Fast Facts: Moose at Texas – April 11

The Manitoba Moose open their final road swing of the regular season against the division-leading Texas Stars at 7 p.m. CT tonight. The Moose have an opportunity to clinch their spot in the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs with a win. Manitoba is coming off a 3-1 victory against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday. Meanwhile Texas picked up a pair of wins in Tucson over the weekend. Coverage of tonight's game begins at 6:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com/sports, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV.

Ticket to the Dance

Entering tonight’s contest, the Moose are presented with a trio of clinching scenarios to guarantee them a spot in the 2022-23 Calder Cup Playoffs. The first possibility is that Manitoba will clinch a playoff berth if the team notches a win against Texas. The second scenario is if the Chicago and Rockford game finishes in regulation. The final possibility is if the Moose gain a single point versus Texas and there is an overtime or a shootout finish in the Chicago and Rockford game. The Moose clinched a spot in the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs this past season on April 9th.

Brilliant Berliner

Leon Gawanke posted a trio of points (1G, 2A) for his second three-point game of the season in Manitoba’s Friday night win. The first period tally was Gawanke’s 17th of the season, which set a new mark for the most goals scored in an AHL season by a Moose defender. The Berlin, Germany product’s goal also tied Gawanke with Brett Hauer for the overall franchise single-season record dating back to the team’s IHL days in 2000-01. Gawanke broke the 40-point barrier and has tallied 41 points (17G, 24A) in 65 games this season. The defenceman has posted 110 points (32G, 78A) in 204 games with Manitoba and ranks sixth on the franchise’s career leaderboard among defencemen.

Free Hockey

Entering tonight’s contest, the Moose and Stars have met in six of the eight scheduled meetings. In five of those six games, the clubs have required extra time to settle the score, with four of the games ending in overtime. In Manitoba’s extra time wins against Texas, four different players have netted the winning goal. Alex Limoges, Declan Chisholm and Dominic Toninato scored in overtime and Isaac Johnson potted the lone shootout winner. Limoges leads the Moose with nine points (5G, 4A) versus the Stars and has factored into two of the three Moose overtime wins with a goal and assist in the extra frame. Over the past two seasons, when the Moose and Stars play past the 60-minute mark, the Moose own a mark of 6-0-1-0.

Tally Them Up

Dominic Toninato scored his 18th goal of the season on Friday night. The Toronto Maple Leafs fifth round pick in 2012, has new career-highs in goals, points, power play markers and shots on goal. In addition, the Duluth, Minn. product leads the Moose with six game-winning tallies. Toninato, who is one assist shy of matching another career-high, has registered 32 points (18G, 14A) over the span of 47 games. The pivot is one of seven Moose skaters to eclipse the 30-point mark this season and sits fourth in goal scoring.

Who's Trending?

Greg Meireles posted a first period assist in Manitoba’s Friday win. The forward has points in consecutive games (1G, 1A) and has registered six points (3G, 3A) his past 10 contests. The Ottawa, Ont. product has 17 points (8G, 9A) in 58 games and set a new career high mark with three game-winning tallies this season.