Fast Facts: Moose at Milwaukee – Oct. 22

The Manitoba Moose try for their third straight win when they take on the Milwaukee Admirals this evening at UWM-Panther Arena. It's the first time the two teams face off since their clash in the Central Division Semi-Finals last season. The Moose come in following wins over Rockford and Chicago. Milwaukee fell in its previous contest, 3-2, in Grand Rapids. Coverage of tonight's game begins at 5:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com/sports, the new Winnipeg Jets app and AHLTV.com.

Playoff Memories

The Moose and Admirals engaged in a spirited playoff series the last time the two clubs clashed. The back-and-forth affair went the full five games from May 6 to May 15. Manitoba dropped the first two contests on the road with each loss being decided by a single goal. The Moose returned home to Canada Life Centre and reignited the series with a pivotal 5-2 win in the third game. Manitoba faced elimination again in the fourth contest, but came out firing and won the match 7-3 to set up a crucial fifth and deciding game. Milwaukee ended up with the series win after a narrow 2-1 victory with Tommy Novak recorded the winning goal early in the middle stanza.

Let the Record Show

Manitoba’s game against Milwaukee represents the second back-to-back situation for the Moose  early on in the 2022-23 season. Manitoba earned a win on the second game of their first back-to-back this past weekend against Rockford. Dating back to the 2021-22 campaign, when the Moose were on the road and facing a back-to-back situation, the team sported a record of 8-10-3-0 for the first night and 8-4-2-0 for night two. Forward Cole Maier was the most productive member of the antlered ones in back-to-back situations last season and recorded 14 points (6G, 8A) and a plus-six rating. He was trailed by a pair of defenders in Leon Gawanke (4G, 8A) and Declan Chisholm (6G, 6A) who each compiled 12 points.

Shorthanded Prowess

Early through the 2022-23 season, the Moose have put their penalty kill on full display. Friday’s night game saw the Moose shorthanded a total of seven times. They managed to kill off each situation. Manitoba has killed off 15 consecutive penalties through the first three games of the season. Not only are the Moose keeping pucks out of their own net while shorthanded, they’re dangerous at the other end of the ice as well. The team has scored shorthanded markers in consecutive games, with Jansen Harkins and Nicholas Jones each claiming one in consecutive Moose victories.

Frame That Puck

In Friday’s night’s 5-2 victory in Chicago, both Wyatt Bongiovanni and Henri Nikkanen achieved a milestone with their first AHL goals. Bongiovanni, who was signed by Winnipeg to a two-year deal this past April, opened the scoring in the contest. Nikkanen, a fourth round pick of the Jets from the 2019 draft, iced the contest in the third with an empty net tally. Nikkanen now has two points (1G, 1A) in three games, while Bongiovanni has a goal through two contests to open the
2022-23 season.

Who's Trending?

Jansen Harkins scored a goal in the second period in Manitoba’s 5-2 win over Chicago on Friday evening. The forward now has goals in consecutive contests, with one of those markers coming shorthanded. Harkins leads the 2022-23 iteration of the Moose in goals and has two-game winning tallies to go along with a plus-three rating.