Fast Facts: Moose vs. Chicago – Nov. 21

The Manitoba Moose (5-8-0-0) face off against the Chicago Wolves (4-7-1-0) this morning (10:30 a.m.) in their second consecutive matchup against their divisional rival. The Moose scored a 5-3 victory over Chicago last time out. Dominic Toninato scored the game-winner and added an assist in the win. Chicago broke up its run of games against Manitoba with a 4-0 win in Rockford on Sunday. Dustin Tokarski recorded the shutout in his first start of the season.

Today marks the first Project 11 School Day Game of the season. Thousands of students will be on hand to see today's game and learn about the importance of mental health. Tickets for today's game are still available at MooseHockey.com/TICKETS.

He’s On Fire!

Tyson Empey scored his fourth goal of the season on Saturday night, recording a new career-high in goals after just seven games played with the Moose. The Swift Current, Sask. product previously registered three goals through 63 games with the Tuscon Roadrunners during the 2021-22 season. He now co-leads the Moose in goals alongside Dominic Toninato. Empey has also recorded the highest shooting percentage on the team this season, scoring his four goals on just eleven shots for a 36.4 percent success rate. That is tied for ninth among AHL skaters with multiple goals on the season.

Back-to-Back

Mark Liwiski recorded a point in back-to-back games over the weekend. The Daupin, Man. export has recorded five points (3G, 2A) through 17 career AHL contests, and four of those points have been in consecutive games. Prior to recording points on Nov. 15 and 16, 2024 against Rockford and Chicago, Liwiski tallied points on April 13 and 17, 2024 against Iowa and Milwaukee. He joins Elias Salomonsson as the only Moose rookies to record a point in two consecutive games this season. Liwiski recorded points in consecutive games on four occasions during the 2023-24 season with Manitoba’s ECHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, including a career-high four game point streak.

Roster Shuffle

The Moose added three players to their roster over the past week. Defenceman Ville Heinola joins the team from the Winnipeg Jets for conditioning purposes. Defender Graham Sward was recalled from the Norfolk Admirals on Sunday, while forward Fabian Wagner joins the group from Linköping HC of the SHL. Heinola played 41 games with the Moose in 2023-24, registering 10 goals and 27 points. Sward recorded three assists in his first 12 professional games with the Admirals this season. Wagner, a sixth round pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 2022, played 16 games in the SHL with Linköping this season.

School Is In Session

Thursday’s action marks Manitoba’s first morning start on home ice this season. The Moose are 1-0-0-0 in early starts this season, picking up a 5-4 win against the Milwaukee Admirals on Nov. 13. During the 2023-24 season, the Moose were 2-2-0-0 in school day games. Parker Ford led the club in scoring for early games, registering three goals and five points through four games. Thomas Milic held a 2-1-0-0 record through school day games last season, and recorded his first career AHL shutout during a morning matchup against the Admirals.

Who's Trending?

Nikita Chibrikov picked up another assist in  Saturday’s contest. The Russian winger leads the Moose with eight assists and 11 points.  Chibrikov recorded his second three-point performance of the season against Milwaukee last Wednesday. He is one of only two Moose to register a three-point game this season, and the only one with multiple three-point efforts.

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.