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Seasons in the sun
Some Moose are old hands at banner years and championship series... just listen
Moose goaltenders Cory Schneider (left) and Curtis Sanford take a break during Friday’s workout at the MTS Centre. There will be no rest for Schneider tonight when Manitoba takes on the Hershey Bears. (WAYNE.GLOWACKI@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)
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EXPERIENCE on so many levels has seen the Manitoba Moose through to the Calder Cup final, even though it's their first AHL championship series.
It kicks off tonight at 7:30 against the Hershey Bears before an expected sell-out at MTS Centre.
Mike Keane's three Stanley Cups (1993, 1996, 1999) are part of a Winnipeg citizenship course and the Moose have had large contributions this season from forwards Jason Krog and Guillaume Desbiens, members of last year's Calder Cup champion Chicago Wolves.
Others have had their own titles, brushes with big victories and close calls and they all provide individual memories and motivations.
We collected some of the less obvious experiences around the Moose locker-room on Friday after practice at the MTS Centre, where the team held a 45-minute workout as a final preparation.
Our question: "The last time I had such a good chance to win something as important as this was ..."
Goaltender Cory Schneider: "The national championship game my junior year of college." Boston College lost the NCAA final 3-1.
Defenceman Nolan Baumgartner: "1996, Memorial Cup with Kamloops, and we won. That's the last time."
(Schneider, overhearing Baumgartner's answer: "I think I had a chance to win my fourth-grade spelling bee that year.") Defenceman Zack FitzGerald: "It was winning the national silver stick tournament in Guelph (Ont.) when I played for Duluth East peewees. I haven't even been close since then so this is pretty eye-opening and fun for me right now."
Forward Jason Jaffray: "It had to be back in junior, in Kootenay we won the WHL championship and made it all the way to the Memorial Cup when I was 18. We didn't quite win it all."
Forward Michael Grabner: "I was 15 or 16 and it was in the Austrian championship and we lost in seven games and in overtime in the seventh game. That was the last time I really had any chance for something like this."
Forward Greg Rallo: "Two years ago I was part of the Idaho Steelheads (as was teammate Derek Nesbitt) and won the (ECHL) Kelly Cup. That was a pretty big turning point for me because it was my rookie year and it gave me really good experience to find out what it takes to play this many rounds and go that deep into the playoffs."
Defenceman Mark Fistric: "With the Vancouver Giants when we went to the WHL championship in 2006." The Giants lost their first playoff game but won four rounds and the league title in just 18 games.
Forward Ray Sawada: "It was 2004 and I was playing for the Nanaimo Clippers and we went to the Royal Bank Cup. We didn't win."
Defenceman Maxime Fortunus: "Bingo last year. I was only one number away. OK really, it was my last year of junior (with Baie-Comeau) we lost in the conference final at home in Game 7 to Hull. It wasn't a good game.
We were ranked first in Canada that year and Hull hadn't won a game in Baie-Comeau for years."
Forward Alexandre Bolduc: "It was playing for Team Canada at the under-18's in Russia and we won the gold medal. I had the winning goal in the semis against the U.S. and we had a great team, with guys like Brent Seabrook, Braydon Coburn, Ryan Getzlaf.
Coach Scott Arniel: "The Turner Cup championship with Utah Grizzlies in 1996. I got traded there at the deadline.
Butch Goring was the coach and I got to play with some great players, Andy Brickley, Tommy Salo, Gord Dineen, Bob Beers. They had won as the Denver Grizzlies the year before, a real veteran group of people."
WAYNE.GLOWACKI@FREEPRESS.MB.CA
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