Winnipeg Sun
Monday, November 26, 2001
By Kirk Penton -- Winnipeg Sun

Expect the telephone lines between Vancouver, Winnipeg and Columbia, S.C., to be burning up this week.

The reason for all the impending phone activity is the situation in Winnipeg, where the AHL's Manitoba Moose are faced with the odd situation of having a completely healthy roster.

Goaltender Alfie Michaud (hamstring) and forwards Ryan Ready (hip) and Jeff Scissons (knee) have all recovered from their injuries and are ready to jump back into the lineup. The trio's return creates a problem, however, because there are already 19 skaters and two goaltenders on the roster.

That means players will either be going up to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks or down to the East Coast Hockey League's Columbia Inferno.

On Thursday, the Moose leave for a seven-game road trip through Quebec City, Saint John, N.B., Salt Lake City and Houston and Manitoba head coach Stan Smyl said not everyone will be on the plane.

"The way our schedule works out, I'd like to give them some practice time," Smyl said. "As of (Sunday), they're ready to go. We'll have a couple practices here and then we'll make some decisions."

AHL teams dress a maximum of 17 skaters each game. The return of Ready and Scissons leaves the Moose with 13 forwards and eight defencemen.

LONG ROAD AHEAD: The last time the Moose played seven games in 11 nights, they won the first four contests but dropped the final three.

They will get a chance to redeem themselves over a 10-day span starting Friday in Saint John against the Flames.

The Moose play the Flames Friday and Saturday before travelling to Quebec City to meet the Citadelles for games next Monday and Wednesday.

Two nights later, the Moose play the first of two matches against the Utah Grizzlies in Salt Lake City and then hit the ice for their third game in as many nights on Sunday, Dec. 9 in Houston against the Aeros.

Manitoba defenceman Bryan Allen said he is looking forward to the trip and thinks the Moose learned some things from the last time they played such a heavy schedule.

"It's always fun to go on the road," Allen said. "You're having a good time, getting the guys together, but you gotta get your rest and you gotta make sure you're prepared mentally.

"It's a tough grind and some nights it's going to be tough to play, but you gotta re-focus and play a simple game sometimes."

Manitoba head coach Stan Smyl believes his team, which beat the Utah Grizzlies twice over the weekend, is better prepared for this gruelling stretch than it was for the last one.

"Over the last 10 games we've played better as a team, this (past) weekend we played better and that's what we've got to do on the road," Smyl said. "We can't go out there and try to impress everybody. We gotta go out and play our game."



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