Manitoba Moose

Lawrence Nycholat doesn't try to hide his frustration, but he's been around long enough to know there is enough time left to salvage something from an injury-plagued campaign.

During a Manitoba Moose season featuring numerous injuries to key cogs, you might make the case for Nycholat to be the poster child for hard luck, although Nathan McIver could give him a run for his money as well.

Nycholat was brought in to anchor the defence corps, but has been limited to only 24 games because of back, shoulder and knee injuries.

"There's still areas I can improve on and there's some stuff we need to tighten up as a team as well," said Nycholat.

"When your team's not having the success you think it should, there's a tendency to try and do too much. You might have good intentions but it's not necessarily what's best for the team. The main thing is to keep the game simple and do what is expected of you."

The Moose continue a seven-game road trip Thursday at Toyota Center against the Houston Aeros.

An elite defender at the American Hockey League level, Nycholat will be counted on during the stretch drive as the Moose look to lock up a playoff berth.

Although he's played fewer than half the games this season, Nycholat plans to lean on his success as the games get tougher.

"You're able to draw on different experiences to get you through tougher times during the year," said Nycholat, who has two goals and 14 points this season.

"You just have to work through the tough spots. There's never any quick fixes or easy answers. I expect a lot out of myself. I'm not satisfied with the way the year has gone for me personally. But the main focus is having a successful team that puts a good effort out every night. And when a team is successful, the individuals have success and get noticed."

Nycholat understands the situation is precarious, but the playoff push is what all players look forward to.

"It's exciting because the playoffs are around the corner, at the same time it's discouraging because you look at the last 59 games and see we're in an absolute dog fight and we put ourselves in this position," said Nycholat.

"We have to be excited about the challenge ahead. This is where the good teams separate themselves from the teams that are just hanging on.

"It's going to be a good challenge for us and I hope we're ready to accept that challenge."

Moose head coach Scott Arniel believes the best is yet to come from Nycholat.

"He's coming, he's had a lot of injuries and missed a lot of hockey, so it took a while to get going," said Arniel.

"He's such a smart guy, a good veteran player and you can tell he's won and played at a high level. He has poise with the puck and we use him in all situations.

"He's a guy we lean on to have a lot of ice and we look to as one of our leaders. We're hoping he can give us a shot (in the arm) here as we get going down the stretch."

HOOF PRINTS: Moose D Geoff Waugh (hand) joined his teammates for the road trip and is hoping to be in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 8. Moose RW Mike Keane (personal) and RW Sergei Shirokov (guest of Russian delegation at 2010 Olympics) also made it back in time for the flight to Texas.