Official website of the Manitoba Moose (AHL)

Thursday February 14 2008

Moose wilt under pressure
Arniel laments weak effort as lowly Iowa makes short work of hosts

By Gary Lawless

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Manitoba’s Colby Genoway (29) and Greg Classen struggle to get the puck past Stars goalie Tobias Stephan. Stephan stopped 30 of 31 shots.

THE indicators are all present. Snarling GMs complaining about trade rumours in newspapers, scouts are stuffed into extra seats in the press box and there's a noticeable surliness on the ice. That's right, it's the stretch run in pro hockey.

Jobs are won and lost while contracts are earned or set to flame. Owners begin counting playoff box receipts or are left wondering where they're going to find the money to pay for that dressing room renovation.

The pressure heightens and cracks appear. Best of all, the hockey gets passionate and the best players get better.

There's nothing better in sport to watch than playoff hockey and this time of the year is a primer.

For the Manitoba Moose, with just 28 games left on the schedule, time is running out. The question of what kind of team they are is still unanswered.

Wednesday night's 4-1 loss to the Iowa Stars before 6,155 customers in wool socks and long underwear furthered the argument that this club lacks an identity. They can be very good, as they were on the road last weekend, and then curiously indifferent as they were for most of Wednesday night.

"I'm real frustrated that only half our team showed up tonight," said Moose coach Scott Arniel. "We're not a team that can just put our sticks out there and expect to win. We can't take anything for granted. We have to work hard to get what we want. We had a lot of passengers tonight."

It's a frustrating trend and one that doesn't bode well for a team with playoff aspirations.

From Day 1 of training camp, club brass was prepared to be patient with a youthful team. The Moose would be fast and skilled but inexperienced went the thinking -- and that's come to fruition.

There's no longer room for the excuse of youth. Either you're in or you're out and it's time to show your cards. The Moose have gone along nicely to date but the hockey is about to get much more difficult and it's hard to gauge how they'll fare.

Checks will get finished, goalies will tighten up their five-holes and coaches will sharpen game plans. The Moose certainly have elements that could make for a dangerous team. They have elite scorers like Brad Moran and Jason Jaffray and goaltender Drew MacIntyre might be ready to carry his team through a round or two in the playoffs.

But the defence remains a tad shaky and too many of the younger players have gone missing of late. Michael Grabner and Pierre-Cedric Labrie, two players that at one point showed potential to develop into difference-makers, have faded into the background.

The Toronto Marlies arrive on Saturday for the first two games of seven left between the two teams. The Marlies are just the best team in the North Division and tied for tops in the Western Conference.

Manitoba sits second in the North with 58 points while the Marlies are cruising with 71 points and a comfortable 13-point lead in the standings.

Maybe the Moose will provide a stiff test and gain some confidence. Or maybe they'll offer little resistance and get folks thinking of summer and inexpensive folding lawn chairs.

Highlight reel: Iowa 4 Moose 1

FIRST PERIOD

Moose strike first with Jannik Hansen's goal at 4:03, burying Zack FitzGerald's rebound. The Stars pull even with Toby Peterson's blind shot from the slot that slips past Moose starter Cory Schneider during a power play.

Moose 1 / Iowa 1

SECOND PERIOD

Stars get another power-play goal, this from Dan Jancevski on a rebound, then add Janos Vos's short-handed marker later in the period when Shaun Heshka is beaten along the boards in the offensive zone, giving Iowa a two-on-one.

Iowa 3 / Moose 1

THIRD PERIOD

Moose get nowhere in the third -- the blocking and bounces just aren't kind to them -- and James Neal gets the Iowa empty-netter with 13 seconds to go. Neal ends the night with two points when he could have been ejected for his no-respect, from-behind check on Manitoba's Pierre-Cedric Labrie in the first.

Iowa 4 / Moose 1

ICE CHIPS

Game-breaker

Jancevski. He plunked a rebound behind Schneider early in the second and that turn of momentum was something the Moose never recovered from. The veteran blue-liner knew just when to move up on the attack during the man advantage.

How's that for justice?

Iowa's Janos Vas made the boneheaded play of the night, hopping the boards in the second period and immediately kicking the puck before his teammate was off, leading to the automatic too-many-men penalty. Stars coach Dave Allison, however, sent Marty Sertich to serve the two-minute sentence and Vas scored the short-handed goal during the penalty he was responsible for.

Spike, not a trend

A night after their biggest output in three months, the Moose go back to more recent form and can generate just one goal. It drops them to 27-21-2-2 but with fourth-place Hamilton losing to Toronto, no ground is lost in the battle for second spot in the North Division. It remains Manitoba with 58 points, Syracuse with 53 and Hamilton with 52.

Toronto at Moose, Saturday at MTS Centre, 7:30 p.m. (CJOB).

-- Tim Campbell