Manitoba Moose

There is still plenty of debate as to whether Winnipeg can be an NHL city again somewhere down the road.

What cannot be argued was the passion for hockey and that was on full display during the Calder Cup playoffs, where the buzz inside the MTS Centre was simply riveting.

"It was unbelievable, the buzz in the building was tremendous -- especially for the closing games in every series," said Manitoba Moose general manager Craig Heisinger. "The building was electric. It was a shame there wasn't a Game 7.

"I've been in this city for a long time and that environment has not been felt, in any league."

Fan support was tremendous throughout the playoffs as the Moose averaged more than 10,000 fans per game and drew three crowds of more than 14,700 for the Calder Cup final -- including full-on sellouts of 15,003 for both Game 1 and 6.

Quite simply, it was an NHL-atmosphere.

"It did, absolutely," said Moose goalie Cory Schneider. "You could feel the energy and electricity in the crowd. Even in the last game, they fought until the last seconds. The way they applauded us, even after Game 6, was special. That can't get overlooked. They were with us the whole way.

"Unfortunately, in the last game we didn't give them much to cheer about but they were loud when they could be."

While there has always been a hard-core fan-base for the Moose, plenty of hockey fans refused to open their eyes and realize just how good the level of play in the American Hockey League actually is.

A run to the Calder Cup final certainly helped knock down a few walls.

"That was one of the positives we talked about," said Moose captain Mike Keane. "We got a lot of die-hard NHL fans and die-hard Jets fans turned over to watching some very good hockey. That's part of the challenge and part of the development of our community-based team, trying to forget the past and trying to move on into the future.

"We did a real good job of doing that. We've had a strong fan base for years, let's not disrespect the fans that have been here from Day 1. But to switch people over and get to 15,000 a game is fantastic and shows what kind of job we've done."

Moose centre Jason Krog wishes his team would have been able to deliver the championship the city has longed for over the past 30 years.

"Even the during the regular season, I was surprised by the fan support and in the playoffs, it was absolutely crazy," said Krog. "One of the toughest things was that they were so good to us all year and we wanted to bring them the Cup home. That was obviously frustrating."