Cory Schneider had no reason to hang his head, so he didn't waste any time getting back in the swing of things as he returned to the minors with the Manitoba Moose.
Despite getting only one start and another relief appearance during a two-week stint with the Vancouver Canucks, Schneider was razor-sharp as the Moose earned a weekend sweep over the Toronto Marlies.
"Our guys did a great job defensively, 20 shots each night and not a lot of Grade A chances so that always makes life easy," said Schneider, who was quick to pass along credit to his teammates. "It's different for a goalie, you know you're only there (in the NHL) for as long as (Roberto) Luongo is out. It is part of the game and you can't mope or regress with what you've done. You have to keep going and be better than you were before you got called up."
Schneider is 8-3 with a 2.14 goals against average in 11 AHL games this season.
SKILLS ON TAP: The Moose will hold their first ever Super Skills Competition at the MTS Centre tonight at 7.
Players will be split into two teams and take part in four events: fastest skater, hardest shot, shooting accuracy and a breakaway showdown.
The glass will be taken down so the evening will be intimate and fan friendly.
An autograph session follows the on-ice portion of the event and should run from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
"It should be fun," said Schneider. "Any time you do an exhibition of skills or an event to interact with the fans is great. We're looking forward to it."
INJURY UPDATE: Moose centre Mario Bliznak required stitches across his wrist after getting cut by a skate blade in the latter stages of Friday's 5-1 victory over the Toronto Marlies.
Bliznak, who sat out Saturday's rematch, wasn't on the ice yesterday but is expected to be back tomorrow and shouldn't miss the weekend games against the Hamilton Bulldogs.
As for defenceman Mike Funk and forward Matt McCue -- who are both out with post-concussion syndrome -- there was nothing new to report as the duo are still dealing with symptoms.
"Neither guy is any better than they were," said Arniel.
PP WOES: Arniel compared the recent power play woes (0-for-31 during the past seven games) to the goal-scoring drought that came to an end in Friday's game against the Marlies and believes it's only a matter of time before they bust out with the man advantage.
"In the last three games, we're averaging seven or eight quality chances and to me, if you're doing that on the power play, you're doing some good things," said Arniel. "As long as the chances are there, sooner or later it's going to turn around as well."
ken.wiebe@sunmedia.ca
