Fast Facts: Moose vs Iowa – Dec 12

The Manitoba Moose (13-9-2-0) return home for a meeting with the Iowa Wild (6-17-0-1) on Friday night.  The Moose prevailed 4-3 over the Wild in their previous outing on Dec. 7 at Casey’s Center. They are 7-3-0-0 in their past 10 games. Iowa took a second straight loss on Wednesday evening, falling 4-3 to the Rockford IceHogs on home ice.

Tickets are available for this evening's game at moosehockey.com/tickets. Coverage of today's matchup gets going at 6:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV on FloHockey. CT. Action at Canada Life Centre begins at 7 p.m. CT

Back In Antlers

The Moose hit the ice on Friday night with a pair of additions. The Winnipeg Jets loaned goaltender Thomas Milic to the Moose on Monday, before also loaning defenceman Elias Salomonsson to the club on Tuesday. Both made their NHL debuts during their stints with the Jets, coming on Nov. 28 at Carolina and Nov. 26 at Washington, respectively. Milic made three appearances with the Jets, making one start, in which he stopped 34 shots. Both have played important roles with the Moose this season. Milic has made nine starts in antlers, posting a 2.14 goals against average and .921 save percentage, pitching a shutout on
Oct. 28 at Tucson. Salomonsson has six points (6A) in his 17 games with the Moose, contributing three helpers in his past five AHL games.

Trading in Antlers for Wings

With Milic being loaned to the Moose, the Jets recalled goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis to fill the void left by the still-recovering Connor Hellebuyck. This is the Bolton, Ont. native’s first NHL stint. It comes after a solid start to the season, where DiVincentiis owns a 2.49 GAA and a .915 SV% through 13 starts on the season. He picked up his second career AHL shutout on Dec. 3 at Chicago, kicking aside 30 shots in a big 5-0 victory over the Wolves. DiVincentiis is 41 games deep into his AHL career. He was a seventh-round draft choice by the Jets in 2022.

The Best Defence is a Good Offence?

Defenceman Kale Clague led the way offensively for the Moose on Sunday, racking up three points (2G, 1A) in the victory. Clague’s two-goal effort was the first by a Moose defender since Dylan Coghlan struck twice against the Texas Stars on Feb. 12/25. The Regina, Sask. product leads Moose defenders with six goals and 11 points on the season. Clague’s six goals are tied for second among all AHL defenders.  The 2016 Los Angeles Kings second-round selection posted a career-high 10 goals as a member of the Rochester Americans during the 2024-25 campaign.

The Rookie Heats Up

Rookie forward Brayden Yager’s production with the Moose has seen an uptick over the past few weeks. Through 24 games this season, the Saskatoon, Sask. native has scored 13 points (4G, 9A), with five points (1G, 4A) of which have come in his past six games. Yager has twice recorded multi-point games this season, picking up a pair of assists on Nov. 8 at Texas, and again scoring two points (1G, 1A) on Dec. 3 at Chicago. He has one assist in two games against Iowa this season. Yager was a first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023, and was acquired via trade in August 2024.

Who's Trending?

Defenceman Ville Heinola tallied a pair of assists in Manitoba’s win on Sunday. The two-assist outing was Heinola’s second multi-point game of the season. The Honkajoki, Finland, product has four assists over his past six games. Heinola has 112 career points
(24G, 88A), just two points back of Leon Gawanke for sixth on the franchise list.