The Manitoba Moose (31-26-5-1) open their final homestand of the season on Friday afternoon, taking on the Grand Rapids Griffins (47-13-4-1). Manitoba won its second game in a row, downing the Toronto Marlies 5-1 on the road on Tuesday night. They are 4-6-0-0 in their past 10. Grand Rapids picked up a 5-0 win over the Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday, improving to 5-4-1-0 over its past 10.

Tickets are available for tonight’s game at moosehockey.com/tickets. Coverage of today’s matchup gets going at 1:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV on FloHockey.  Action at Canada Life Centre begins at 2 p.m. CT.

New Kids on Campus

The Moose got a little bit younger this week, signing both defenceman Lukas Gustafsson and forward Davis Burnside to the team. Both inked AHL contracts through the 2026-27 season, and join the Moose for the stretch run on professional tryouts. Gustafsson notched 22 points (6G, 16A) in 36 games while captaining the Boston College Eagles this season. The Metairie, La. native was named to the 2026 Hockey East Third All-Star Team. Gustafsson totalled 72 points (14G, 58A) in 147 NCAA games with Boston College, capturing the Hockey East Championship in 2024. Burnside captained the Ohio State University Buckeyes for the second consecutive season, recording 32 points (12G, 20A) in 37 games. The La Grange, Ill. product posted 112 points (49G, 63A) in 155 career NCAA games with Ohio State.

Yoder-ay-hee-hoo

Chase Yoder scored his first AHL goal in a 5-1 win over the Toronto Marlies on Tuesday night, bringing his season total to two points (1G, 1A) through 15 contests. Yoder tallied his assist in his professional debut on Oct. 12 vs Laval. The Fairview, Texas native has spent the bulk of the season with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals, where he has 29 points (17G, 12A) through 39 games. Yoder was named the ECHL Player of the Week for Jan. 5-12, racking up six points (4G, 2A) in two games, with all four goals coming in one game against the Adirondack Thunder on Jan. 9.

You’re a Wizard, Milly

Thomas Milic put the finishing touches on what was already an impressive month of March, allowing just one goal over his past two games. The Coquitlam, BC. native posted 6-4-1 record with a 2.14 goals against average, .929 save percentage and three shutouts in 11 appearances in March. Milic’s shutout in Belleville on Saturday afternoon pushed him into a tie for fifth in Moose franchise history in single-season shutouts alongside the likes of Connor Hellebuyck (2015-16), Eddie Pasquale (11-12, 12-13), and Cory Schneider(2009-10). Milic owns a 2.40 GAA and .913 SV% on the season. 

It Takes Two

Five Moose recorded multi-point games in Toronto on Tuesday. Nikita Chibrikov, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, and Phil Di Giuseppe did it with one goal and one assist, while Brayden Yager and Mason Shaw picked up a pair of helpers each. A total of 15 different Moose skaters have recorded multi-point games, with 59 total on the season. David Gustafsson is the clubhouse leader with eight two-point efforts, followed by Jaret Anderson-Dolan with five. Walker Duehr leads the team with three different three-point games.

Who’s Trending?

Nikita Chibrikov recorded two points (1G, 1A) in Manitoba’s weekday win in Toronto on Tuesday, potting the game-winning goal midway through the second period. The Moscow, Russia native has 13 points (6G, 7A) on the campaign, and is two games shy of 150 in his AHL career. Chibrikov has scored 78 points (30G, 48A) in the AHL. He was a second round pick in 2021.