Manitoba Moose moving to St. John’s, confirms NHL to Winnipeg: report

The Manitoba Moose are moving to Newfoundland this off-season, according to a report in the St. John’s Telegram.

Sports editor Robin Short writes that the Moose would continue under the ownership of Mark Chipman’s True North Sports & Entertainment for at least next season. The club is expected to eventually be sold to former Newfoundland premier Danny Williams and Glenn Stanford, who served as director of hockey operations for the defunct St. John’s Maple Leafs, and is currently president and governor of the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs.

Short writes that the move is contingent on an NHL team relocating to Winnipeg. He confirmed in his article that a press conference announcing the Moose are moving to St. John’s is scheduled for Friday at 10:30a.m. Central time.

Speaking with a Winnipeg radio station this morning, Short said Glenn Stanford has quietly been negotiating for months to bring an AHL team to St. John’s. Short told sportsradio 1290 that, even more recently, Danny Williams has been in talks with the Manitoba Moose.

“I do know that Williams has been in contact with Chipman and his group — I think it’s Chipman specifically — for the past week or two, which tells me that the whole Atlanta to Winnipeg thing has been a done deal for some time.

“If you’re negotiating to get an NHL team to your city, the last thing you’re going to do is wonder what’s happening to your farm team.”

Short also told the radio station that his source confirming the St. John’s press conference is not anyone involved with city’s AHL-ready rink.

“That’s not coming from the Mile One people — that’s what we’ve been told. I don’t think it’s to announce Mile One’s rollerskating schedule for the summer.”

Neither Williams nor Stanford were available Friday to comment to the Newfoundland newspaper. A spokesperson for the Manitoba Moose this morning denied the St. John’s Telegram report.

The news comes on the heels of a Hockey Night in Canada report last night that the Moose would be the farm team of a new Winnipeg NHL franchise. The Vancouver Canucks would then be left to look for a new AHL partner.

St. John’s was previously home to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ farm team for 14 seasons. They moved to Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum in the fall of 2005.

Manitoba Moose: New look first line lights up IceHogs

Call it spring thaw: hockey style.

The Moose’s shiny new first line of Matt Pope, Marco Rosa and Peter Olvecky wasted no time getting to know each other and put some heat into their club’s frigid offence, to the tune of a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Rockford IceHogs.

The top line combined for four goals and four assists — not too shabby for a trio who first played together this morning for less than half an hour.

Pope — who potted a pair of goals in a two minute span late in the first — had nothing but praise for his new linemates.

“Olvecky works hard, he’s a big kid, and I’m a big kid,” noted Pope. “And Rosa’s got tons of skill.”

The offensive outburst melted away a shaky start for the home side. The ice in the Rockford zone was barely scratched some seven minutes in — the only Moose chance a weak effort which was easily deflected up into the protective mesh above the glass — while Cory Schneider faced half a dozen shots in that span.

“Cory’s always a difference maker. Cory kept us in it,” Moose coach Scott Arniel told the media scrum following the victory.

On just the second Manitoba shot of the game, Matt Pope had the home side on the board–the puck squirting from behind the net to the waiting winger, who wristed it high stick side on a visibly frustrated Toivonen.

“The first 13 minutes, we were really slow out of the gate,” Arniel admitted. “The first goal really had the bench going.

“We didn’t deserve it, but to see that first one go in, that was a big turning point.”

Not two minutes later, with the IceHogs making a line change, goaltender Cory Schneider fed Marco Rosa at the Rockford blue line. Rosa deked around the only IceHog in sight — former Moose Nick Boynton — before finding Matt Pope for a powerplay marker, his second goal of the night.

The Moose limped into the dressing room after 20 minutes. Despite holding a 2-0 edge, the play was more clearly reflected in the shot total that read 12-6 for Rockford.

“Even though we knew this was coming, we weren’t prepared,” Pope said. “We did come out harder in the second period, and we took more shots, and when you shoot more you’re going to score.”

And score they did.

First Matt Pettinger shorthanded, four minutes into the middle frame, after a Rockford defenceman fanned on a shot. Then Rosa, two minutes later, on an even-strength one-timer.

Yan Stastny and Peter Olvecky both scored their first goals as Manitoba Moose — Olvecky with a wraparound late in the third, and Stastny with a one-timer on the powerplay.

The Moose had scored just 14 goals in their last seven games, but sent IceHogs goalie Hannu Toivonen to the showers early in the 2nd period. He allowed three goals on nine shots in 24 minutes of work. Backup Corey Crawford also gave up 3 goals, and made 17 saves.

Rockford’s Matt Keith scored the lone IceHogs goal with a minute to go in the second period.

SPECIAL TEAMS RENAISSANCE?
Manitoba’s nearly cellar-dwelling powerplay, ranked 28th in the league, went two for four thanks to the Stastny and Pope goals. Meanwhile, Pettinger’s shorthanded marker came on a perfect night (5 for 5) for the 17th ranked penalty kill in the league.

CORY CRAZY
Cory Schneider picked up his 28th win of the season — behind only Worcestor’s Alex Stalock, who has 33 victories to his name this year. The Moose goaltender is near the top of almost every goaltender category tracked by the AHL including wins, losses, minutes played, and saves. He is tied for first in shootout wins with five.