Fast Facts: Moose vs. Laval – Nov. 13

The Manitoba Moose seek to rebound from yesterday's 6-2 loss to the Laval Rocket when the teams rematch this morning. It's an early 10:30 a.m. puck drop today as the Moose welcome over 6,500 students to Canada Life Centre for the Project 11 School Day game. Tickets for this morning's game are available at MooseHockey.com/TICKETS.

Coverage of today's game on 680 CJOB, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV begins at 10 a.m.

Early Risers

Since the 2021-22 season, the Moose have appeared in three morning contests, one of which Manitoba hosted. The home contest came this past season against Milwaukee, with Manitoba falling by a score of 4-3 in the shootout. Current skaters Jeff Malott and Wyatt Bongiovanni tallied goals in the contest, while netminder Oskari Salminen recorded 38 saves. A total of 10 current Moose from the 2023-24 squad played in that School Day contest. Going back to the 2021-22 campaign, Manitoba suited up in two morning games and came away with a 1-1-0-0 mark. In the first against Chicago, Malott scored and C.J Suess notched a pair of assists. The second contest against Milwaukee saw Nicholas Jones tally two assists with Malott finding the back of the net. Heading into today’s contest against Laval, Malott has scored a goal in every morning game since 2021-22.

Two on the Board

Jeff Malott recorded two goals in yesterday’s matchup. It was the first multi-goal game of the season for Malott and ninth of his AHL career. No player has scored more goals for the Moose than Malott since he joined the team during the 2020-21 season. The Burlington, Ont. product has 64 goals in 176 career games. Malott’s 64 goals are tied for 14th in franchise in franchise history. The fourth-year pro has six points (4G, 2A) in nine games this season.

Welcome to the AHL

Goaltender Thomas Milic entered yesterday’s game 22:19 into the contest for his AHL debut. The 20-year old netminder stopped the first 16 shots he faced. The first came from his former junior teammate Jared Davidson, who also scored the first goal against Milic. Davidson’s tally was his first career AHL goal. Milic joined the Moose yesterday from the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals after posting a 4-0-1 record, supported by a 2.36 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in six appearances. The Coquitlam, B.C. product was a fifth round selection of the Winnipeg Jets in the 2023 AHL Draft.

Crunch Those Numbers

When Manitoba is in the second half of a back-to-back situation at home, the squad finds itself with a record of 1-1-0-0. The sweet spot for the Moose is holding its opponent to a pair of goals against. When that occurs, the record is 2-0-0-0 at home and 3-0-0-0 over the season. In terms of points in a back-to-back situation, the Moose are paced by defenceman Kyle Capobianco, who has notched five points (2G, 3A) and currently co-leads the squad in overall scoring. Between the pipes, Collin Delia has a 2-0-0 record in back-to-backs and has posted  a 3.38 goals-against average and a .877 save percentage.

Who's Trending?

Nikita Chibrikov posted a third period assist in yesterday’s loss. The forward now co-leads the Moose with 11 points (2G, 9A) and paces the antlered ones with 32 shots. Over his past five games, the winger has notched seven points (1G, 6A). Chibrikov, a Jets second round  pick in 2021, is currently tied for third among all AHL rookies in points this season.