When the team that ends your season comes back to town, generally there is some element of revenge to be exacted.
But when the stakes were as high as they were last spring, sometimes it's best to just turn the page and move on.
With the Hershey Bears coming to the MTS Centre for the first time since capturing the Calder Cup on June 12, let's just say a few members of the Manitoba Moose have been waiting patiently for this day.
"Obviously, it's exciting," said Moose forward Guillaume Desbiens. "No matter what we do, even if we win the four games against them this year, it's not going to give us the cup we could have had last year. You have to keep that in mind and focus on playing our game."
Moose head coach Scott Arniel admitted the Bears visit is more special than most that occur during the course of an 80-game regular season.
"I'm looking forward to it," said Arniel. "That was obviously an emotional time for both hockey clubs, obviously a little better feeling for them than for us. I have great memories of that series and lots of things went on during those two weeks.
"The ending is what I remember the most, it didn't come out the way we wanted to."
When asked for what he remembered most about the series, Moose defenceman Nolan Baumgartner gave a rather blunt assessment.
"That we lost, it's the only thing I remember," said Baumgartner, who opened up a bit more when pressed. "It was intense. It was good hockey, it was what you expect hockey to be like in the finals. Everybody talks about how hard guys play and I saw it first-hand, guys playing hurt and playing as hard as they can to win a hockey game.
"Both teams were doing that. Too bad there had to be a loser at the end and it was us."
Moose captain Mike Keane had no interest in reminiscing about the Calder Cup duel.
"I'm not talking about last year," said Keane. "Things don't change. They've got a real good team again, so that's what we have to focus on.
"Last year is last year, regardless of whether we won or lost. It's two points against a real good team. You can't win or lose the Calder Cup at this stage of the game, but you can make sure you prepare yourself to get to where you want to be when playoffs come around."
The Bears come to town riding a 10-game winning streak and are leading the American Hockey League with a sparkling 27-8-0-2 record.
"We had a few bumps in the early part of the season, but everyone is pushing everyone on our team," said Bears defenceman John Carlson. "We're really dedicated to coming back and hopefully winning another Calder Cup."
The Moose have designs on winning their first Calder Cup, but the truth of the matter is that the two games with the Bears will simply serve as a measuring stick for a hockey club that is currently on a season-best four-game winning streak.
"It's going to be a real test," said Moose goalie Cory Schneider. "We know last year was a great series and a lot of fun. There are memories of losing the cup last year, but they were just the better team last year. They just outplayed us.
"We're going to have our work cut out for us, but it will be great to go up against the best and see where we stand."
ken.wiebe@sunmedia.ca
