December brought the darkest days -- literally and figuratively -- for rookie goalie Cory Schneider.

On the descent to rock bottom of confidence and puckstopping, Schneider suffered an embarrassing loss and a home hooking against the hapless Lake Erie Monsters.

After a dismal December Cory Schneider went 18-5-2 with a 1.72 GAA and a .926 save percentage. He’ll have his work cut out against the Crunch. (Joe Bryksa / Winnipeg Free Press Archives )

Mainly by employing a less-is-more attitude, the 22-year-old from Marblehead, Mass., found more than a little bit of game and appears to have played himself into the start of the series-opener tonight against the Syracuse Crunch.

As an anchor point, Schneider says he has not lost sight of the tribulations of his season, especially December.

"I can't really think of anything (tougher)," he said. "Kids who get to this level, well, in their whole youth career, they've always been one of the better players, always get lots of ice and are used to playing. That was my story.

"Coming here and facing a little adversity for the first time, I was happy I eventually stepped up to the challenge and answered the bell. It took a little while but that was expected coming to the pro game. I think it was probably the biggest challenge I've had in my career, but it wasn't unexpected.

"I didn't think it was going to be easy, so that wasn't a surprise."

What wasn't easy was his lousy 3-7 record, a 3.69 goals against average and a .872 save percentage.

Cory Schneider: victim of antics by sordid Syracuse media? (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press Archives )

Tough numbers from which to recover but recover he did.

After rock bottom, Schneider went 18-5-2, had a 1.72 GAA and a .926 save percentage. More of that is likely to keep him in the Moose net.

It'll be no easy chore, however.

For starters, what they're talking about in Syracuse this week is not any of the above, it's the fact that Schneider's former Boston College teammate Brett Motherwell claims to know all the rookie goalie's secrets. And that Schneider lost the two biggest college games of his career, the NCAA championship final two years running.

The rookie goalie was unflinching in his response to the latest media antics.

"It's hard to get to those games in the first place," Schneider said. "I had to win a few big ones along the way. I thought both years I played pretty well in the final game but we just couldn't get scoring. A goal in each game, it's tough to win.

"Maybe I could have made a save here or there but that's the last thing on my mind. If they want to use that, that's fine with me. It's a seven-game series, not one-and-done like it was in school. If you have one bad game, you can bounce back and have four more strong ones. Whatever they need, that's fine with them. It's in the past."

Beyond the cheap talk, there will be actions to contend with in Syracuse's home arena with its small ice and cramped conditions.

Namely, that the Crunch are quite adept at hitting everything, both legally and illegally, and asking questions later.

"In their rink, they come hard and they're not afraid to get under people's skins and frustrate a few people," Schneider said. "I'll just have to be prepared for it, not lose my cool and stay focused on stopping the puck.

"I had a tough go my first time there but I think it plays to their advantage. They like to run around, hit guys and they have a dangerous power play, maybe because it's a little bit smaller. They like to use it to their advantage but we've been a good road team all year."

Schneider was one of Manitoba's many improving elements in the season's second half. Its road record, indeed, was a huge bonus and the Moose finished with 23 road victories, tied for the most in the division.

And that after being a sub-.500 road team up into January.

All the while, the Moose lineup in front of Schneider was in revolving-door mode weekly, a concern that is low on his list heading into the playoffs.

"When you think back to the second half of the year when we played a little better, it's core guys like Mike Keane, Brad Moran, Max Fortunus, guys like that have been here the entire time," Schneider said. "I don't think a couple of new faces are going to disrupt our cohesion. These guys can step right in, they're talented players and they're character guys and they want to be here and play in the playoffs. There's no resentment from those guys back from Vancouver. Any time you can add skill and talent like that, I think we'll take it."

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca