well as gentlemen like Heshka, Bourdon, Fortunus and McIver on the backend either having the proper skillset or playing lively (as in McIver's case) it wouldn't seem to be too much to ask. The Moose are now pretty well acquainted with the Bulldogs and are going to have a hell of a time with Halak. Hopefully Drew MacIntyre won't be suffering the effects of the holiday turkey dinner and 'flavored' eggnog.

I'm sorry for the sparseness of the past couple of entries, although that's been a result of not having much actual footage to be relying upon. That trend will continue until Friday, as I'll be flying home tomorrow during the Moose game, sadly, not on Virgin Air. What I am hoping for is that Ryan Shannon and Michael Grabner will be able to distinguish themselves, while Gajic continues to do a diligent job, keeping him up from the Salmon Kings. I also believe that the Moose are going to come up smelling like roses on this road trip, with them getting at least 5 out of a possible 6 points. Lofty, I know, but I have high hopes.

In related news, former Moose forward Ryan Kesler is questionable for the Vancouver Canucks game against the Calgary Flames later tonight, so that most likely means that Mike Brown will be drawing into the lineup. This also means that Brown might be given a chance to have an increased role on the team, as Kesler has been on the penalty killing unit and has been quite an effective one. Hopefully the youngster will be able to make the most of it and run with it. As well, Jason Jaffray or Mason Raymond might be seeing more time on the powerplay, as Kesler was spending some time with the Sedins on the man advantage, in an effort by head coach Alain Vigneault to try and spark some offense. Both callups have been performing quite well, with Raymond notching 6 points in 7 games since recalled by the Canucks. Jaffray has notched only 2 points in 7 games, although he did have a beauty of a goal disallowed against Dallas and has been showing the right instincts out there. I would love to see Jaffray with the Sedins and I'm hoping he'll have a big game against Calgary tonight.

News & Notes

- Part of Lawless' article, talking about Aaron Slattengren, has been split up and can be read here.

- Tim Campbell has an interesting piece on the relationship between the Canucks and the Moose. What caught my eye on this was Nonis stating that he believes that the MTS Center is an 'NHL building.'

- Campbell also has a story on the call-up process. He also writes on the state of AHL and NHL teams and the relationships they have with one another. Interesting read, for those wanting to learn more about the A.

- The Winnipeg Sun has a nice fluff piece on Luc Bourdon. Gotta respect his work ethic and what he's done to become a professional hockey player.

Recap: Hamilton Bulldogs @ Manitoba Moose

Okay, so for the second week in a row I predicted that the Moose should have an easy time with a bottom feeder team and the Moose end up splitting the back to back games with them.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch most of either of the two games that were broadcast this weekend so I'll leave any sort of analyzing or discussing to those who are in the know. What I will do is recap what I did see of Saturday's game, which, admittedly, wasn't much. So,

• Against Hamilton the Moose were having problems setting up on the powerplay and gaining the zone. There were a flurry of penalties in the second period which were basically alternating between the Moose and the Bulldogs. While the PK looked decent, the PP didn't look all that great.
  
• Drew MacIntyre played both games and I'll assume he'll be starting again after the Christmas break when the Moose play the Bulldogs yet again. This shouldn't be surprising to anyone, as Arniel has repeatedly stated that D-Mac is his boy, first and foremost. I figure he'll get 2/3 starts next weekend.
• Juraj Simek continues to confound. He had a brutal giveaway that directly led to a goal for the Bulldogs and tended to disappear at times. I'm really starting to wonder what's going on with him. Granted, he is a rookie in the AHL so I'm willing to cut him some slack, but with the loss of Raymond and Jaffray, the opportunity was ripe for a player like him to step up and contribute. Strange. Then again, he might have just looked bad out there when I was watching (second half of the first and the second period) and was great the night before, but I somehow doubt it.
• Paging Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Michael Grabner, Brad Moran (didn't play on Saturday) and Luc Bourdon: Let's see some more contributions from you guys out there. It's kind of bad when you have a defensive defensemen scoring more GOALS than all of you combined. That said, Grabner has been looking very dangerous out there on the ice in the offensive zone and has been a plus player, so here's hoping that the bounces will start going his way soon. The other players mentioned? Step it up!
  
• Ryan Shannon returned to the lineup, although I wasn't too impressed with what I had seen from him. I know that he's just coming back from a bad injury and hasn't played since October 26th, but he was looking much the same out there. Hopefully he'll be able to hit his stride soon. I wouldn't mind seeing him with Gajic or Hansen and Labrie.
• Colby Genoway left during the Saturday game and didn't return.
  
• Milan Gajic is one of the few players for the Moose who has been looking consistent and is one of the few forwards who has been giving an honest effort out there when he's playing. Not 100% sure if he's going to be able to stick with the Moose, but I'd like to see him continue to stick with the club, something which I am sure fans of the Victoria Salmon Kings won't like hearing.

As for the games themselves, here are the press clippings:

- Gary Lawless had a rather scathing rundown of Friday's game. Of note is the 'highlight reel' at the bottom of the article, for those looking for a period-by-period summary.

- A recap of Saturday's game. There appears to be another article on the Winnipeg Free Press' website, but it currently leads to a story about the Blackhawks/Senators game on Saturday. Strange.

- Lawless also has a look ahead at the next few games coming up in the Moose's sked. While I think that he might be overstating just how important the next three games are, I would like to state that it's possible that the Moose's current woes have been a result of the strange scheduling they've had to deal with, particularly having incredibly long stretches in between games. It's hard to stay focused when you keep getting weeks off at a time. Perhaps the Moose just need to get back into a grueling schedule to get focused. Here's hoping.

- The Province has some Q&A with Dave Tomlinson, with a brief mention of Corey Schneider. I would really suggest folks checking it out (it's buried midways down), especially if they're concerned about Schneider and his level of play thus far. I stated I was worried about how his play at the AHL level might be affecting his confidence, but all signs seem to be pointing that he is taking everything in stride and handling it well. That is great to be hearing, if true.

- Finally, the Winnipeg Sun also has a story on Luc Bourdon and his experiences with the World Junior Championships, which start on Boxing Day.

And that about does it for this update. I apologize for the lateness on this, as it is the holiday season. Just a reminder to folks who do read this blog, I'll be flying home on the 27th so I will be missing most, if not all of the Moose-Bulldogs rematch.

Happy Holidays and remember to check out the World Juniors!

Game Preview: Hamilton Bulldogs @ Manitoba Moose

The Manitoba Moose have 2 games to go before they can settle back and relax for their holiday break as they square off against last season's Calder Cup champions, the Hamilton Bulldogs. The 'Dogs are another struggling team, currently tied for dead last in the North Division and riding a 5 game winless streak.

Meanwhile, the Moose are looking to continue their pursuit of the Toronto Marlies for the lead in the North Division and hope to have a better outing against another team that is currently struggling than they did last weekend against the Lake Erie Monsters, where they split the back to back games. Fortunately, the Moose will have help, as defenseman Maxime Fortunus and forward Ryan Shannon are both expected to be back in the lineup for tomorrow night's game.

The Moose themselves have been looking like a rather inconsistent bunch thus far this season. A number of injuries have sidelined players such as Fortunus (who has missed 14 games in the Moose's campaign thus far) and Ryan Shannon (who hasn't played a game since October 26th), but other key players to the roster have been missing. Josef Balej is done until at leas the playoffs, Jannick Hansen and Jason Jaffray have both missed time with injuries or serving as a call-up for the Vancouver Canucks along with blueliner Luc Bourdon. Nathan McIver and Shaun Heshka have also missed games, which have necessitated in bringing up players from the Victoria Salmon Kings. While the Moose's recent struggles (3 wins in the last 9 games) could be seen as understandable given the circumstances, but this is a Moose team that has been able to find ways to win when other folks thought that they were beat. This year's incarnation of the Moose is a very hard working team and is one that has seen a lot of adversity early on in their season. Put into that context, this recent stint of games is disappointing and they simply need to be better.

Tonight's starting goaltender is? I would expect that Corey Schneider will get the start tomorrow night, based on his performance last weekend in the second game, although head coach Scott Arniel might want to give Drew MacIntyre some action, as he's played 2 periods worth of hockey in 2 weeks time.

That said, if D-Mac does start tomorrow, I'd expect him to start both games to try and whip him into shape for the three game road trip that starts on the 27th and has games in three different cities (and you thought that the New Jersey Devils travel schedule was bad) before having a day off and then playing a home game on New Year's Eve. I would expect Arniel to go alternating nights for that road trip as it is a brutal schedule.

Who to keep an eye out on? As I said last week, forwards Michael Grabner and Juraj Simek are going to have to step it up while Mason Raymond and Jason Jaffray are away on assignment with the Canucks. Scoring 2 goals in 2 games is somewhat underwhelming for two forwards who are known for their ability to put the puck into the net, especially since neither of them had scored either one of those goals. The Moose need to get the offense going and they need to be getting that help from Grabner and Simek. Pierre Cedric Labrie could stand to step up his game a bit, too. I wouldn't be surprised to see Labrie have a big game tomorrow night.

Big shoes, small feet. While Ryan Shannon should be making his return to the lineup tomorrow night, I wouldn't be expecting great things from him right off the bat. He has just come back from a lengthy knee injury and may need to spend some time getting into his comfort zone where he's confident and happy with his play. While the opportunity is there for Shannon to step up and contribute is there, I would consider it as a pleasant surprise if he has a strong game and think he will have a good game if he can be a plus or even player out there.

More of the same. Luc Bourdon and Jannick Hansen looked quite impressive last weekend, with Bourdon getting back to the basics and doing things The Bourdon Way (hard-edged, physical game) while Hansen was looking great out there as a checker. They should continue with their impressive performances.

Again, I am not going to be around tomorrow night, so you'll have to make due with just a simple recap. I should be able to make Saturday's game, however!

News Round-Up

- First off, the prospects site hockeysfuture has updated the organizational rankings for NHL. The Manitoba Moose's parent club, the Vancouver Canucks, have jumped up significantly to become the #15 ranked team with their drafting and prospects. You can read the analysis here. I'm somewhat dismayed with the spurning of Jannick Hansen and Juraj Simek, as well as Genoway and Labrie, but that's the way it goes sometimes, I guess. You can read the rankings for #11-20 here

- In light of Chris Simon's recent suspension for his stomping incident with Jarkko Ruutu, Gary Lawless decided to speak with some members of the Moose and ask their opinions on the subject. Amusing picture of Zack FitzGerald in the article, though.

- Moose blueliner, Maxime Fortunus (pictured), is looking to shake off some rink rust thanks to a mysterious 'upper body injury' that has kept him sidelined for a while now. Maxime does look to be in the lineup for Friday's game against Hamilton, though.

- Also, on a personal note, I may not be able to give a full report on tomorrow's game due to family obligations. Tis the season and all that. I will have a preview up for tomorrow's tilt, though.

More News

- Winnipeg Free Press has a story on MacIntyre's time up with the Canucks. Good to see the positive attitude exhibited by this kid!

- The Free Press also has a story on Moose forward Ryan Shannon and how he is progressing with his knee injury. Shannon participated in a skate yesterday and hopes to be into the lineup Friday. Link.

News Round-Up

- More on Corey Schneider. Corey talks about the goaltending situation in Manitoba.

- Two former Moose are going to be representing Canada for the Spengler Cup.

- Jannick Hansen got a write-up in yesterday's Winnipeg Sun. Head coach Scott Arniel talks about the extra responsibility he's tasked the Danish One with and Hansen gives his thoughts on how he feels about that.

- Finally, a story that I had forgotten to post earlier, talking about a Moose visit to the Winnipeg Children's Hospital.

News Roundup

- Ben Kuzma has a short story talking about Moose forward and current Canucks call-up Mason Raymond, talking about how he seems to have gotten over the nervousness of playing in the NHL.

- More on the status of Joe Balej's knee. Balej is expected to be out a minimum of 4-6 weeks and could potentially see playoff action in April. Here's hoping!

- A quick recap of Saturday's game has an interesting quote from Schneider. As mentioned in my recap, Arniel canceled the morning skate and opted to individually meet with all of the players. Apparently a man of few words, Arniel's advice for Schneider was to the point: "stop that black thing." Schneider gave his own thoughts on his play, saying: "I think part of my problem has been that I've been overthinking things. Today, I just tried to push it all out of my mind."

Canucks Re-Assign Goaltender Drew MacIntyre

Goaltender Drew MacIntyre has been re-assigned to the Manitoba Moose. Per the Canucks press release:

"MacIntyre, 24, appeared in one game for the Canucks on December 13 at San Jose, playing for 27 minutes. He made nine saves and recorded a save percentage of .818. MacIntyre has also played in 16 games for the Moose this season, posting a record of 11-4-1 and one shutout. The Charlottetown, PEI native has a GAA of 2.28 and save percentage of .926."

Blog Comments

Blogger had a weird default setting for commenting, so folks were unable to comment.

This should be remedied now. Depending on how people are, anyone and everyone can comment. I may restrict it in the future, though.

Recap: Moose Split Weekend Series With Monsters

You could say that the Manitoba Moose were somewhat like a hockey version of Jekyll and Hyde this weekend. After an embarrassing performance Friday night against the AHL's last place ranked Lake Erie Monsters, the Moose came out with an impressive performance on all fronts. After a meeting with his players, head coach Scott Arniel elected to not have a skate and instead instructed his players to go home and mentally prepare for tonight's game.

Looks like it paid off, as instead of the monstrous Mr. Hyde of Friday night, the Moose came off instead looking more like the intelligent Dr. Jekyll Saturday night at the MTS Center, not making the mental errors and mistakes that they were committing the previous night.

After an excellent first period which saw a fight between the #8s on the ice, as Nathan McIver and Cody McLeod dropped the gloves right off the bat. Although a few punches were landed by both combatants, the fight was more of a wrestling match. From that point on, the Moose set the tone, establishing an early physical presence against the Monsters, with defenseman Luc Bourdon looking like a bull in a china shop, hitting anything with a maroon sweater. In a memorable moment, Bourdon plastered David Jones into the boards, and then followed the puck back behind the net and forced a turnover by knocking the second Monsters player over. In an interview during the first intermission, Bourdon said that he wasn't happy with the way he was playing, but was very pleased with himself in his play for the first period.

Colby Genoway scored a goal off the power play, snagging a pass that was meant for Michael Grabner and blasting it past goaltender Mike Wall. All in all, it was as close to a perfect period as you could get for the Moose.

The second frame didn't have much action, although goaltender Corey Schneider, who was limited to just 4 shots in the first period, of which only 1 was a quality scoring chance, was tested several times by Lake Erie and came up strong each time. The Moose failed to capitalize on a 43 second long 5 on 3. During this powerplay opportunity, David Jones again made his presence known, generating a short handed opportunity. Defenseman Jimmy Sharrow interfered with him enough to get a penalty shot against Schneider. Schneider was unable to make the save, however, but one of his best friends, the left post, did, allowing the Moose to retain their lead.

The second period also had a fight between two unlikely combatants. 23 year old Belarus native Vladimir Denisov squared off against 40 year old Moose captain Mike Keane in a tilt where the elder statesman absolutely destroyed his younger opponent. Said CJOB commentator Brian Muntz of the whole affair: "I wonder if Denisov knows that he just fought a three time Stanley Cup champion?" No, Muntzy, the correct question is "I wonder if Denisov knows that he just had his ass handed to him by a three time Stanley Cup champion." Great tilt from the captain!

The final stanza was a rather forgettable affair, aside from a late goal scored by Lake Erie. Johnny Boychuk was able to solve Corey Schneider with about four minutes remaining with a shot that whistled past the rookie's glove. Neither team was able to get anything done with the time remaining, so it went to overtime where the stalemate continued on, resulting in things going to a shootout.

Corey Schneider, the much beleaguered rookie netminder for the Manitoba Moose came up solid for his mates, stopping three of five shots against him, while Colby Genoway, Rick Rypien and Milan Gajic scored for Manitoba, earning the Moose their first win in three games.

Mike Wall earned the first star nomination, while Genoway and Schneider earned second and third stars respectively.

A much better game from Corey Schneider, who looked a little timid to begin the game, but settled in and was looking solid as the night went on. He was absolutely great in the shootout and didn't give the Jones much to shoot at for the penalty shot. Juraj Simek also had a fairly strong game and gave a more or less consistent effort for the time he was out there.

As well, Michael Grabner, a player who has been criticized in the past for supposedly being adverse to physical play, was mucking it up in all the dirty spots tonight and had another strong game, earning a point. No goals, unfortunately, but things have got to turn around soon for the Austrian native.

Milan Gajic didn't look out of place playing with the Moose and again looked decent on his skates.

Luc Bourdon was a pleasant surprise for myself tonight, as he had a really strong game. His hits in the first period were great, and he wasn't shying away from anyone on the Monsters, laying out hits and getting in the faces of opposing players. Did a great job of keeping the crease clear, too. Bourdon seems to play best when he's got a chip on his shoulder, so it was great to see.

The Moose will wrap things up with 2 more games before the holiday break, as they get to do the same thing all over again next weekend with the Hamilton Bulldogs, who were victim to a shellacking against the Syracruse Crunch, losing 9-2. Gotta wonder if they're missing Carey Price right about now.

Moose Rinkside

Great news for Winnipeg fans, and cable TV owners who have access to CityTV Winnipeg on their cable packages. The Manitoba Moose, in partnership with CityTV have announced the start of a new program, starting in January. Here it is, fresh from the press release:

"The Manitoba Moose, in partnership with Citytv, are pleased to announce the launch of a new television series called Moose Rinkside. The show will run each Saturday at 5:00 PM on Citytv beginning Saturday, January 5th for 18 episodes or the balance of the Moose season.


Moose Rinkside will focus not only on the Manitoba Moose and its players each week, but also on the American Hockey League and the game in general. The program will take the viewer inside the Moose locker room to give fans a rare look into the lives of its players not only before puck drops but after the final whistle blows. It will go between the boards by “mic’ing up” numerous individuals involved in the game, including players, coaches, and even American Hockey League referees. Each week, Head Coach Scott Arniel will talk about his team in an exclusive conversation with host Scott Brown. Arniel and assistants Brad Berry and Rick St. Croix will also hand out a tips each week in a segment called “Skills n’ Drills”. Members of Manitoba’s hockey media will also discuss the hottest topics of the day from the Moose, to the AHL, the NHL, and the game of hockey."

For those who are looking for more coverage and information on the Mantioba Moose, this sounds like an excellent thing to be keeping an eye out for!

AHL All-Star Balloting!

Balloting started earlier this week for the 2008 AHL All-Star Game.

Fans can vote for Manitoba Moose forwards Colby Genoway, Michael Grabner, Jason Jaffray, Brad Moran, Mason Raymond, Alexandre Bolduc, Greg Classen, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Mike Keane, Ryan Shannon, Juraj Simek and Mike Brown.

Moose defensemen available for voting are: Luc Bourdon, Shaun Heshka, Maxime Fortunus, Nathan McIver, Danny Groulx, Daniel Rahimi, Jimmy Sharrow and Zack FitzGerald.

Moose goaltenders Drew MacIntyre and Corey Schneider can also be voted on.

I suggest voting for Grabner and Bourdon! You can do so here.

Recap: Lake Erie Monsters @ Manitoba Moose

Monstrous night in Manitoba, as the Moose celebrated their 500th game in the MTS Center.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot to celebrate. The Moose fell to the last place Lake Erie Monsters in a 4-1 debacle as the Monsters picked up their second win of the season against the Moose. This, after the Monsters lost starting goaltender Jason Bacashihua 7 minutes into the first period and had to put in third string goaltender Mike Wall. All signs pointed to a Moose victory tonight, but such was not the case.

So, what went wrong?

This is fairly obvious, but it came down to sloppy play. The first period, in which the Monsters scored 3 of their goals, was categorized with 13 turnovers by the Moose. Juraj Simek, a player that I had hoped would have a huge game tonight, did indeed have a big game, as he was nowhere to be found for Lake Erie's second goal of the night, leaving poor Corey Schneider out to dry.

The lone Moose goal, scored by Danny Groulx on the power play in the late stages of the third, was too little, too late.

While Canucks fans might be worried about the performance of Schneider and the fact that he let in three goals yet again (looking like the 05/06 version of Alex Auld), tonight's game showcased bigger problems with the Moose in general. Lazy play by the team is what killed the chance of a win. As I mentioned, there was Juraj Simek's blown coverage, but the third goal of the game, which resulted in a giveaway in the slot and allowed for a point blank shot on Schneider, was the result of a god-awful turnover by Alexander Bolduc. All in all, this was a poor effort by the Moose.

On the bright side, there were a couple of Moose players who distinguished themselves. Winger Michael Grabner had a great game, doing everything short of scoring. He even threw a couple hits out there. Could we be seeing the emergence of Michael Grabner, power forward? I jest, I jest.

As well, Jannick Hansen had a great game tonight, proving to be a very difficult player to contain in the offensive zone. He was also very effective as a checker, foiling Monsters chances and picking the pocket of many a player. Great effort from the Danish one.

Julien Ellis was the other pleasant surprise of the night. Playing in relief of a goaltender whose team was playing really sloppy is never an enviable task and he came up big. His play also led to the funniest call of the night from the CJOB commentators: "And Ellis makes a big left pad save as he keeps his team within 4!" Not something you WANT to be hearing about your team's goaltender, but it was a good indicator that Ellis was playing well. I wouldn't be surprised to see him start tomorrow as the Moose square off against the Monsters for the second game of their 2 game series.

Injury Update: Jozef Balej

As reported on tonight's broadcast, Moose forward Jozef Balej is going to miss the rest of the regular season due to complications that have arisen with his knee injury.

This has got to be hard for Balej, who has struggled to get his professional career on track. He was labelled a 'freak' in November for coming back from an ACL tear that was supposed to have sidelined him for the rest of the season. Prior to that, Balej had suffered a nasty injury, when he was speared himself and crushed his kidney.

Here's to hoping a full and speedy recovery for Balej.

Friday Night Preview: Lake Erie Monsters @ Manitoba Moose

Well, welcome to the inaugural post for the Manitoba Moose blog, a blog detailing the going-ons of the AHL's Manitoba Moose. While the focus will remain primarily on the Moose, this blog will also touch on other going-ons in the world of hockey, particularly the Vancouver Canucks and Hockey Canada related projects.

The Moose are going to be squaring off tonight for the first of a pair of home games against the Lake Erie Monsters. Thus far this season, the Moose have split two games against the Monsters, winning their first game and losing in OT at Lake Erie and look to break a 2 game losing skid. The Monsters, on the other hand, are on a 5 game losing skid and are presently dead last in the AHL's Western Conference, only one point behind the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

All signs should point to a Moose victory here, as they are currently chasing the Toronto Marlies for the North Division lead. However, the Moose are going to have to do it with a couple of regulars missing out of the lineup, including number one goaltender Drew MacIntyre. Along with D-Mac, Mason Raymond and Jason Jaffray were recalled to the Vancouver Canucks
to fill the glut of injuries that the Canucks have suffered.

Canucks prospect and Boston College alumni, Corey Schneider, is going to be looking to assert himself while Roberto Luongo is out with a rib contusion. Playing back to back games against Lake Erie is encouraging and should help build confidence for the young rookie netminder.

Other players to be keeping an eye out for in tonight's game are Juraj Simek, who has been riding the pine quite a bit as of late due to both poor defensive play and the glut of forwards that were on Manitoba's roster, as well as Pierre-Cedric Labrie, who has been alternating sitting out and playing games. As well, the Moose have recalled Julien Ellis from the ECHL Victoria Salmon Kings and have signed Milan Gajic to a tryout contract. This would be the second time that Gajic has played for the Moose, as he played 6 games with them last season, notching 2 goals and 3 assists in the process. Playing for the Kings, he's scored 23 points in 16 games.

In other news, forward Ryan Shannon looks to be about another 2 weeks away before seeing action. He re-aggravated his knee during practice on the 10th. From the Winnipeg Sun, Moose head coach Scott Arniel was quoted as saying "He's not ready for contact, I'm not 100% if it will be another week or two weeks," said Arniel. "Each day I'm sure it gets better and better. I like the way he was juking and jiving and moving around out there." Defenceman Maxime Fortunus is also sidelined with what is termed as an "upper body injury."

Sparse update, but good enough for a 'first post', no?