Official website of the Manitoba Moose (AHL)

Tuesday February 12 2008

Arniel gives due credit to sturdy Moose warriors
Key players have likely saved depleted club's season

By Gary Lawless

THAT'S life in the AHL.

It's an expression heard when climbing onto a bus, eating a hotdog in the media lounge, or playing a third game in three nights or flying commercial on a winter's delay. Sorry, we meant winter's day.

Knuckle under to such hardship and it's too bad, so sad, for a hockey team with aspirations.

In the case of Moose coach Scott Arniel, trying to win games with up to eight of your best players missing, has been the task du jour for almost two months.

Since a road trip in late November, Arniel and the Moose have faced their AHL opponents short-handed, at times having four regulars in Vancouver and four others on the injured reserve.

The Moose will go into today's game against the Iowa Stars with four players in Vancouver and two others, Danny Groulx and Jozef Balej, injured.

Arniel says he's pleased that his club has been able to tread water but wouldn't go anywhere near words such as 'happy' or 'satisfied.'

The coach did point to five players who have kept his club in the hunt and five others he's looking at to help to push his team into a comfier climate in the North standings.

Five keepers

Drew MacIntyre, G: "Drew's been a consistent calming influence for us on the back end. He's won a lot of games for us. He's motivated to prove he's a top goalie at this level and capable of moving onto the NHL."

Mike Keane, F: "Since Day 1 of this season he's been a positive force on our team. I think at times it has been frustrating for him but he's been patient with the younger guys. We told him we were going to have a young team and he's responded. Put it this way, that C on his sweater, he's earned it."

Brad Moran, F: "It took him a while to come around after his concussion but he's been our best forward lately and really makes our offence go. When Jaffray is here, they're really a dynamic duo."

Max Fortunus, D: "Max is one guy who seems to fly under the radar with people in our league and the NHL. I don't know if it's his size but he's been so consistent and so good for us. Last year he played with Alex Edler, he's in the NHL. This year, Luc Bourdon, he's in the NHL, right now. Max plays all situations and over 30 minutes most nights for us. He's been a presence."

Rick Rypien, F: "Ripper plays with emotion every night. He's got an A on his jersey because of the way he plays. He's gotten consistent this season and he plays hard whether it's home or away or the third game in three nights. He can be intimidating out there when he's able to get in and bang."

Five comers

Alex Bolduc, F: "He's got a lot of NHL teams asking about him right now. He's got NHL size and speed and now he needs to think the game. To recognize situations and be smart."

Cory Schneider, G: "Cory has gone through a learning curve and he hit the wall a bit there around Christmas. But he has his confidence back and he's going to be busy as our schedule picks up the rest of the way."

Colby Genoway, F: "Colby came to camp in great shape and led our team in scoring until he injured his groin. It's taken him awhile to come back but he's starting to get his conditioning and we're looking for him to score some big goals for us down the stretch."

Greg Classen, F: "We've seen Greg do some good things with Milwaukee (AHL) and Nashville (NHL) in the past. He'd agree with the statement that he's underachieved. He can be a very strong player at this level and we need him to supply some secondary scoring for us."

Danny Groulx, D: "We're hoping to have Danny back in the lineup in the next week or so. He's been patient. He had to wait to get in the lineup and when he did he was one of our best. We need his veteran presence and his special teams abilities in the lineup."

Manitoba Moose vs. Iowa Stars

* Game 43: Moose (26-20-2-2) vs. Iowa Stars (23-25-2-2)

* Time: 7:30 p.m.

* Radio: CJOB

* Tickets: Plenty of seats still available.

* About the Stars: Former Portage Terriers star Junior Lessard is no longer with the Stars, traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning organization for defenceman Dan Jancevski just after the new year. Toby Petersen leads the Stars with 17 goals and 25 assists. Former Moose captain Nolan Baumgartner is steady on the blue-line and Tobias Stephan gets most of the work in net, having seen action in 41 games this season.

* About the Moose: The pillaging continues and the Moose will enter this game with six players either on recall or the injured list. The club won three of four on the road last week as it battled the demons of the AHL at full burn. Goalies Drew MacIntyre and Cory Schneider have kept the team from capsizing. Veteran Brad Moran as well as youngsters Michael Grabner and Alex Bolduc have propelled the offence but the team is struggling to score with Mason Raymond, Luc Bourdon and Ryan Shannon, all offensive-minded players, in Vancouver. The Moose learned Monday that 2007 MVP Jason Jaffray had been re-assigned by the Canucks and will be available for today's game. They also signed 28-year-old centre Josh Prudden. Prudden has spent this season with the Worcester Sharks scoring five goals and four assists in 32 games.