Manitoba Moose

• Game sponsored by Home Depot.

Moose vs. Sharks:

Tuesday night the Manitoba Moose will host the Worcester Sharks for the first time ever at MTS Centre as the clubs will close-out their four-game regular season set with a doubleheader. So far this season the Moose are 0-2-0-0 against the Sharks after dropping back-to-back games to the Worcester club back in January (January 27, 1-3L; January 29, 3-5L). Moose right-winger Guillaume Desbiens leads all Moose skaters with three points (1g, 2a) against the San Jose affiliate.

March Madness:

The Moose will start the last full month of the regular season sitting in fourth place in the North Division with 66 points. Last season, the Moose entered the month of March in the league's top spot with 87 points. Manitoba has 12 games on the docket for March, with eight being played at MTS Centre. The best-ever March for the Moose was in 2007-08 when the club went 10-1-0-2 for an 88.4 winning percentage. In eight previous AHL seasons, the antler crew has never finished below .500 in March, dropping as low as the .500 mark only once in 2004-05 (5-5-2-1).

Every Game Counts:

With only 18 games left on their 2009-10 regular season schedule, the Moose are battling hard in a very tight North Division race. The Moose currently sit in fourth place in the North with 66 points after 62 games played. The third place Abbotsford Heat and second place Rochester Americans are only four points ahead of Manitoba with 70 points each -- the Americans holding one-game in hand over the B.C. club. Hamilton remains comfortably in top spot with 86 points. The bottom half of the North Division is also tight with the fifth place Lake Erie Monsters only three points back of Manitoba and the sixth place Toronto Marlies only five points back of moving up to fifth. Grand Rapids, who the Moose will visit next weekend, sit in seventh place with 54 points.

Happy to be Home:

After playing their last seven games on the road, the Moose are back in white for a two-game set against the Sharks. The last time the Moose played on MTS Centre ice was back on February 13 in a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies. So far this season, the Moose hold a  16-10-3-1 home record with only 10 more home games this campaign.

Defying the Odds:

For only the fourth time this season, Manitoba went into the third period trailing by one goal and fought back to score three markers for a 3-1 victory over San Antonio on Saturday night. Manitoba is now 4-22-2-0 when trailing after the second period and 18-2-0-0 when carrying the lead into the third period.

Luck #13:

Both Matt Pettinger and Guillaume Desbiens netted their 13th goals of the season in a 3-1 victory over San Antonio on Saturday night. Pettinger's goal was the eventual game-winner while Desbiens netted a last minute empty-netter to give his team a little cushion room. After 49 games played this season, Desbiens sits third on the Moose leaderboard with 26 points (13g, 13a) while Pettinger has accumulated 23 points (13g, 10a) in only 39 games played.

Twice the Help:

Moose right-winger Sergei Shirokov notched two assists in Saturday's 3-1 victory over the Rampage. His second assist of the night resulted in the eventual game-winner by Matt Pettinger. After 58 games played this season, Shirokov sits second on the Moose leaderboard with 38 points (18g, 20a). He also holds seventh in the entire league for rookie scoring.

Streaks & Milestones:

• Travis Ramsey and Marco Rosa are the only two Moose skaters who have had perfect attendance this season, playing in all 62 game so far.
• Mike Keane is one game away from his 350th in Moose colours.
• Worcester's Danny Groulx played for the Moose in 2004-05 and 2007-08.