Antler Banter: Volume 17

Antler Banter returns to the airwaves after the AHL All-Star break, and we find the Moose out in Pennsylvania this week as they start the second half of the AHL season. They closed out the first half of the season with games against Rochester and Toronto, so we'll take a peek into those games and who stood out for the Moose. And because it's a new week, we have another Manitoba Moose player making a splash in his NHL debut! Don't forget to visit the Moose website for all your Manitoba Moose news and information. If you're interested in attending a Manitoba Moose game, please click here for seating information, ticket pricing, and availability. We shut down the first half of the season in this week's Hardcore Hockey!

Beaten By The Bottom

The Manitoba Moose and Rochester Americans met for the third time this season as the Moose traveled to New York for a road game against the Amerks. Manitoba had won the previous two games in the comfy confines of MTS Centre, so they wanted to take their strong play against Rochester into the Amerks' barn against the AHL North Division's cellar-dwellers. It was an all-Swedish match-up in the nets as Eddie Lack and Jakob Markstrom stood two-hundred feet apart in this game.

It's always a bonus when one of your pluggers gets a goal, and it is especially big when your grinders chips a goal in while killing off a penalty. Kudos go out to Garth Murray on Friday as he netted his second goal of the season while shorthanded! Travis Ramsey's clearing attempt was blocked, but Murray grabbed the loose puck and raced down the ice on a breakaway before sliding the puck behind Markstrom.

While it's hard to be critical of the team's best player over the last month, Sergei Shirokov finished the game at a game-worst -2 on the night. He did have four shots on Markstrom during the evening, but ended the night with nothing to show for it except a couple of goals-against. That kind of night can kill a young player's career in the NHL, so Shirokov will have to take charge on his line for them to be better if he wants another shot with the Vancouver Canucks.

A fairly low-scoring, low-excitement game as eight minor penalties and one double-minor penalty was called over the 60 minutes. Jakob Markstrom was well-rested after the All-Star break, though, and he stopped all five Moose powerplays amongst the 33 saves he made in a 2-1 Amerks victory over the Moose. The Moose drop a game that they have to win if they want to keep pace with Hamilton, and fall to 25-14-6 on the season with the loss.

More Marlies, More Wins

The Moose didn't have much time to reflect on their loss to Rochester as they saddled up and headed north for a Saturday evening tilt against the Toronto Marlies. Manitoba had dropped the last two games, scoring only one goal against the Hamilton Bulldogs and Rochester Americans in the past two games. The Moose had to get themselves back on track to salvage the first half of this eastern road trip. Jussi Rynnas got the call for the Marlies while Eddie Lack took to the nets for Manitoba.

Ryan Cruthers was all over the scoresheet in this game as Cruthers recorded a "Gordie Howe hat trick"! Cruthers got started early in this game, wrapping up the legendary GHHT just 8:38 into the game. His third goal of the season came at 3:01, he added the assist on Jordan Schroeder's goal at 7:38, and Cruthers finished the GHHT by squaring off with Danny Richmond in a battle of fisticuffs exactly one minute later! That's quite a day at the office for #16!

Josh Aspenlind has been playing some inspired hockey since being recalled from the ECHL. Saturday night saw him pick up a couple of helpers on the first two Moose goals as he continued his solid play! In sixteen games thus far, Aspenlind has yet to record a goal, but his five assists and +1 rating are indicative of his solid play in shutdown and checking roles. With the Moose getting great contributions from the guys not normally relied on to score, they'll go far if this can continue!

Both teams seemed to play this game with a little less tenacity than we usually see from a Manitoba-Toronto game, and that might be expected as it seemed that both teams were looking forward to the AHL All-Star break for a little rest and relaxation. The Moose, however, closed out the first half of the AHL season with a 3-1 win over the Marlies, pushing their record to 26-14-6 on the season!

All-Star Tally

In case you missed the action, the AHL All-Star Game was played in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Monday, and the AHL Skills Competition went on Sunday afternoon. Sergei Shirokov was chosen as the lone Moose representative in this year's exhibition of talent, and Shirokov came away with his third AHL All-Star Game goal!

In the Skills Competition, Shirokov was first skater of the Western Conference team that won their heat in the Puck Control Relay challenge. He was also part of a scoreless three attempts in the Pass-and-Shoot challenge. And Shirokov put some razzle-dazzle on his
breakaway attempt by flipping the puck in the air before being stopped by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's John Curry in the Breakaway Relay.

Shirokov certainly showed off his talent and skill, and did himself and the Moose proud over this weekend!

Bringing Up Firepower

It wouldn't be an edition of Antler Banter without seeing another talented Moose player called up to the Canucks and making memories for himself. This time, Cody Hodgson was called up on January 31, and the skilled Moose centerman suited up against the Dallas Stars in his first NHL regular season game. However, Hodgson had to wait one game until late tonight to net his first NHL goal against the Phoenix Coyotes.

Way to go, Cody!

Just as a note, the final score in the Vancouver-Phoenix game was 6-0. What makes this 6-0 score so important to Moose fans is that all six goals were scored by players who got their starts in Manitoba. Hodgson, Mason Raymond, Jannik Hansen, Alex Burrows, and two goals by Ryan Kesler paced the Canucks to the win. How many NHL teams have seen all six goals in one game come from players that their AHL affiliate has developed? Not many as far as I can tell. Well done, current Canucks and Moose alumni! This says a lot about the Moose franchise as a whole, and Moose fans should be proud of the work the coaching staff is doing with these young players!

Tough Road Ahead

Manitoba has a tough finish to this seven-game road trip. The road through Pennsylvania isn't going to be fun or easy as the Moose have a couple of games against the AHL-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and a couple of games against their Eastern Conference rivals in the Hershey Bears.

The WBS Penguins come into the weekend sitting in first-place overall in the AHL standings. They are a league-best 36-12-0, and sit seven points better than the second-place Manchester Monarchs for AHL supremacy. The Penguins are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games, and lost their last game against Binghamton by a 2-1 score. Leading scorer Dustin Jeffrey is currently playing for the NHL Penguins, so Nick Johnson and Brett Sterling will have to carry the load. The Moose need to keep their eyes on these two as they both have 35 points, as well as keeping tabs on AHL All-Star Eric Tangredi.

The Hershey Bears have recovered since their early season slow start. The Bears trail the Penguins in the East Division by 11 points, sitting in second-place with 61 total points. The Moose and Bears tangled in January, and the Moose won and lost in overtime in that two-game series. The Bears are home turf this time, and they have been playing well, going 7-1-2 since their battles with the Moose. Brian Willsie, Andrew Gordon, Keith Aucoin, and Kyle Greentree have been lighting the lamp regularly for the Bears, so the Moose will need to keep tabs on those four.

Four big games against potential Eastern Conference champions in this year's Calder Cup should show everyone whether the Moose are contenders for the AHL Calder Cup. If they can continue to have all four lines contribute and play well, the Moose should capture six of eight points on this Pennsylvania tour, and that will be good for Moose as they chase down Hamilton for top spot in the AHL North Division. As always, DO IT!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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St. Petersburg Will See Stars

The building to the left is probably a little "foreign" to most readers on this side of the pond, but Russians, and people from St. Petersburg in particular, will recognize it as the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. Get it? Foreign to North Americans because it's in Russia? Anyway, the 2011 KHL All-Star Game will take place in St. Petersburg this year, and it will feature Team Jagr's team of international stars battling with Team Yashin's squad made entirely of players from Russia. We're less than two months away from this game, so let's check the particulars of what is happening at this year's KHL All-Star Weekend.

If you're marking this on your calendars, circle February 5, 2011 as the date of this year's KHL All-Star Game. While I've been hunting for English-based channels that may be carrying the game, I have yet to find any. However, the KHL All-Star Game will be broadcast live on "Russia-1" while the skills competition will be broadcast on "Russia-2". Behind-the-scenes reports and interviews will be carried throughout the day on KHL TV, the official league channel.

Now you're probably saying, "Teebz, I don't have Russian television programming". I'll be honest: I don't have it, either. But all is not lost as the KHL TV feed does work for free for all KHL regular season games and the 2011 All-Star Game! All you need to do is click here to get to KHL TV so you can watch your favorite former NHL stars kick a little butt over in Russia!

If you are reading this from somewhere in the vicinity of St. Petersburg or have the inclination to travel to St. Petersburg during the month of February, I'm happy to report that tickets to the KHL All-Star Game are quite reasonably priced! Tickets range from 190 rubles, or $6 USD, to 1900 rubles, or $60 USD, and will be available for purchase shortly at the KHL's official All-Star Game website. Honestly, they have cleaned up that website very nicely, and it looks like it could be a great source for news and information as we near the event's date.

It's just a short entry today on an event that was pretty entertaining last season. If you can, try to check out a game or two of KHL action on the KHL TV site, and make sure you check in at that site on February 5, 2011 for all your KHL All-Star Game fun!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Antler Banter: Volume 6

The Moose embark on their seventh week into the 2010-11 AHL regular season, and things are looking up for the club. Players are getting healthy, the team has found its winning ways once again, and a few key cogs are starting to heat up on the ice. Antler Banter takes a look back at a fairly quiet week as the Moose had a pair of games against the Rochester Americans followed by the Moose Super Skills Challenge. If you're looking news or information on the Manitoba Moose, check out the Moose website. If you're interested in attending a Manitoba Moose game, please click here for seating information, ticket pricing, and availability. Here is this week's edition of Hardcore Hockey!

Heritage Night

The Moose faced off against one of the original AHL clubs in the Rochester Americans on Friday, and they were looking to improve on a two-game winning streak. Manitoba wore special AHL 75th Anniversary jerseys in this game as part of the Heritage Night theme. Rochester and Manitoba always seem to have excellent battles, and it was made a little more interesting as Eddie Lack and Jakob Markstrom, friends in Sweden, could potentially face one another in a showdown between stoppers. However, Tyler Plante got the start on Friday night for the Amerks while Lack started for Manitoba.

The scorers continue to score as both Jeff Tambellini and Cody Hodgson lit the lamp. Tambellini cleaned up a rebound off a Joel Perrault blast on the powerplay for his third of the season, and Hodgson scored his seventh goal of the season after having several whacks at the puck in front of Plante. Having these two men heating up on the top two Moose lines only bodes well for the AHL club. Teams will have to be wary of both lines when they come out over the boards.

Winnipegger Kevin Clark made his impact on Friday as he showed some incredible speed every time he stepped onto the ice. Clark, Volpatti, and Perrault buzzed the Rochester net all game long, and Clark managed to clean up the garbage in the crease with a tap-in off a rebound for his first goal of the season. There's no doubt that the Clark-Perrault-Volpatti line was the "Charlie Hustle" line of the night, and they were rewarded with a goal. Great work by these three men, and it appears that the top-three lines of the Moose are starting to come together very nicely.

Eddie Lack wasn't spectacular, but he stopped 21 shots to give Manitoba a chance in this game. The two goals he surrendered looked "soft", but the Moose have to be happy with their efforts on both ends of the ice. Manitoba fired a season-high 45 shots on Tyler Plante, and they came away with a 3-2 victory after playing hard in the defensive zone. With the victory, the Moose improve to 8-5-1 on the season, and improve their winning streak to three games.

Lit Up Like A Christmas Tree

The Moose were looking to continue their winning ways on Saturday night with a second win over the Rochester Americans in as many nights. With the annual Santa Claus Parade happening outside, the Moose took to the ice and lit the lamp a number of times in this game as the offence went all-out against the Americans. Jakob Markstrom got the start for the Americans while the Moose sent Tyler Weiman to their net.

The Moose have found a phenomenal second line in Shirokov, Hodgson, and Bill Sweatt. The four players accounted for three goals and four assists on Saturday as they dismantled the Americans in the third period. All three men accounted for a goal in the third period, and Hodgson finished the game with a goal and two assists. There's no doubt that this line is clicking, and the sky's the limit for these three if the chemistry continues to produce these results.

Kevin Clark and Jeff Tambellini had strong games again as both contributed goals on Saturday night just as they did Friday night. Tambellini's goal was not of the pretty variety as his high shot bounced off the endboards and came back over the crossbar where it hit defenceman Mark Caruso and went in. Clark's goal was a gorgeous deflection of a Kevin Connauton point shot which put Manitoba up 3-2. However, both Tambellini and Clark were dangerous all night with their speed and tenacity, and they deserve some credit for putting in the work on consecutive days that routinely earns victory. The Moose need that kind of effort every night, and it's great to see these two men leading by example.

Manitoba's special teams deserve some kudos as they saw an excellent game put in by both units. The powerplay lines went 2-for-7 in the game while the penalty killers successfully killed off all four Rochester powerplays in the game. Special mention goes out to the Moose blueline as the defenders did an excellent job in giving Weiman clear views on the majority of Rochester's shots. This kind of attention to detail and solid effort will result in more wins than not as the season progresses.

The Moose burned the Americans by a 6-2 score on Saturday to earn wins in both games of the two-game set against Rochester. With the two wins, Manitoba pushes its all-time record against the Americans to 32-13-3-2, and improve to 13-7-1-1 against Rochester at MTS Centre. With the win on Saturday night, Manitoba improves its 2010-11 AHL record to 9-5-1 on the season.

The Other White Meat

The Rockford IceHogs visit the Manitoba Moose on Thursday and Friday this week as the AHL season rolls on. Manitoba owns a 2-0 record against the IceHogs this season, having defeated them by a 5-2 score on October 9 in Rockford and by a 3-1 score on November 6 in Rockford. These will be the final two games against Rockford this season, so the Moose are in prime position for the series sweep if they can continue to play as well as they have over the last four games.

Rockford comes into the game on a two-game losing streak with a 6-8-1 record, having gone 3-6-1 in their last ten games. Defenceman Brian Connelly leads the 'Hogs with 11 points, all of them being assists. Jeff Taffe and Kyle Beach have been the most dangerous forwards with four goals and eight points while Jeremy Morin also has four goals and five points. The Moose will probably see both goaltenders in Hannu Toivonen, who is 0-2 versus the Moose this season, and rookie Alec Richards in this back-to-back series.

Top Antlered Player

As stated above, the Moose participated in their second annual Super Skills Challenge on Tuesday, and it was a night of competitive fun for the players and fans. Only one of the winners from last season's Super Skills Challenge was still playing with the Moose, so it remained to be seen if Travis Ramsey could defend his hardest shot title.

Here are the results of the competitions:

• Fastest Skater - Bill Sweatt completed the lap in 14.16 seconds.
• Most Accurate - Cody Hodsgon hit all four targets on five shots in 10.8 seconds.
• Hardest Shot - Travis Ramsey defended his title with a 98 mph blast.
• Breakaway Competition - Tyler Weiman stopped all but two shots that came his way.

Team White won the Super Skills Challenge by a 13-12 margin as Jeff Tambellini's sudden-death breakaway challenge goal won the event for Team White.

There were some great moments at the Super Skills Challenge, and it seemed that everyone, players and fans included, had a great time. There were lots of autographs for fans and the players really seemed to enjoy themselves on a night where bragging rights in the dressing room were up for grabs. I'm looking forward to the Moose continuing this event as I'm sure it will be one of the most popular promotions they do throughout the year as word-of-mouth builds the groundswell for the event.

Get It Done

Two games against Rockford should be four points for the Moose if they continue to play hard. They currently sit in third-place in the AHL's North Division as they trail the Hamilton Bulldogs by two points and the Abbotsford Heat by five points. However, both the Bulldogs and Moose have four games in-hand on the Heat, so they should be able to easily catch the Heat if they continue to knock off the lesser teams such as Rockford.

The quest for top spot in the North Division starts tomorrow night down at MTS Centre as the IceHogs visit Winnipeg. DO IT!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Moose Put Best Skills Forward

I had the privilege tonight of attending MTS Centre for the second annual Manitoba Moose Super Skills Challenge, and I was quite impressed with the skills set that the 2010-11 AHL squad has assembled. Like the NHL Skills Competition, there were four skills that were tested: fastest skater, shooting accuracy, hardest shot, and the breakaway. Much like last year's event, the main goal was to have fun and to give the fans some excellent player interaction, and that goal was met and exceeded once again. However, let's take a look at how the players fared in each of the categories.

Fastest Skater

Times will be listed per player as they skate one lap of the rink from the center ice line.

Team Green: Jordan Schroeder, Bill Sweatt, and Kevin Clark.
Team White: Shawn Weller, Chris Tanev, and Yann Sauvé.

Schroeder - 14.48 seconds.
Weller - 14.53 seconds.
Sweatt - 14.16 seconds.
Tanev - 14.72 seconds.
Clark - 14.57 seconds.
Sauvé - 14.56 seconds.

Team Green picks up the five points on Bill Sweatt's lap around the rink in 14.16 seconds. There were no false starts this year as the technology seemed to work much better, so that's a nod to the Moose for improving upon last year where there was at least one false start. None of last season's participants in the fastest skater event competed this season.

Accuracy Shooting

The Moose change it up a little this year by only having the targets in each of the corners of the net. Players will shoot from the high slot once again while receiving passes from two teammates.

Team Green: Joel Perrault, Sergei Shirokov, and Nolan Baumgartner.
Team White: Marco Rosa, Cody Hodgson, and Jonas Andersson.

Perreault - 3/9 in 20 seconds.
Rosa - 4/6 in 16.9 seconds.
Shirokov - 4/5 in 12.4 seconds.
Hodgson - 4/5 in 10.8 seconds.
Baumgartner - 4/6 in 13.8 seconds.
Andersson - 4/7 in 16.7 seconds.

Thanks to Cody Hodgson's quick and accurate shooting, Team White picks up the five points for the win in the accuracy shooting event. Shirokov was just as accurate as Hodgson, but Hodgson's faster time gave his team the victory. Both Rosa and Shirokov participated last year, and both went 5/9 last season.

Hardest Shot

Players tee off from high slot area just between the top of the faceoff circles. Each player will have three attempts to blow away the radar gun whereas they only had two attempts last season. The bolded speed represents the player's hardest shot.

Team Green: Travis Ramsey, Lee Sweatt, and Kevin Connauton.
Team White: Victor Oreskovich, Ryan McGinnis, and Aaron Volpatti.

Oreskovich - 89 mph, 94 mph, and 95 mph.
Ramsey - 90 mph, 98 mph, and 94 mph.
McGinnis - 90 mph, 90 mph, and 91 mph.
Sweatt - 92 mph, 95 mph, and 94 mph.
Volpatti - 94 mph, 93 mph, and 93 mph.
Connauton - 96 mph, 95 mph, and 97 mph.

Travis Ramsey successfully defends his Super Skills win from last season as he records the hardest shot for the second straight year. With the win in this event, Team Green improves to a 10-5 score on Ramsey's 98-mph bullet, and he improves upon his 97-mph blast from last season.

Breakaway Relay

The two teams squared off in a one-on-goalie competition where all of the Moose skaters attempted a breakaway on the opposing team's goaltender. Eddie Lack dressed for Team Green while Team White had Tyler Weiman in net. All of the players will be listed as to how they fared. An "X" represents a stop while an "O" represents a goal.

Team Green: Nolan Baumgartner, Lee Sweatt, Travis Ramsey, Kevin Connauton, Jordan Schroeder, Joel Perrault, Evan Oberg, Kevin Clark, Bill Sweatt, Stefan Schneider, and Sergei Shirokov.
Goaltender: Eddie Lack.
Team White: Jeff Tambellini, Cody Hodgson, Aaron Volpatti, Marco Rosa, Victor Oreskovich, Jason Pitton, Shawn Weller, Ryan McGinnis, Chris Tanev, Yann Sauvé, and Jonas Andersson.
Goaltender: Tyler Weiman.

Perrault - O. Perrault puts a sick move on Weiman.
Weller - X.
Baumgartner - X.
Hodgson - X.
Oberg - X.
Tanev - X.
Lee Sweatt - X.
Volpatti - X.
Schroeder - X.
Rosa - O. Rosa finds room behind Lack with a wrist shot.
Ramsey - X.
Tambellini - X.
Connauton - O. The defenceman slips the backhander behind Weiman.
Oreskovich - X.
Clark - X. The hometown boy's lacrosse-style shot went high.
McGinnis - X.
Bill Sweatt - X.
Jason Pitton - O. The recent ECHL call-up scores on a backhander.
Shirokov - X.
Sauvé - X.
Schneider - X.
Andersson - X.

With the shootout tied at 2-2, sudden-death was needed to determine which goaltender picked up the five points for his team, as well as finding out who would score the all-important competition-winning goal.

Perrault - X. His five-hole attempt was stopped by Weiman.
Tambellini - O. Tambellini wristed a shot cleanly past Lack.

With Team White's Tyler Weiman winning the shootout, the two teams were tied at 10-10, but Tambellini's shootout winner earned the 3-2 shootout win for Team White game them the 13-12 victory in the 2010 Manitoba Moose Super Skills Challenge! After celebrating the victory and mobbing Tambellini, Team White posed with the trophy at center ice.

Another fun-filled evening at MTS Centre was enjoyed by the fans who made their way downtown. There was lots of stuff to see and do along the concourse, but most everyone enjoyed the interaction with the players. The players themselves have some bragging rights now and Team White has a victory to defend next season, but there's no doubt that the Moose are doing the right thing in keeping a pulse on the fanbase. It also helps when the fans show up to meet the players of the local team, especially the little ones who love an autograph from their favorite players.

Kudos to the Manitoba Moose for a great evening of fun, laughter, and some pond hockey skills!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Antler Banter: Volume 12

We have a lot to cover on Antler Banter this week as the Moose had three games in the last seven days and there was a little event called the AHL All-Star Game. Two Moose players took part in the mid-season event, and we'll check out how they fared in their All-Star Game appearances. Because of the All-Star Game info, I'm going to hold off on player moves and injury news for today. For all of your Manitoba Moose news and information, don't forget to check out the Moose website. If you're interested in attending a Manitoba Moose game, please click here for seating information, ticket pricing, and availability. Lots of Hardcore Hockey, so let's get to it!

Reduced to a Simmer

The Moose spent last Wednesday in Abbotsford for their second game of a two-game set against the Heat. Another sold-out Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre was divided between Heat fans and Canucks fans, so it was close to being a home game for the Moose as the crowd cheered the visitors as much as their home team. Cory Schneider started for the Moose against Abbotsford's Matt Keetley.

Abbotsford's Garth Murray was sent off for interference just 34 seconds into the game, and the Moose powerplay capitalized on their early chance. Evan Oberg found Mathieu Schneider with a pass, and the veteran defenceman ripped home his first goal as a member of the Moose. Manitoba's powerplay goal put them up 1-0 at the 47-second mark of the first period.

Murray was back in the sin bin at 2:15 when he bumped defenceman Travis Ramsey into goaltender Cory Schneider. Tommy Maxwell came to the aid of his goaltender as both Maxwell and Murray dropped the gloves. After a fairly spirited battle, Maxwell was hit with the instigator penalty, meaning his night was over. The Moose, however, killed the man-advantage off, and the teams were back to five-on-five hockey.

Guillaume Desbiens hit the scoresheet at the midway point of the first period. A defensive zone turnover committed by the Heat led to Desbiens going one-on-one with Keetley. Desbiens found the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season, and the Moose had a 2-0 lead at the 10:00 mark.

Both teams settled down after Desbiens' goal, and the Moose carried a 2-0 lead into the intermission despite being outshot 10-7.

The second period didn't feature any goals, but there was some bad blood. Guillaume Desbiens and Ryley Grantham exchanged blows at the 6:35 mark, and both got five minutes for their efforts. However, they were joined by Travis Ramsey and JD Watt just 27 seconds later as those two men dropped their gloves and settled things the old-fashioned way. If there was any doubt that these two teams don't like one another, it was put to rest in this game. However, with no goals scored, the Moose carried the two-goal advantage into the third period.

Just two seconds into the last frame, Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Ryley Grantham started the period by chucking knuckles. After those two were done, the game got back to normal, but the parade to the penalty box didn't end. Minors were being handed out by referee Francis Charron as he worked to keep the game under control.

With 27 seconds left in the third period, Guillame Desbiens scored his second of the game and eighth of the season into an empty net, and that sealed the deal. Manitoba earned the shutout victory with a workman-like effort. The 3-0 win was another strong game for Cory Schneider as the goaltender turned away all 35 shots fired his way for his third shutout of the season. With the win, Manitoba improves its record to 23-15-4-1.

Just as a note, Abbotsford forward JD Watt finished the game with 29 minutes in penalties in this game. Is there any wonder as to why the Heat lead the AHL in PIMs this season?

Anchors Away!

Manitoba returned home for a two-game set against the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday and Saturday. Milwaukee has being playing excellent hockey lately, so the Moose were in for a test in this series. Except they forgot to show up. Cory Schneider started in the Moose net on Friday, but didn't finish there. At the opposite end of the ice, Mark Dekanich got the call for the Admirals.

I'm going to run through this quickly because it was ugly. There's no sense in highlighting all nine goals when only one team showed up to play.

The Admirals jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Mark Matheson and Jonathan Blum. Matheson's point shot handcuffed Schneider and found the back of the net at the 12:44 mark. His fourth goal of the season made it 1-0. Defenceman Jonathan Blum made it 2-0 as he pinched in from the point as the Moose defenders were lost in their own zone. Blum tucked his fifth goal of the season in the Moose net at 14:02, and the Admirals were sailing after 20 minutes.

The second period saw the Admirals make the Herd into cannon fodder. Triston Grant turned a Manitoba turnover into his seventh goal of the season just 1:40 into the middle stanza, and the Admirals had a 3-0 lead. Chris Mueller made it a 4-0 game for the Admirals when he beat Schneider for his sixth goal of the season just over two minutes later. At the 3:53 mark of the second period, Cory Schneider's night was over - not that he got much help in preventing that from happening.

With Rejean Beauchemin occupying the blue paint for Manitoba, there was hope that the Moose might respond. But they didn't. Wacey Rabbit scored his seventh goal of the season off a goal-mouth scramble just 40 seconds after the goaltending change, and the Admirals led 5-0.

In what can only be called a "kamikaze move", Guillaume Desbiens tried to spark his lifeless team by challenging Admirals' captain Nolan Yonkman. The problem? Desbiens is 6'2" and 205 lbs. Yonkman stands in at 6'6" and 253 lbs. While the feisty Desbiens held tough early on in the fight, Yonkman eventually used his size to score the win. But Desbiens' effort seemed to wake the sleeping Moose as they started to show some life after the battle.

Milwaukee's Oren Eisenman was whistled for hooking at 13:24, and the Moose sent out their powerplay unit. After moving the puck fairly well, Mathieu Schneider scored his second goal of the season on the powerplay when he ripped a shot past Dekanich from the high slot. With 4:47 to play in the second period, the Moose trailed 5-1.

1:35 later, it appeared that the Moose were starting to get their legs. Walsky won a puck battle along the boards, sending the puck back to Travis Ramsey at the point. Ramsey's wrist shot was deflected by Matt Pettinger in front of Dekanich, and it found its way through the goaltender. Pettinger's eighth goal of the season at 16:47 pulled the Moose to a 5-2 deficit with 20 minutes to play.

Any comeback was crushed by Winnipegger Colin Wilson. Wilson scored his fifth of the season from the edge of the blue paint up under the crossbar after he took a pass from behind the net. Just 3:51 into the third period, and the Admirals led 6-2. Hugh Jessiman put the icing on the cake as he tapped in a gift from Wacey Rabbit. With Jessiman behind Pettinger, his ninth of the season looked effortless, and the Admirals led 7-2 with just over five minutes to play.

The horn sounded at the end of sixty minutes, and the Admirals had bombed the Moose 7-2. I know that moose are mammals, but this group of Moose literally laid an egg. With the loss, the Moose drop to 23-16-4-1.

Déja Vu All Over Again

After watching the Moose get dismantled by the Admirals on Friday, there was hope that the Herd would respond with a better effort on Saturday. Cory Schneider got the start after being yanked a night earlier, and he squared off against Winnipeg's own Chet Pickard in the Milwaukee net. The Moose honoured the Trail Smoke Eaters by wearing Smoke Eaters-inspired jerseys tonight. The Smoke Eaters won Canada two World Ice Hockey Championships in 1939 and 1961.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Milwaukee's Scott Ford got to stretch their arms early as they dropped the gloves and removed their buckets. Both men got a few quality shots in, but neither one gained a serious advantage. With Labrie earning a draw, it appeared that Manitoba was ready to improve on their previous night's performance.

Manitoba had its chances early on as Shirokov's breakaway shot went wide and Mathieu Schneider had a few solid blasts turned aside. Chet Pickard looks like he could be Nashville's goalie of the future with his steady play and poise. However, the Admirals were the first on the scoreboard again. Colin Wilson banged a rebound past Schneider of a Mike Santorelli shot at 17:18 of the first period for his sixth goal of the season. Wilson's marker gave Milwaukee the 1-0 lead.

44 seconds later, and the Admirals struck again. Robert Dietrich hammered a shot from the top of the right face-off circle, and the screened Schneider had no chance. Deitrich's third goal of the season gave the Admirals a 2-0 lead at 18:02, and they carried that lead into the intermission.

The Admirals came out flying to start the second period, and they were rewarded again for their efforts. Peter Olvecky's centering pass caught the skate of Taylor Ellington and deflected past Schneider. Olvecky's 11th goal of the season at 5:10 put the Admirals up 3-0.

The Moose began to chip away at the 13:50 mark. Marco Rosa corralled a puck and fired a rising wrist shot from just inside the face-off circle that got past Pickard's glove. Rosa's 11th goal of the season brought the Moose to within two goals at 3-1.

Any momentum being built by the Moose was swept away when the Admirals scored again before the end of the second period. Peter Olvecky's weak shot from beside the net got underneath Cory Schneider, and Chris Mueller shoveled home the puck from inside the crease. Mueller's seventh goal of the season put the Admirals up by a 4-1 score after 40 minutes.

7:14 into the third period, the Herd got one back. Marco Rosa's backhander was deflected by Sergei Shirokov in front of the net, and the puck found its way through Pickard's pads and just over the goal line. Shirokov's 14th of the season pulled the Moose closer at 4-2.

Just 11 seconds later, the Admirals showed why they are one of the better clubs in the AHL. Colin Wilson stripped Evan Oberg of the puck behind the Moose net on the ensuing dump-in. Skating towards the right corner, Wilson found Chris Mueller wide-open at the edge of the crease, and Mueller roofed it past Schneider. Mueller's second of the game and eighth of the season restored the three-goal margin as Milwaukee led 5-2 with just over twelve-and-a-half minutes to play.

The Admirals iced the game at 17:23. With everyone watching Cal O'Reilly skate from west-to-east across the blueline, Mike Santorelli got in behind the Moose defenders. O'Reilly threaded a perfect tape-to-tape pass to Santorelli, and he broke in on Schneider. As Schneider followed Santorelli across the crease, the five-hole opened up, and Santorelli made no mistake. Santorelli's 12th goal of the season gave Milwaukee the 6-2 win.

With the loss, the Moose drop to 23-17-4-1 on the season, and find themselves in third place in the North Division as they enter the AHL All-Star Break.

Clearing the Air

I'm not going to lie when I say that these two games sound worse than what they actually were. The Admirals play a very good up-tempo, puck possession game that the Moose don't match-up well against. While there weren't any players who had exceptionally bad games on either night, the Moose simply don't have an answer for Milwaukee's style of play. This is something that the coaching staff will have to address going forward, however, as Milwaukee exposed all sorts of problems in the Moose systems.

Thankfully, however, the Moose will only see the Admirals again this season if both clubs advance to the Western Conference Final. Which could be entirely possible.

All-Star Skills Competition

The best skaters and goalies assembled for some fun as the 2010 Ducks Unlimited AHL All-Star Skills Competition was held Monday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

• Fastest Skater - Bobby Sanguinetti. The Hartford Wolf Pack defenceman set a new AHL record by completing the lap of the rink in 13.677 seconds.
• Hardest Shot - Blair Jones. The Norfolk Admirals' forward unleashed a blast of 100.7 mph to win the event. Jones is only the fourth player to break the 100 mph mark at this event.
• Most Accurate Shot - Jon Matsumoto. The Adirondack Phantoms' centerman hit four of five targets to win this event.
• Top Goaltender - Cedrick Desjardins. The Hamilton Bulldogs' netminder stopped 16 of 19 shots he faced in the Skills Competition to earn the title.

Canada defeated PlanetUSA in the Skills Competition by an 18-12 score to stop a three-year losing streak at the hands of the PlanetUSA All-Stars.

All-Stars On Display

The 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic was played Tuesday night, and both Sergei Shirokov and Nolan Baumgartner made an impact in the game. Shirokov suited up for PlanetUSA while Baumgartner was the captain for Team Canada.

Shirokov netted two goals in his All-Star Game debut, and nearly had the best setup of the night when he played the puck into his own feet before kicking it across the crease while on a two-on-one. Unfortunately for Shirokov, the puck not only eluded Canadian goaltender Jonathan Bernier, but also his PlanetUSA teammate who got caught watching Shirokov's magic.

Nolan Baumgartner scored a goal and added an assist in his play for the Canadian squad. Baumgartner really looked good playing in the wide-open format of the All-Star Game, and finished with a surprising +3 in the plus/minus department.

In the end, a shootout was needed after Canada stormed back in the third period to tie the game at 9-9. Shirokov was unsuccessful in his shootout attempt as the third PlanetUSA shooter. Canadian PK Subban of the Hamilton Bulldogs scored the shootout winner to give Canada the 10-9 All-Star Game win.

Back To Business

The Moose head out on the road to Hershey, Pennsylvania for a couple of nights with the Bears. The Bears are the best team in the AHL with a 32-9-0-2 record, so this will be another weekend of tests for the Moose. Not much needs to be said about the Bears: they're good, and they know how to win.

I'm looking forward to this weekend's action! It should be another good set of games!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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HBIC Road Trip!

With my 901st post on this blog, I decided that I should make it known that HBIC is heading out on the road at the end of the week. I plan on seeing some great outdoor hockey action, and I also want to squeeze some NHL action in. However, the highlight of my weekend will be getting together with some mighty fine folks that I have come to respect greatly since I first began talking with them. As I've always said with this blog, it's the people that make the difference, and it's no difference to me in real-life. The people are what makes life great.

As it stands, my mini-itinerary will be fairly straight-forward. Thursday is a travel day where I'll be stopping in locales such as Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota. I will try and get into the Ralph Englestad Arena at some point to take some pictures because it literally is an ice hockey palace. From there, it's due east to Minneapolis.

Once in Minneapolis, I'll be setting up shop in my chosen hotel, preparing for a fun weekend of blogging and photography. Once I am ready to go in my makeshift base of operations, I'll be meeting up with some of the great people I plan on visiting with, and we'll go for a late dinner.

Friday will be spent doing some tourist-esque stuff. I'm not sure about hitting the Mall of America all day, but I'm sure I'll get there at some point on Friday. Friday evening will be spent visiting with more friends, and really having a night out on the town. If you're in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, head down to Grumpy's Downtown on 1111 Washington Avenue South. The jersey-clad and sports-themed people will be the group that I'm with, and it's always nice to have a few more party-goers!

Saturday is Hockey Day In Minnesota! I'm spending most of my day on lakes as I cover the US Pond Hockey Championship on Lake Nokomis and the North America Pond Hockey Championship on Lake Minnetonka. Both tournament look like excellent venues, and I'm hoping to have the opportunity to take pictures, interview players, officials, and staff, and possibly sample some of the fine Minnesotan cuisine they are offering. All in all, Saturday starts off with hockey, and I don't mind the outdoor kind whatsoever!

Saturday night has me at the Xcel Energy Center for an NHL game. The hometown Minnesota Wild will be squaring off against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Minnesota Wild have already confirmed that they will take the ice in their alternate jerseys, so I'll get an intimate look at how they appear on the ice. There is also a patch giveaway that night in honour of Hockey Day In Minnesota, so I'll have a little piece of hockey history to bring back to the Great White North.

Sunday morning had all the makings of a Vikings tailgate party until the Saints went ahead and destroyed the Arizona Cardinals this past weekend. Because of Minnesota having to play in New Orleans, I decided this would open up my time for the Minnesota Wild Skills Competition. The last time that the Wild held a skills competition was way back in 2003, so this is another opportunity to be a part of something that doesn't happen often. Again, more pictures will be taken, and all fun will be posted here.

After that, I make my way home, being back in Canada by mid-afternoon on Monday at the latest. All in all, though, I'm pumped for a great time with a lot of hockey on my schedule. Of course, I'm never going to complain about the amount of hockey I'm seeing, so this is going to be an excellent trip!

Hockey Day In Minnesota - does it get any better?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Antler Banter: Volume 3

Hey, kids! We're back with another episode of Antler Banter! The Manitoba Moose returned home from their Texas roadtrip to rest up for a few days before battling their North Division rivals in the Toronto Marlies. We'll look at the two-game set between these teams. Last night saw the Moose hold their first ever "Super Skills" competition where the members of the Moose squared off in a high stakes skills competition to see who was the fastest skater, the most accurate shooter, the man with the cannon, and which goaltender would stand tall in breakaways. We'll go through all of that in this edition of Antler Banter. I'm going to hold off profiling anyone this week, however. As always, for all of your Manitoba Moose news and information, don't forget to check out the Moose website. If you're interested in attending a Manitoba Moose game, please click here for seating information, ticket pricing, and availability. Without further adieu, let's get to the Hardcore Hockey!

"We Gonna Get It On..."

The Marlies rolled into MTS Centre on Friday night after dropping their last game. The Moose, suffering through one of their worst scoring droughts in history, were also licking their wounds after getting pummeled in Texas. After some of the fireworks we saw in last season's Calder Cup Playoffs between these two teams, you had to know that the fuse was already lit on this powderkeg.

Before the game even started, we had some unhappy players as Mark McCutcheon and Toronto's Jay Rosehill were sent to the penalty box with coincidental unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. With the open ice, the Moose used the extra room to draw first blood when Marty Murray banged home his fourth goal off an Eric Walsky rebound to give the home side some early breathing room. Ryan Hamilton responded with his sixth marker of the season for the Marlies at the midway point of the first period to draw the score at 1-1.

Just a mere 1:02 into the second period, Marco Rosa forced a Toronto turnover and made them pay by firing home his fifth goal through goaltender Joey MacDonald to restore Manitoba's one-goal lead. Darryl Bootland, playing in what is certainly his best game as a Moose thus far this season, made it a two-goal advantage when he scored his first of the year. Never one to shy away from a little tussle, Bootland immediately canceled the goal celebration and started throwing punches at Toronto's Jonas Frogren after he had taken Marco Rosa down in the corner. This bit of excitement seemed to jump-start the Moose offense as Sergei Shirokov netted his sixth goal of the season just 4:01 later on a gorgeous cross-ice feed from Travis Ramsey. 4-1 for the Moose after 40 minutes, and suddenly it appeared the floodgates were open.

While the third period saw five fights break out between these two teams, Neil Petruic also added his first of the season on a slapshot from just inside the blueline that eluded Joey MacDonald. With their largest offensive outburst of the season, the Moose send a message to the Marlies with a 5-1 win. The victory pushes the Moose back to .500 with a 9-9-2 record.

"... 'Cause We Don't Get Along!"

Saturday night's game was expected to be a knock-em-down, run-em-over kind of game after Friday night's fight night. If you wanted to see some old-time hockey, MTS Centre was the place to be.

It didn't take long for these two teams to renew the bloodsport from the night before. Tommy Maxwell hooked up with Toronto's Richard Greenop a mere 4:37 into the first period, and the rough stuff simply continued from there. Toronto's Jay Rosehill was whistled for boarding with just under four minutes to play, setting the Moose up for a chance to take the lead into the intermission. Except that Dusty Collin threw an elbow 1:17 later, and the teams were down to four-on-four. Tyler Bozek used the extra room in the slot to fire his second of the season past Cory Schneider to give Toronto the 1-0 lead.

Jay Rosehill and Nathan McIver renewed acquaintances when they decided to drop the gloves just past the 11-minute mark. With just over five minutes to play in the second period, the Moose responded. Eric Walsky fired a shot on goaltender James Reimer from the top of the faceoff circle that Reimer kicked out. The problem? Sergei Shirokov was standing right where Reimer kicked the puck. Shirokov potted his seventh of the season on the rebound, and the teams were squared at one goal apiece.

The third period was fairly quiet: no fisticuffs, no goals, no real trouble. With the game knotted at one goal apiece, overtime solved nothing as well. That meant we were off to a shootout. Cory Schneider, having already played an excellent game, shone in the shootout by stopping all four Toronto shooters. Mike Keane and Eric Walsky responded for the home side, and the hometown fans went home happy after a 2-1 shootout win. With the win, the Moose push their record to 10-9-2-0, and move back into third place in the North Division.

"Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee!"

The wins were exactly what the doctor ordered, and the Moose climbed back up to third place in the North Division standings. Toronto's 15 points now has them sitting in sixth in the North Division, five points back of Grand Rapids Griffins. They say that there are no more important wins than the ones within your own division. The Moose did themselves a huge favour by taking all four points from the Marlies last weekend.

Manitoba Moose Intensive Care Unit

Little has changed in the infirmary for the Moose.

Michael Funk - concussion. No return date set.
Lawrence Nycholat - foot and shoulder problems. December?
Matt Pope - high ankle sprain. Still off skates. December?
Pierre-Cedric Labrie - shoulder separation. Potentially this weekend.
Guillaume Desbiens - foot injury. December at least.
Michael Grabner - ankle injury. December?
Alex Bolduc - shoulder injury. December?
Matt Pettinger - still in Vancouver. Doing well.

Jannik Hansen did return to the Canucks lineup, though, so there might be some additional scoring help on the way once Vancouver begins erasing names off their injury list.

The Kid's A Natural

I have to throw out some credit to right winger Eric Walsky. Walsky was named as the Moose's fastest skater and most accurate shooter at last night's Super Skills Challenge, and he has really climbed up the stats chart for the Moose. The Anchorage, Alaska native hasn't quite dented the twine as often as he may like, but he has been a force defensively as he sits with a team-best +3 in the plus/minus department. Head coach Scott Arniel, always an admirer of solid two-way play, has responded by giving Walsky more offensive time on the top lines. Great job, Mr. Walsky, and congratulations on your two skills competition wins!

Moose Outlook

The Moose are up against a test again this weekend as another division rival stops in for two dates at MTS Centre. The second-place Hamilton Bulldogs bring their impressive 9-2-1-3 record into Winnipeg. The Bulldogs are 6-2-0-2 in their last ten games, so they have faltered slightly, but they also sit with six games in hand on the Moose. With that potential twelve-point spread sitting over their heads like a black cloud, the Moose could do a lot to help themselves by capturing all four points this upcoming weekend.

Ben Maxwell and Brock Trotter lead the team with identical scoring stats: three goals and eight assists for eleven points. Former Manitoba Moose goaltender Curtis Sanford comes into the weekend with a 5-2-2 record with two shutouts. He sports a sparkling 1.44 GAA and .947 save percentage, so all of the Moose's top offensive guns have to be firing.

Just two games coming up. Next Wednesday sees the Moose leave for a roadtrip, and we'll preview that in the upcoming Antler Banter.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Alpha Moose

Some people consider Bullwinkle as the most talented moose of all-time. Others consider Rutt and Tuke, the two moose from Disney's Brother Bear, to be a close second. Tonight, however, the most talented Moose was crowned on the ice at MTS Centre. The Manitoba Moose welcomed fans down to the arena for their first "Super Skills" competition - essentially, a team-based skills competition featuring all of the non-injured Moose. There were a ton of things for fans to do on the concourse, including accuracy shooting and finding out who had the hardest shot, but the competition on the ice was the main draw. Tonight, the Moose split up into two teams to compete in the fastest skater event, accuracy shooting event, hardest shot event, and the breakaway relay. With that being said, let's get to the first annual Manitoba Moose Super Skills Competition!

Fastest Skater

Times will be listed per player as they skate one lap of the rink from the center ice line.

Team Black: Marco Rosa, Tommy Maxwell, Sergei Shirokov, and Mark McCutcheon.
Team White: Eric Walsky, Derek Leblanc, John Lammers, and Mario Bliznak.

Walsky - 13.46 seconds.
Rosa - 13.78 seconds.
Leblanc - 14.16 seconds.
Maxwell - 14.16 seconds, including a solid shoulder to a crossbar.
Lammers - 14.26 seconds.
Shirokov - 14.66 seconds after a false start.
Bliznak - 14.06 seconds.
McCutcheon - 14.50 seconds.

Team Black earns five points on Walsky's trail of fire around the rink.

Accuracy Shooting

Players will have their scores listed in the order that they shoot. There are five targets to hit: one in each corner of the net, and the ever-elusive five-hole. Scores will reflect the number of shots taken to hit the five targets. Players will line up directly between the faceoff circles in the slot for their shots.

Team Black: Darryl Bootland, Marty Murray, John Lammers, and Eric Walsky.
Team White: Mike Keane, Sergei Shirokov, Dusty Collins, and Marco Rosa.

Keane - 5/8 in 13.91 seconds.
Bootland - 5/8 in 13.90 seconds.
Shirokov - 5/9 in 15.08 seconds.
Murray - 5/10 in 15.80 seconds.
Collins - 5/10 in 17.57 seconds.
Lammers - 2/12 with a time-out, but five posts counted.
Rosa - 5/9 in 18.41 seconds.
Walsky - 5/7 in 11.96 seconds, and two posts.

Walsky earns another five points for Team Black with his laser-sighted shot! From the way it appeared, the bottom two corners looked like they were the hardest for the players to hit. Walsky, however, made it look easy as he missed the top-left corner twice on his two post-ringing shots.

Hardest Shot

Players will have their shots clocked in the order that they shoot. Players will tee off from high slot area just between the top of the faceoff circles. Each player will have two attempts to blow away the radar gun.

Team Black: Nolan Baumgartner, Evan Oberg, Derek Leblanc, and Geoff Waugh.
Team White:Brian Salcido, Travis Ramsey, Neil Petruic, and Mark McCutcheon.

Baumgartner - 85 mph followed by 85 mph.
Salcido - 96 mph followed by 94 mph.
Oberg - 92 mph followed by 89 mph.
Ramsey - 95 mph followed by 97 mph.
Leblanc - 88 mph followed by 90 mph.
Petruic - 92 mph followed by 91 mph.
Waugh - 87 mph followed by 83 mph.
McIver - 83 mph followed by 88 mph.

Team White earns five points on Ramsey's cannon-like blast. Some quick notes on this competition saw two misreadings by the radar gun. Evan Oberg's first shot registered as 13 mph, while Geoff Waugh's second shot saw him record a 14 mph shot. Neither men dribbled the puck into the net, I assure you. There was a break in the competition, though, as Travis Ramsey literally blew away the radar gun. Ramsey's second shot was a laser to the center post in the net, and the radar gun flew off the back of the net. After a quick reset, Ramsey's third shot of 97 mph was your winner.

Breakaway Relay

Players will be listed in terms of their appearance, and whether or not they scored. An X will be used for an unsuccessful shot, while an O will represent a goal. Goaltenders will have their total saves and save percentage shown at the bottom of the shooter list.

Team Black: Nolan Baumgartner, Geoff Waugh, Evan Oberg, Derek Leblanc, John Lammers, Mario Bliznak, Marty Murray, Darryl Bootland, and Eric Walsky.
Team White: Brian Salcido, Travis Ramsey, Neil Petruic, Nathan McIver, Tommy Maxwell, Mark McCutcheon, Marco Rosa, Sergei Shirokov, and Mike Keane.

Team Black Goaltender: Daren Machesney.
Team White Goaltender: Cory Schneider.

Baumgartner - X
Salcido - X
Waugh - O, on a backhander past Schneider.
Ramsey - X
Oberg - X
Petruic - O, forehand to backhand to the top of the net.
Leblanc - X
McIver - X
Lammers - X
Maxwell - X
Bliznak - O, as the backhand slides five-hole.
McCutcheon - X
Murray - X
Rosa - O, top-shelf on a gorgeous wrist shot past Machesney.
Bootland - O, crushing a slapshot past a sprawling Schneider.
Shirokov - X
Walsky - X
Keane - X

Machesney - 7/9 = 0.778 save percentage
Schneider - 6/9 = 0.667 save percentage

Team Black defeats Team White in the shootout by a 3-2 score. Each goal counts towards the team total as well, so Team Black picks up eight points to Team White's two points.

Team Totals

Team Black: 18 points.
Team White: 7 points.

Team Black is your winning Moose squad tonight! Congratulations go out to Nolan Baumgartner, Geoff Waugh, Evan Oberg, Derek Leblanc, John Lammers, Mario Bliznak, Marty Murray, Darryl Bootland, Eric Walsky, and goaltender Daren Machesney!

Honestly, this was a great night of fun hosted by the Manitoba Moose. Lots of prizes were given away, and a great crowd turned out to see the event. While the official attendance totals was announced at 3727, if felt like there had to be 4500-5000 people in the building tonight.

The glass was down in all non-essential places, and fans got to high five their favorite hometown hockey stars as they skated by. Moose players were available for autographs all night long, and, at $5 per ticket, this is exactly the kind of event that can go a long way in helping the Moose generate fans for generations. There were children everywhere in the crowd, proving that the Moose's efforts in being a part of the community are going a long, long way.

Perhaps one of the coolest things about having no glass up is that all the players were chatting with the fans all night long. It's that kind of interaction that makes this type of event a lot of fun, and it really is a memorable experience for all involved. Especially for the fans. The players poked fun at one another all night, and they really seemed to be having as much of a good time as the fans were.

Well done, Manitoba Moose, on starting an annual event that is fun, affordable, and a great time for all in attendance! Tonight, everyone was a winner!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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