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Moose out another defenceman as Baumgartner goes to Canucks

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 01/22/2010 12:22 PM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

HERSHEY — Already short-staffed and injury-ridden, the Manitoba Moose were dealt yet another blow here this morning when the Vancouver Canucks called up veteran Moose defenceman Nolan Baumgartner.

Baumgartner was called up after Canucks defenceman Sami Salo went down with a groin injury Thursday night in the 4-3 Canucks win over the Dallas Stars.

Baumgartner hasn't played an NHL game since the 2006-07 season but was really the Canucks only choice for a defensive callup. Their first choice, the Moose's Lawrence Nycholat, is just coming back from an injury of his own and it seems the Canucks would be loathe to call up 42-year-old veteran NHLer Mathieu Schneider, with whom they've had a falling out and who is nursing a groin injury of his own.

The call-up of Baumgartner leaves the Moose defensive ranks even further depleted. Defencemen Geoff Waugh and Nathan McIver are already missing with broken hands.

Moose head coach Scott Arniel said this morning that he will go with just six defencemen tonight against the defending Calder Cup champion Bears but will consider calling up someone of his own for Saturday night's rematch.

Arniel said he was happy for Baumgartner.

"Anyone who plays a big role on your hockey team, it's nice to see them get a carrot now and then," Arniel said.

Arniel will have newly acquired forward Nikita Shishirsky, picked up from the East Coast League this week, centering a line tonight with fellow Russian Sergei Shirokov on one side and power forward Guillaume Desbiens on the other.

Arniel is calling the line the "Three Russians" even though Desbiens is French Canadian. Desbiens knows his role well.

"Those guys are going to dangle around and I'll do my stuff in front of the net," said Desbiens, "and hopefully once they shoot the puck it will hit me and go in."

The Bears are expecting capacity crowds here at the Giant Centre tonight and tomorrow night for what's become a fierce rivalry with the Moose, who the Bears beat in last year's Calder Cup final.

The Bears earned a win and a shootout win over Manitoba when the two teams faced each other in Winnipeg earlier this month and Bears head coach Mark French says the challenge for his club will be the same as it always is against Manitoba.

"The stats hold true for them," French said this morning as the two teams went for a morning skate, "they're a team that's very good at keeping the puck out of their net. And that starts of course with their goaltender Cory Schneider."

Arniel confirmed the Moose will play tonight without the services of veteran forwards Marty Murray and Matt Pettinger, who are with the team but continue to nurse groin injuries.

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