Moose and Wild clash again

The Manitoba Moose get a second crack at the Iowa Wild Saturday night, after dropping the first meeting 2-3 on Friday. It’s the third weekend in a row that the Moose have played two games against a division rival.  Manitoba won the second game in all three series. Saturday’s puck drop is at 7 p.m. (CST). Tune in to the action live on TSN 1290 and moosehockey.com/listenlive starting at 6:45 p.m.

SCORING FIRST
Friday's game was the fourth straight game in which the Moose have scored the first goal. The only game this season in which Manitoba hasn't scored the opening tally was opening night when Grand Rapids broke the ice on the season. The Moose are 2-2-0-0 over that stretch. In 2016-17, Manitoba posted a 20-14-4-2 record when scoring first.

FOR SURE THIS TIME
Picking up the assist on last night's opening goal, Mason Appleton recorded the first point of his professional career. Appleton had initially been credited with an assist on Oct. 7 in Grand Rapids, but the scoring play was later adjusted. Aside from picking up his first point, Appleton is now alone atop the Moose plus/minus board with a plus-five rating.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING
After starting the season without a point on opening night, Jack Roslovic now has points in the last four games.   The point streak matches the longest of his career. The 2015 first round selection put together a four-game run from March 18-28 last season. Right along with Roslovic is rookie defenceman Sami Niku, who has five assists over the previous four games. The point streak has Niku tied for fourth among AHL rookies and leading rookie defencemen in points.

A QUARTER MILENIUM
Mike Sgarbossa is projected to play his 250th AHL game on Saturday in Iowa.  In that span, he has 164 points (59G, 105 A). The Moose are his fifth AHL team, with Sgarbossa’s first AHL game coming Oct. 12th, 2012 while playing for Lake Erie. This season, his five points (3G, 2A) have all come on the road.

SPECIAL TRENDS
Both of Manitoba’s wins have come in the second game of two-game sets. In all three series, the team has gone 0-for-4 on their power play in the first game, and lost all three games. In both wins, however, the PP unit has gone 2-for-7. That puts the group at 15.4% so far this year, while their penalty kill is at 78.9% having given up four goals.

WHAT’S NEXT?
The Moose are off to Chicago for a rare, early game (11:00 a.m. CST) on Wednesday, then things get spooky at the Bell MTS Center next weekend. After the Oct. 27th match-up with Belleville, the Moose will host them for a Halloween themed game on Oct. 28th. For tickets and information, head to: moosehockey.com/tickets/.