Fast Facts: Moose vs Iowa – Dec 14

The Manitoba Moose (14-9-2-0) close out the weekend against the Iowa Wild (6-18-0-1) on Sunday afternoon. The Moose scored a big 6-1 win over the Wild at Canada Life Centre on Friday night, their second-consecutive victory. Manitoba is 7-3-0-0 in their past 10 games. Iowa’s losing streak reached three games with the loss.

Tickets are available for this evening'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.

Heating Up for the Holidays

Defenceman Ville Heinola is racking up points in December. Heinola is tied for the Moose lead with six points, all assists, in four games. He has points in three of the four games since the calendar flipped, while racking up a plus-five rating in those games. The 2019 Winnipeg Jets first-round pick tallied his second career game with at least three points and three assists on Friday. The trio of helpers bring Heinola to 115 points (24G, 91A) in 179 career games with the Moose, which passes Leon Gawanke for sixth on the franchise scoring list among defenders.

Milly (the) Rock

Thomas Milic returned to the Moose following his first stint in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, making his first start in antlers since Nov. 20 on Friday night. The Coquitlam, B.C. native turned aside 27 shots in a 6-1 Moose win over the Iowa Wild, picking up his fifth-consecutive win in the AHL. Since Nov. 8, Milic has allowed just eight goals, owning a .943 save percentage and a 1.61 save percentage. For the season, he is 6-2-2 and boasts a 2.02 GAA and .926 SV%, which is fifth-best in the league.

Starting Early

Of the 67 goals the Moose have scored this season, 18 of them have come inside the first four minutes of the period, accounting for roughly 27 percent of the team’s overall offence. Since the start of November, Manitoba has scored 14 such goals, including three separate occasions (Nov. 15, Nov. 25, and Dec. 12) where they have scored twice in the first four minutes of periods. Mason Shaw and Kale Clague have each scored four goals, tied for the most on the team in the parameters. Shaw has added another four helpers to bring his total to eight points (4G, 4A) inside the time constraints.

Primarily Even Stevens

Mason Shaw tallied all three of his points while playing five-on-five in Friday’s game. That gives the Moose captain 14 points (6G, 7A) while playing five-per-side this season, which is tied for 10th in the AHL. The Wainwright, Alta. product also sits tied for fifth in the AHL in primary points at five-on-five with 13 points (6G, 7A) by goal or primary assist. Shaw is tied for the Moose lead with 17 points (6G, 11A) on the campaign. Walker Duehr is the other skater sitting atop the rankings with Shaw. Duehr paces the team with nine goals, and leads the team with 15 points (9G, 6A) at even strength or shorthanded. The Sioux Falls, S.D. native is tied for 18th in the AHL with all 17 of his points coming as primary points.

Who's Trending?

David Gustafsson has been cruising for the Moose of late, scoring five points, all of which are assists, over his past four games. On the campaign, the Tingsryd, Sweden native has registered five multi-point games, including his most recent contest on Friday night. Gustafsson was a second-round pick by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2018 NHL Draft.