Moose welcome Milwaukee to MTS Centre

For the first time this season, the Milwaukee Admirals (37-21-3-3) pay a visit to MTS Centre to square off with the Manitoba Moose (24-32-4-5) at 7 p.m. CT this evening.

Last Game
Manitoba’s last contest was on Saturday when the Moose wrapped up their season series with the Rockford IceHogs, earning a 5-3 victory. It was a big night for Moose forwards Jack Roslovic, Kyle Connor and Dan DeSalvo. Roslovic led the way with three points (1G, 2A) while Connor (2G, 0A) and DeSalvo (1G, 1A) picked up two points.

Flash Back
The Moose are having a good season series vs. Milwaukee through two games - earning three of a possible four points. The Moose took game one 4-3 in OT on Nov. 26 and recently fell 3-2 in OT on Mar. 4 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. DeSalvo has four points (1G, 3A) in two games against the Admirals this season.

Pushing 20
20-year old sniper Kyle Connor broke the 20-goal plateau in his 44^th AHL on Saturday.  The first-year pro scored twice, notching his fifth multi-goal game, to become the first player since the Moose returned to Manitoba to reach the mark.  Connor currently leads the Moose and is tied for third among AHL rookies with 21 on the season.

Memorable Debut
‘Memorable’ was the word defenceman Jake Kulevich used to describe his professional debut.  The Colgate University alum got into his first AHL action on Saturday after signing an amateur tryout agreement with the Moose.  Kulevich picked up an assist in his first game, one shot on goal and registered +2 plus/minus rating.

Milwaukee’s Story
The Admirals find themselves in a dogfight for top spot in the Central Division, just four points behind Chicago and five points behind Grand Rapids. Milwaukee is 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games and is coming off a 6-3 win over the top seeded Griffins. Milwaukee has made a habit of taking penalties with the third most PIM’s in the AHL (1020). The Admirals score by committee as nine players over the 20-point mark. Leading the charge is Pontus Aberg with 43 (25G, 18A) points in 48 games. Marek Mazanec is Milwaukee’s main man between the posts with 21 wins on the season. He carries a 2.82 GAA and a .905 save percentage.

What’s Next?
Manitoba wraps up their eight-game home stand on Friday at 7 p.m. CT as the Moose host the Admirals on Autism Awareness Night, presented by Red River Co-op in support of St.Amant’s autism program. In the game, the Moose will be wearing special edition Autism Awareness jerseys involving a puzzle piece design.  Select player jerseys will be auctioned off at the game with the rest available online in the days following the game.  Net proceeds from the Autism Awareness jersey auction will be donated to St.Amant. Tickets to all Manitoba Moose home games are available at moosehockey.com/tickets.