Fast Facts: Moose at Rockford – April 15

The Manitoba Moose hit the final weekend of the regular season with a couple games to play in Illinois. Tonight's contest features the antlered ones matching up with the Rockford IceHogs. Manitoba is coming off a 3-2 loss in Texas, but despite the defeat the team locked down third place in the Central Division. Meanwhile, the IceHogs are locked in a battle for the final playoff spots in the division. Coverage of tonight's 7 p.m. CT game gets going at 6:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com/sports, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV.

Happy to Assist

Greg Meireles posted a first period assist on Wednesday. With the assist, the Ottawa, Ont. product has 10 helpers  for the second straight campaign and becomes the 17th Moose skater to reach the mark this season. Meireles, a sixth round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2019, has posted 18 points (8G, 10A) in 60 contests and picked up three points (1G, 2A) over his past five contests, along with a plus-three rating. The pivot is also clicking at a career-best 11.8 percent shooting percentage and is four shots away from matching his career-high of 72 set in 2021-22.

Finding Offence

Parker Ford tallied an assist in Wednesday’s contest against Texas. That gives the forward his first professional assist along with three points (2G, 1A) through six games. Ford signed a professional tryout with the Moose after inking a two-year, entry-level contract with Winnipeg in March. He has points in consecutive games, which means the winger is on his first point streak of his professional career. Ford’s longest point streak during his time with Providence College was five games between Oct. 5/19 and Oct. 25/19 that saw the winger register eight points (3G, 5A) and help the Friars to a 4-1-0-0 record.

Roster Moves

The Winnipeg Jets recalled forward Dominic Toninato on Thursday. Toninato appeared in 49 games for the Moose and recorded 33 points (19G, 14A) in that span. Six of those tallies turned into game-winning markers, which co-leads the Moose this season. The forward was returned to the Moose on Friday after playing one game with the Jets. Manitoba also recalled Thomas Caron from the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions and signed forward Carson Golder to an amateur tryout agreement. Caron has appeared in five games for the Moose this season and recorded two assists. Golder recorded 55 points (31G, 24A) in 64 games this season split between the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and Kelowna Rockets. The winger also won the 2022 WHL championship with Edmonton, and skated in three games with the Oil Kings at the 2022 Memorial Cup.

Consult the Statbook

With the Moose entering the first game of a back-to-back on the road, Manitoba has a record of 9-9-2-1. If the team posts multiple goals on the power play while on road, something the Moose have done nine times this campaign, the record is 6-1-2-0. Scoring four or more goals on the road is the sweet spot for Manitoba, with the team’s recoding showing a combined 16-0-2-0 in those scenarios. On the defensive side, if the Moose allow three or less tallies, the club is 15-5-1-1.

Who's Trending?

Leon Gawanke posted an assist on Wednesday night. The defenceman leads all Moose blue liners with 44 points (19G, 25A) and has racked up 19 points (6G,13A) over his past 18 contests. Gawanke is currently tied for the most goals in the AHL by a defender and broke the 40-point mark for the first time in his career this season.