A little R-E-S-P-E-C-T, please

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Moose netminder Cory Schneider, at practice Wednesday morning, has proved he’s reliable between the pipes but knows there’s always room for improvement. (DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS )

Cory SCHNEIDER talked repeatedly about trust and respect Wednesday at Manitoba Moose practice.

At 23, the young goaltender could be considered an expert in those matters.

As in, he had the complete trust and respect of his Boston College Eagles teammates en route to the 2007 NCAA title game.

As in, when he jumped from BC to pro, his Manitoba Moose teammates had almost no trust and no reason for respect for half a season.

As in, Schneider persevered and earned their trust and respect in spades, to the point where he was the AHL's No. 1 netminder in 2008-09.

As in, while improving steadily as a Moose, his call-ups to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks last season did not inspire a lot of trust and respect.

It's a story in progress, though, the next chapter maybe starting with last Friday's performance in Vancouver's 2-1 loss in Dallas in which he stopped 45 of 47 shots.

"You always want your coaches' and teammates' trust and respect," Schneider said Wednesday after practising with the Moose at the MTS Centre, the day after he was reassigned by the Canucks. "I wasn't sure I had it from anybody up there just based on last season, so it's nice to get in there and play well for the guys and battle for them and that way you earn some of their trust and respect.

"But you know, one game doesn't make a career or season."

When Roberto Luongo was hurt about two weeks ago and Schneider was summoned to help fill the gap, Canucks defenceman Willie Mitchell didn't sound like a confident teammate, nor a teammate at all, some said.

Mitchell's words: "No offence to the guys who were kind of stepping in, but Louie went out for a bit and we had a kid from the American league who wasn't quite ready. He kind of let in some soft goals and that takes the momentum out of your team."

Schneider didn't argue with the statement, even saying Mitchell was right.

"Someone mentioned it to me, but he (Mitchell) never said anything to me directly," Schneider said. "I'm sure he didn't mean it in that kind of way. I'm sure he just meant it takes awhile for young goalies to develop and that they're not going to be ready right away, that they're going to struggle and have problems off the bat, which I did last year. But it's guys like that I have to play well (behind) and prove that I'm ready."

Without taking Mitchell's road, Schneider knows this battle can only be won with saves.

"It would have been nice to get the win, but it was good to show some progress from last year, that I learned from my mistakes last year," the goalie said. "It's nice to finally put together a full game and play like I wanted to play and like I know I can play.

"They gave me a few opportunities last season, and just to show them I can be relied on and can perform at that level is important. You don't know how many opportunities you're going to get."

Back in Winnipeg, there will be no waiting for opportunities. The Moose don't actually need a big upgrade -- Daren Machesney's work has been solid -- but they're in need of some magic, Schneider-style, to help get through a scoring drought that is unprecedented in team history.

Manitoba has scored just nine goals in the last 10 games, two of which Schneider played (a 4-1 loss in Hamilton, a 1-0 shootout win in Chicago), so he's familiar with the offensive crisis.

"I don't worry too much about his mental makeup, but I like to talk to any player that comes down from Vancouver, get them one-on-one to see how things are," Moose coach Scott Arniel said.

Arniel won't have to ask for help. Schneider knows what's needed.

"I've heard the guys are having some trouble scoring goals, but I'm sure this will be one of those phases where the guys will find their groove and pucks will start going in, even by accident," the goalie smiled. "Not much I can do about that, but hopefully I can help us out different ways."

Trust and respect may help.

"You have to have trust and faith in your teammates," he said. "You can't go out every game not having any faith in them. For me, it's my goal every game, to steal every game, to give my team a chance to win."

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

A bad-bounce turning point

IT looked a bit like "same old" when Cory Schneider went in for the third period in Vancouver's 7-2 loss in Anaheim Oct. 30. Joffrey Lupul's shoot-in clipped the stanchion between glass panes and went into Schneider's vacated net at 18:47 of the third period.

"I don't think I can repeat what I said," Schneider said. "I was a little frustrated. It kind of summed up how my time up there in the past had gone. What else can happen next? Fortunately, I didn't let it get to me."

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 12, 2009 C3