Moose aim to tame Wolves

The Manitoba Moose (14-17-3-2) play their final January home game at MTS Centre this afternoon as they close out a two-game set with the Chicago Wolves (23-12-3-2) at 2 p.m. CT.

Last Game
Friday’s affair was a tight battle between the Moose and Wolves that saw Ryan Olsen and Kyle Connor score both Manitoba goals with Connor’s coming on the man advantage. Chicago had two of their own sending the game into a 2-2 deadlock late in the third period. At 16:41 in third Chicago’s Bryce Gervais slipped behind the Moose defense after jumping out of the penalty box scoring the game winner. The Wolves added an empty netter for a 4-2 final.

Flash Back
Manitoba enters tonight’s contest with a 1-1-0-0 record against the Wolves. The two teams squared off in the Windy City on Nov. 27 where Manitoba skated a to a tight 2-1 victory. Top scorers Dan DeSalvo and Jack Roslovic had both Manitoba goals while Ondrej Pavelec made 26 saves in the winning effort.

Sizing Up Opposition

In his first pro season, Brendan Lemieux is a regular on the score sheet in the second game of Manitoba’s series’ at MTS Centre. Of the nine two-game sets in Winnipeg, Lemieux has points in five of the secondary contests totaling five points (2G, 3A) and 55% of his 34-game total of nine (5G, 4A).  Lemieux posted a season and career high seven shots on in Friday’s game.

Chicago’s Story
Things are a lot different for Chicago since they played the Manitoba Moose in November. After a slow start to the season, the Wolves sit second in the Central Division and are 9-1-0-0 in their last ten contests. A big reason for Chicago’s success is goal scoring. The St. Louis Blues’ affiliate leads the AHL in goals for with 140. Their powerplay has been effective too, ranking seventh in the league at 22 per cent. So where is all their goal scoring coming from? Go take a peek at the AHL points standings and you’ll find three of the top 10 scorers in the league play for Chicago. Kenny Agostino leads the league with 51 points (16G, 35A). The Morristown, New Jersey product recently had an 11-game point streak where he grabbed 22 points (6G, 16A). Right behind him is Wade Megan (19G, 16A) who has 35 points including a goal in Friday’s tilt with Manitoba. Ivan Barbashev ranks ninth with 34 points (17G, 17A).

Firefighter Appreciation Day
The Manitoba Moose host Firefighter Appreciation Day this afternoon at MTS Centre. The team will wear specialty firefighter appreciation jerseys, which will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Manitoba Fallen Firefighter Foundation. Plus, there will be firefighter equipment displays on the concourse. You can get your tickets at moosehockey.com/tickets.

What’s Next?
After a month full of home games the Moose hit the road for six game road trip where they’ll face Texas, San Antonio and Charlotte. Their first game of the trip kicks off against the Texas Stars on Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. CT. To listen to all Manitoba Moose road games, head over to moosehockey.com/listenlive. Make sure to tune in 15 minutes before puck drop to hear the pre-game show with Mitch Peacock where he’ll tee up the matchup and bring you all the latest Moose news.