Moose intrasquad game brings pro hockey to Steinbach

The roster of the Manitoba Moose took one step closer to being finalized Oct. 5, but it wasn’t in the Hockey for All Centre or even downtown at the CanadaLife Centre.

The American Hockey League affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets held their annual intrasquad game in Steinbach, at the newly opened Southeast Event Centre.

“It’s great to bring a game like this a little bit outside the city limits and give back to communities beyond just Winnipeg,” Manitoba Moose vice-president of business and hockey operations Brad Andrews said after the game.

“Obviously we get lots of minor hockey teams and school groups and whatnot from Steinbach, so it’s great for us to be able to bring the game to this beautiful new facility.”

One of those players fighting for a spot on the team is Tanner Andrew. The 2000-born forward from Oak Lake played his minor hockey for the Southwest Cougars, before joining the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Virden Oil Capitals for more than 100 games.

“If you asked me when I was first-year Oil Caps, I probably would have said ‘this is pretty crazy,’ so it was a pretty cool experience,” Andrew said, remembering Steinbach’s old Centennial Arena.

“It’s really nice to see that they’re starting to have nice rinks in the MJHL, I think it will really help them.”

Andrew, who played nine games for the Norfolk Admirals in the ECHL after his collegiate career in Rochester ended, said it was a dream come true to play in the Jets’ system.

“My dad’s favourite team when he was growing up was obviously the Jets, so this is a pretty surreal moment for us,” he said.

Kevin Conley helped team white to a win in the game, potting a goal as his squad won 4-1.

“The experience was great, it was my first time being out here, so it was pretty cool,” Conley said.

“We had a good crowd, so it was a lot of fun… This rink is unbelievable.”

The entire Moose hockey staff moved for the day to Steinbach.

“Uprooting our dressing room and bringing essentially two full teams worth of guys is a fair amount of work,” vice-president Andrews said.

“There’s certain standards at the AHL level we have to make sure we adhere to… It was definitely worth it. It was a really good experience.”

Andrews praised the crowd, game presentation and volunteers’ professionalism in Steinbach, while hinting more events like the intrasquad scrimmage could come to the centre in the future.

“We certainly try our best get outside of the city limits as much as we can,” he said.