Fast Facts: Moose vs. Rockford – Dec. 22

The Manitoba Moose (7-16-0-1) close out their pre-holiday break schedule with a rematch against the Rockford IceHogs (10-12-3-1) today (2 p.m.) at Canada Life Centre. The Moose picked up a 2-1 shootout victory on Friday against Rockford. Kaapo Kähkönen made 33 saves and Dylan Coghlan scored in his Moose debut.

The Moose will wear their 25th Season Celebration Jerseys for today's game and the first 1,000 fans through the doors will receive a collector pin. Tickets are available at moosehockey.com/tickets.

A Grand Entrance

Dylan Coghlan made his debut with the Moose on Friday night, scoring Manitoba’s lone goal in regulation. The defender also led the team with six shots on goal. The matchup was Coghlan’s 300th professional game, having appeared in 193 AHL contests, and 107 NHL games. The Duncan, B.C. product has dressed in AHL matchups for the Moose, Chicago Wolves and Springfield Thunderbirds, and NHL contests for the Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets. Coghlan previously recorded 16 goals and 41 points with the Thunderbirds during the 2023-24 season. He co-led all AHL defencemen in goals that season.

Finding Success Against Familiar Foes

Friday night marked Manitoba’s first game within the Central Division since Nov. 23, ending an eight-game stretch of cross-divisional contests. With their win against Rockford, the Moose are 7-8-0-0 against opponents in their own division, with all of the club’s wins this season coming within the Central. Nikita Chibrikov leads the club in scoring against divisional opponents, posting 11 points (3G, 8A) in 16 games. Brad Lambert leads the way in scoring against the IceHogs, with three points (1G, 2A) in Manitoba’s four games against Rockford.

Working Past Overtime

Manitoba picked up its second shootout win of the season on Friday night, with Nikita Chibrikov and Jaret Anderson-Dolan finding the net. Chibrikov currently leads the Moose with two shootout goals, scoring the shootout-winner against the Milwaukee Admirals on Nov. 13. He is five-for-nine in shootout attempts through his career and led the club with three shootout goals as a rookie during the 2023-24 season. Anderson-Dolan is two-for-three in career shootout attempts, after going one-for-two in attempts with the Ontario Reign in 2021-22. The Moose are 2-1 in shootouts this season, with goaltenders Kaapo Kähkönen and Thomas Milic each picking up a shootout win.

Showstopper

Kaapo Kähkönen made 33 saves on Friday, to secure a win in his fourth straight start for the club; the most consecutive starts he’s recorded with the Moose so far. The Finnish goaltender made 17 saves in the third period; registering the most saves in a single frame by a Moose goaltender this season, besting a pair of 16-save periods by Domenic DiVincentiis on Oct. 13. He stopped two of three Rockford attackers in the shootout, picking up his first shootout win of the season. Kähkönen has stopped 18 of 28 (.643 SV%) shootout attempts in his career, setting a high of 11 shootout stops with the Iowa Wild during the
2018-19 season.

Who's Trending?

Parker Ford posted an assist in Friday’s matchup against the IceHogs. The Providence College alum has recorded four goals and nine points with Moose this season, tying him for sixth on the team’s leaderboard. Ford remains one of two Moose skaters to record both a shorthanded and power play goal this season, alongside C.J. Suess.

Broadcast coverage of tonight's game gets going at 6:45 p.m. CT on cjob.com, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV on FloHockey.