Fast Facts: Moose vs Abbotsford – Dec 31

The Manitoba Moose (15-11-2-0) are back in action on Wednesday, set for a meeting with the Abbotsford Canucks (8-16-3-3). The Moose were 4-1 victors on Dec. 21, downing the Rockford IceHogs on home ice. Manitoba has won six of the past 10 games. Abbotsford has lost two in a row, following a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the San Diego Gulls on Sunday.

Limited tickets are available for this afternoon's game at moosehockey.com/tickets. Coverage of today's matchup gets going at 3:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV on FloHockey. Action at Canada Life Centre begins at 4 p.m. CT.

Championship Memories

Phil Di Giuseppe has the opportunity to reconnect with former teammates against the Abbotsford Canucks on Wednesday night, meeting his former squad for the first time this season. The Toronto, Ont. native suited up in 101 regular season games for the Canucks across three seasons, totalling 77 points (29G, 48A).
Di Guiseppe skated in 24 games during the 2025 postseason, scoring 11 points (6G, 5A) in a run that culminated in Abbotsford claiming their first Calder Cup championship over the Charlotte Checkers in six games. In his first season in antlers, Di Giuseppe has 15 points (7G, 8A) in 28 games, tied with Samuel Fagemo for the fourth-best on the team.

Gustafsson Diesels Along

David Gustafsson has been one tough customer for his opposition in December. The forward registered at least one point in all but one of the six games he has skated in so far this month. The Tingsryd, Sweden native is riding a team-high four-game point streak, while accruing six points (2G, 4A). Gustafsson leads the Moose with 19 points (6G, 13A) through his 26 games this season. His points have come in 13 games, six of which were multi-point games (3G, 9A), accounting for 63 percent of his season point total.

Feeling Fintastic

Ville Heinola has been a point-per-game player in December, notching seven assists in the club’s seven games in the month. The Honkajoki, Finland native started December strong, registering a pair of helpers on Dec. 3 at Chicago, before scooping up three more in Manitoba’s 6-1 win over the Iowa Wild on home ice on Dec. 12. He has a plus-four rating in his past seven games. Heinola was the Winnipeg Jets’ first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, and has skated in 182 games with the Moose in his AHL career, scoring 116 points (24G, 92A) in that time.

New Year, Same Tradition

The Moose playing on New Year’s Eve has been a Winnipeg tradition since the team arrived from Minnesota in 1996. Even when the franchise relocated to St. John’s, the club played New Year’s Eve contests, though mostly on the road. Including their IHL and St. John’s days, the Moose hold a 14-10-0-0 record on Dec. 31. When playing their traditional game in Winnipeg, the Moose hold a 13-7-0-0 record, and have won nine of the past 12 New Year’s Eve games on home ice. The only year the Moose didn’t play on New Year’s Eve since returning to Winnipeg was 2016, when the club played Dec. 30 and Jan. 1.

Who's Trending?

Tyrel Bauer scored his first goal of the season against the Rockford IceHogs on Dec. 21, his first tally since April 3/24 against the Abbotsford Canucks. The six-foot-four blueliner has two points (1G, 1A) on the season, and has recorded multiple shots on goal in five of his past eight games. Bauer was a sixth-round pick (164th overall) of the Winnipeg Jets in 2020.