Manitoba Moose

During a stretch where the Manitoba Moose have spent plenty of time searching for answers -- along with results -- Guillaume Desbiens has quietly taken his game up another notch.

The versatile Manitoba Moose winger was slowed by a foot injury to start the season, but got his offensive game going in January.

With five goals and nine points in 10 games, Desbiens nearly doubled his season production and now sits fifth in team scoring with Matt Pettinger at 10 goals and 19 points in 38 games.

"I've had a chance to get a couple goals and a few points," Desbiens said in a recent interview. "It's not my primary role, but obviously the way the year has been, we don't score a lot of goals so any time I can throw in a goal or an assist it's nice.

"I get a lot of ice time, so it's my job to take advantage of it and make the most of it."

Desbiens' strong play hasn't gone unnoticed.

"He's always a guy that's going to give you the work ethic, give you the grit and do whatever it takes," Moose head coach Scott Arniel said last week. "I've used him in a lot of different situations and he's been pretty good lately. We need other guys to play like he does and play like he does consistently every night. He doesn't have a problem going to the net or being in those traffic areas where you're going to get whacked and hacked. When you do that, it's usually where good things happen. He's a good example for other players to watch and learn from."

The Moose have lost seven of eight games and won only three of their past 12 going into Friday's game against the San Antonio Rampage, which opens a four-game homestand at the MTS Centre.

ONE MORE DAY: Recently returned right-winger Dan Sexton is scheduled to arrive in Winnipeg today but isn't expected to be back on the ice until tomorrow morning.

Sexton, who was reassigned by the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday after racking up nine goals and 18 points in 28 NHL games, gives the Moose another offensive weapon going forward.

WALKING WOUNDED: With Nathan McIver and Geoff Waugh already out with broken hands and Nolan Baumgartner still up with the parent Vancouver Canucks, the news for the back end found a way to get worse.

In the third period of Sunday's game, rookie Taylor Ellington blocked a shot and left the game with a foot injury.

And after consulting doctors in both New York and Vancouver, veteran Mathieu Schneider had surgery yesterday to repair his injured knee and he's on the shelf indefinitely.