PREVIEW: The Moose Strike Back

Yesterday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Milwaukee Admirals ended a nine-game win streak for the Manitoba Moose. Now with a record of 7-1-1-2 at Bell MTS Place, Saturday’s game was the team’s first loss at home since Oct. 28. The Moose still haven’t lost a regulation game in downtown since their home opener against Cleveland, outscoring their opposition 42-25 this season in Winnipeg. The Moose have been impressive in the second game of back-to-backs this season (4-1-1-0), while the Admirals haven’t had as much success (2-4-0-0). Today is also Star Wars Day, so cheer loud as your heroes bring you A New Hope.

Star Wars characters will be roaming the concourse and a transformed in-game experience will have you ready to take on the whole Empire yourself. Fans are encouraged to dress up, but please keep in mind, anyone wearing masks as part of their costumes will be asked to temporarily remove them as they pass through security and when ordering alcoholic beverages. Props or toys resembling weapons such as guns or other firearms will not be allowed in Bell MTS Place. Exceptions will be made for plastic ‘Lightsabers’.

YOUNG JEDI 
Forward Jack Roslovic has been a regular in the goal column this season.  Scoring his 13th tally of the campaign on Dec. 2 against Cleveland, Roslovic matched his 65-game rookie total in just 24 games.  The 2015 first round pick is on pace to cruise past his 48-point total from 2016-17 with 28 points in 25 game this season.

300 GAMES IN LESS THAN 12 PARSECS
Defenceman Julian Melchiori checked off another milestone on Saturday, playing his 300th AHL game.  Melchiori posted four shots on goal in the milestone contest.  The Richmond Hill, ON native had 51 points (12G, 39A) in his first 300 games, playing all of them in the Winnipeg Jets organization..

NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS
Goaltender Michael Hutchinson also cruised past a milestone during yesterday's tilt, playing his 7,000th minute in the AHL.  The Barrie, ON product has split his AHL time between the Providence Bruins and the Moose/IceCaps.  Through 123 appearances, Hutchinson has a 65-43-2 record with a 2.44 GAA, 0.921 SV% and 11 shutouts.

A GREAT DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE
Manitoba's nine-game winning streak came to an end yesterday, so it's time to look back on one of the best runs in franchise history.  During the nine games, the Moose outscored their opposition 41-13.  The team allowed four power play goals, killing penalties at a rate of 90.9%.  Meanwhile the power play operated at 30.2% efficiency, scoring 13 times and tallying in all but one of the wins.  Manitoba scored four or more goals in five of the games and allowed one goal or less in four games.  While the winning streak did come to a close, the team can still chase down the franchise mark for consecutive games with a point.  The record stands at 13 games which was achieved by the 1997-98 and 2009-10 editions of the team.

WHAT'S NEXT?
With the holidays just around the corner, head to moosehockey.com/tickets/ to get some tickets for your loved ones. The team heads on the road for three games in three nights against Belleville (Dec. 15) and Toronto (Dec. 16/17). The Moose will return for a four-game home stand against San Antonio and San Jose starting Dec. 21st.