By Ken Wiebe /

Mike Keane is no stranger to a short summer.

During the course of his long and productive career, the 42-year-old Winnipegger has won three Stanley Cups and lost in the final on two other occasions.

After losing in six games to the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup final on June 12, Keane is back for his 22nd season of professional hockey and fifth with his hometown team, the Manitoba Moose.

“You want to get back at it,” said Keane, who won Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. “I’ve been fortunate in my career and that’s what you want. You want to make sure you’re not done around April. You want to be done around June.

“We were close last year, but we didn’t reach our goal. This year, we’ll work on reaching our goal.”

The Moose lost a host of offensive weapons during the off-season — including Jason Krog, Mark Cullen, Jason Jaffray and Michel Ouellet — but figure to have a solid defence corps and should boast one of the best goalies in the American Hockey League if Cory Schneider returns.

A balanced offensive attack and close attention to detail in the defensive zone will be key for for the Moose to have success.

“I don’t mind winning hockey games, whether it’s 1-0 or 2-1, big deal,” said Keane. “We’re not going to be a team where no one can score. Usually it’s the first two lines that score, but we need it from all four lines.”

Moose head coach Scott Arniel understands the complexion of his team is different from last season’s club, but expects the group to have success.

“I really do like this mix,” said Arniel. “We’ve lost a lot of key components from last year, probably close to nine or 10 guys, but that’s what this league is about. Faces change year-to-year, but we’ll take it day-to-day and see how it goes.”

With so much turnaround on the roster, having a veteran presence like Keane in the dressing room is a valuable resource.

“He’s a guy who knows how I like to approach things and how I work day-to-day,” said Arniel. “I know he’ll be in the dressing room and pass on the right message. This year, he’s lost a lot of close friends, guys that were staples in this organization.

“But he’s excited and looks forward to every new challenge that comes along.”

MOOSE NOTES
Former Kamloops Blazers defenceman Keith McCambridge was brought in as the new assistant coach, replacing Jay Wells. McCambridge spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the Alaska Aces of the ECHL, where he posted a record of 86-50-8 and reached the Kelly Cup final in 2008-09. McCambridge, who was born in Thompson, Man., played three games with the Moose during the 1999-00 International Hockey League season and helped the Blazers win the Memorial Cup back in 1995. Rick St. Croix rounds out the Moose coaching staff and is back for his fifth season as an assistant.