Western Conference Final -- Moose vs. Wolves

[fergo]

For those of you who have been following the Manitoba Moose in the playoffs, you know that the Moose defeated the St. John's Maple Leafs four games to one in the North Division Semifinal, then did the same to the Rochester Americans. For those of you who haven't been following the Moose...I'm shocked! Shocked, I tells ya! Crazy bastids.

So yeah, where was I? Oh yeah, the next series. The Moose, having won the first two rounds, will take on the Chicago Wolves (Atlanta's affiliate) in the Western Conference Final. The Wolves defeated the Houston Aeros in five games in the first round, then beat the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in the same number of games.

The Wolves won the regular season series between themselves and the Moose by a margin of 3-1. Chicago won the first game 4-3 on New Year's Eve, only to have Manitoba come back with a vengeance, smoking the Wolves 6-0 in the rematch on New Year's Day. Chicago then swept the next two games at the AllState Arena (where, as Moose play-by-play man Kelly Moore puts it, smoking is not only allowed, but encouraged) on March 12th and 13th by scores of 1-0 and 5-2.

During the pregame warmup on March 13th, there was a scuffle that broke out (I summarize it near the bottom of this post) between players of both teams. The participants who were suspended have since returned to action (including Jason Lehoux, who was just recalled from Quad City of the UHL yesterday).

It's certainly not the first time things have gotten heated between the two teams. Their rivalry dates back to the days of the International Hockey League (IHL). Manitoba's first-ever opponent in the playoffs was the Wolves, and they were swept in three games in the first round of the IHL playoffs in 1998. The Wolves swept the Moose again in three games in 1999, this time in the second round of the IHL playoffs.

The 1999 loss to Chicago was especially painful because the Moose had their best season ever (47-21-14), but lost their star goaltender Richard Shulmistra near the end of the season. Shulmistra was unceremoniously yanked from the team by New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello (the team who owned his rights at the time), and he was sent to their affiliate in Albany. Lamoriello gave no reason for the move, and did nothing to help replace Shulmistra. To this day, the name Richard Shulmistra instantly brings up the name of Lou Lamoriello to diehard Moose fans, usually preceded or followed by several swear words. I wouldn't doubt this move by Lou led to the Moose's partial affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings a year later, just so they wouldn't get screwed out of a goaltender at an inopportune time.

The final time the Moose faced the Wolves in the playoffs was in 2001, the final season of the IHL. Both teams met each other in the Western Conference Final, and Manitoba went out to a 2-1 series lead, on the strength of winning goals by Cory Cyrenne and Dan Kesa. Unfortunately, the Moose lost the next three games of the series (I witnessed two of them ), with Steve Larouche scoring three of the four game-winners for Chicago (Steve Maltais scored the other one in Game 5).

The only players left from the big rivalry between the two teams in the IHL are Manitoba's Jimmy Roy and Chicago's Steve Maltais. Having said that, the rivalry (in my opinion) is as strong as ever. This'll be a hard-fought, physical series, no question about that.

The third round series starts on Thursday night in Chicago. No word on any of the games being on TV in Manitoba, but I do believe the Wolves broadcast all their games, meaning that those of us in Manitoba should get the away games on MTS TV or Shaw Cable. For those who want to listen to the games, you can go to www.cjob.com and find an internet feed of Winnipeg station CJOB 68 just below the banner on the left-hand side.

Below are the scheduled dates and times (Central) of the third round series:

May 19, 2005    Manitoba Moose at Chicago Wolves    7:00 p.m.
May 21, 2005    Manitoba Moose at Chicago Wolves    7:00 p.m.
May 23, 2005    Chicago Wolves at Manitoba Moose    7:30 p.m.
May 25, 2005    Chicago Wolves at Manitoba Moose    7:30 p.m.
May 27, 2005*   Chicago Wolves at Manitoba Moose    7:30 p.m.
May 29, 2005*   Manitoba Moose at Chicago Wolves    3:00 p.m.
May 31, 2005*   Manitoba Moose at Chicago Wolves    7:00 p.m.

* -- If necessary

The winner of this series takes on the winner of the Philadelphia Phantoms-Providence Bruins series in the Calder Cup Final.

[erikstoll]

Lets Go Chicago!

[rlestage]

Moose in 6

[Score]

Originally Posted by fergo

The third round series starts on Thursday night in Chicago. No word on any of the games being on TV in Manitoba, but I do believe the Wolves broadcast all their games, meaning that those of us in Manitoba should get the away games on MTS TV or Shaw Cable.

Yes, I hope so! :D

[fergo]

Originally Posted by erikstoll

Lets Go Chicago!

Get outta my thread!

Originally Posted by Score

Yes, I hope so! :D

The road games will be broadcast on Shaw Cable 11 and MTS TV 9. :D

[Jill]

hope they play it over in here so I can watch it

[jets_222]

weeee I just orderd my game 5 ticket online