Moose Prepare for the Penguins

The Metro Moose will be traveling to Pittsburgh this weekend for a huge match up with the Penguins. The Moose and Penguins currently sit atop the Western Conference and both teams have been hot as of late.

The Moose have been busy this month with the team heading to Marlboro, Massachusetts to take part in the 2011 EJ Winter Showcase. The Moose would take on three Empire League teams and the staff was looking forward to how the young team would compete at that level. The first game would feature the Moose taking on the Bay State Breakers. Despite outshooting the Breakers badly, the Moose would come up short by the score of 3-2. Later that day, the Moose would have to regroup quickly to prepare for their battle with Maksymum. The team responded well despite the earlier defeat and took control of the game from the drop of the puck. They would go on to a 5-2 victory. The staff couldn’t be more pleased with how the team responded to adversity. Assistant Coach Bobby DiRico said “This is something we have struggled with in the past; responding to a loss. Not only does this game show the strides we have made since the pre-season, it also demonstrates to the growth and development of our players since last year. We know we are going to go through some adversity and it’s important we respond correctly.” For the third game of the EJ Showcase the Moose would take on the CD Selects. The Moose didn’t exactly play their best game but still managed to prevail with a 5-3 win. The coaching staff was happy with the performance of the team. Head Coach Craig Doremus said “Overall, it was a good weekend. We try to use these showcase/tournament type weekends to prepare for the post season. It gives us a good idea how the team will respond to not only the games but also how they will respond to logistics such as quick turnaround times in between games. We will use the EJ Showcase as a learning experience as we prepare for the rest of the season and hopefully a lengthy post season run.”

The next weekend the Moose traveled to the Howell Ice Arena, the new home of the New Jersey Titans of the Met League. This is a game the team and staff had marked on their calendar as they know the Titans are a perennial National contending team. Coach Doremus said “Dustin is one of the best coaches in our area. He does a great job preparing his teams and we felt it was another good chance to test our squad and see where we stood on the National scene.” Despite coming up on the short end of a 3-2 decision, the Moose proved they could play with the top teams in the country. The Moose led 2-1 going into the third period and have a number of great chances to tie it late in the third.

Last weekend the Moose returned to CHA league play as they took on the Brewster Bulldogs in a home and home series. The staff reminded the team all week that the CHA needed to remain their focus and that every team would come gunning for them. The Moose took both games of the weekend series and remained atop the Western Conference with a 28-1 record.

Moose news: Forward Sam Manzi is out another 1-3 weeks with a lower body injury. Luke Morrel remains sidelined and hopes to return shortly following rehab. Brian Schehr awaits word on surgery with the hopes of returning for the post season.