PREVIEW: Matchup with Milwaukee

This afternoon’s Moose game could be historic. Manitoba hasn’t lost at Bell MTS Place since October, and with a nine-game win streak on the go, they have a chance to tie the franchise record today. Saturday’s game is the first of back-to-back contests with the Admirals, who the Central-leading Moose beat 3-0 in Milwaukee two weeks ago (Nov. 25). Today's game also features the annual Teddy Bear Toss presented by Red River Co-op. Don’t forget to bring a new plush toy to toss for the Christmas Cheer Board. Tickets for the 2 p.m. puck drop are available at moosehockey.com/tickets/.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK 
Forward Nic Petan earned CCM/AHL Player of the Week honours for the period ending Dec. 3. Petan led the AHL with eight points (2G, 6A) in three games this past week including two three point performances. He was also a plus-five rating, third among forwards for the week. Overall, Petan is sixth on the Moose with 16 points (3G, 13A) in 17 games this season.

CHASING HISTORY 
With Manitoba on a nine-game win streak, the team is one victory away from making some franchise history. Should the Moose win their 10th straight game, it would match the franchise mark set by the 2000-01 and 2007-08 editions of the team. Having won six straight at Bell MTS Place, the 2017-18 Moose are also three wins off the franchise's home winning streak mark of nine games set in 2007-08 and 2009-10.

CAREER HIGH 
Julian Melchiori has seen a bump in offensive production this season. The sixth-year pro set a new career high, scoring his fourth goal of the season against Cleveland on Dec. 2. The tally also pushed Melchiori to 11 points on the season, which matches his 2013-14 career high. Melchiori is also scheduled to play his 300th AHL game in today's contest.

BACK-TO-BACK
Michael Spacek tallied his first AHL multi-point game against Cleveland last Saturday. It's also the first time the rookie forward has registered a point/scored goals in back-to-back games. Spacek has three points (2G, 1A) in his last two games. For the season, the Pardubice, CZE product is third among Moose rookies with eight points (3G, 5A) in 18 games.

PLUS PAIRING
Defencemen Cameron Schilling and Peter Stoykewych have been paired together on the Moose blue-line for much of the season. The result has been that the two are at the top of the league's plus/minus board with Schilling holding a +20 (1st) rating and Stoykewych coming into the weekend at +16 (T-2nd).

WHAT'S NEXT?
Sunday, in an arena not so far, far away... The Manitoba Moose face the Milwaukee Admirals for the second time in as many nights, but this time on Star Wars Day. Grab your lightsaber, don’t forget to feed your Wookie, then head down to Bell MTS Place for puck drop at 2 p.m. If you don’t have your tickets yet, you can still get some at moosehockey.com/tickets/.