Thursday, May 5, 2005 | By Philip Croucher, Halifax Daily News

RIMOUSKI, QUE. - The time for talk is now over. After six days of hype, hype and more hype, the much-anticipated showdown between the Halifax Mooseheads and Rimouski Oceanic finally gets underway tonight.

"I can't wait. The last two nights, I've just been thinking about this first game," said Mooseheads forward Jan Steber, shortly after the team's arrival into Rimouski last night via a charter flight from Halifax.

"I'm very excited about playing here. The fans are crazy. Some fans from Halifax are coming down here, too. I think it's going to be great."

So does almost everyone else. In what has the makings of a classic series, the top-seeded Oceanic will take on the No. 2 Mooseheads in the best-of-seven final, with the winner advancing to the Memorial Cup in two weeks.

'Best of the best'

"It's good to see the top two teams made it here. It's the best of the best," said Mooseheads forward Daniel Sparre, as Halifax finished two points behind the Oceanic in the overall standings. "It's going to be a fun series and we're looking forward to getting it started."

Both teams should come out flying tonight, as a capacity crowd of close to 5,100 will jam the Colisee de Rimouski.

Halifax and Rimouski split the season series 2-2, with each team winning once on the road and once at home.

"We'll just go about our business the way we've done since the start of the playoffs," said Sparre, who has two goals and four assists in the playoffs. "We're looking toward (the opener), and that only. We're not looking too far into the future."

Game 2 of the series goes tomorrow night in Rimouski, with games 3 and 4 back at the Halifax Metro Centre on Monday and Tuesday.

League commissioner Gilles Courteau has reduced the suspension of Rimouski enforcer Eric Neilson from three games to two for his actions in a game a week ago Wednesday with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

Courteau reviewed the incident after the Oceanic appealed the ruling by league disciplinarian Maurice Filion last Friday. Neilson, who served Game 1 of his suspension six days ago, will sit out the final game tonight.

"I'm shocked. I'm shocked," said Mooseheads general manager Marcel Patenaude, upon his arrival at the team's hotel in Rimouski last night. "We always try to think differently about the situation - us against Rimouski - but I'm starting to doubt.

"It's funny. It's funny," he added. "I don't know if it's a conspiracy. I can't say that. But following comments from Gilles Courteau in the paper in Halifax this week saying no (to that), then suddenly a suspension, where (Neilson) does two incidents in the same act, and he only gets two games - I'm shocked."

Neilson was suspended for slashing Sagueneens goaltender Brandon Verge, who is from Fall River, then skating to the blueline and sucker-punching Louis-Etienne Neilson (no relation).