Fast Facts: Moose at Chicago – Dec. 19

The Manitoba Moose open a three-game road trip with an early tilt against the Chicago Wolves this morning (11 a.m. CT). Manitoba rolls into the game having won five of its past seven, including a 6-4 victory over Milwaukee on Sunday. Jeffrey Viel led the way with four points (2G, 2A) as the Moose erased a 3-2 deficit in the third with a barrage of four goals. Meanwhile, Chicago has wins in two straight after a 4-3 overtime win against Rockford on Sunday. Coverage of this morning’s game gets going at 10:45 a.m. CT on CJOB.com/sports, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV. Puck drop is slated for 11 a.m. CT.

Only Have Eyes Four You

Jeffrey Viel posted four points (2G, 2A) in Manitoba’s home victory. It’s the first time in his AHL career the forward recorded quartet of points in a single game. Viel is the second Moose skater, after Kyle Capobianco, to achieve the feat this season. The winger, who inked a one-year contract with Winnipeg in 2023, has notched six points (3G, 3A) over his past three contests. In addition, Viel is sitting one goal shy of 50 in his AHL career. One of the Rimouski, Que. product’s third period assists on Sunday was his 100th career AHL point. The forward now has 102 points (49G, 53A) in 233 games split between San Jose and Manitoba.

We’ll Run Point

Tyrel Bauer and Dmitry Kuzmin both tallied their first career AHL multi-point outings in Manitoba’s recent win. Bauer, a 2020 Winnipeg sixth round pick, has recorded three points over his past three games. With four points (1G, 3A) in 20 games, the Cochrane, Alta. product is quickly chasing down his rookie total of seven points (2G, 5A) set in the 2022-23 season. Bauer also posted a career-high plus-five rating in Sunday’s contest, tied for the highest single-game mark by a Moose this season. Kuzmin, a 2021 third round Winnipeg selection, made his Moose home debut on Sunday. He posted two assists and a plus-three rating in the win. The defenceman made his AHL debut on Dec. 8 in Calgary and recorded three shots in the contest.

Cardiac Kids

A total of 10 points out of the 16 points recorded by the Moose on Sunday were tallied by players aged 23 and under. Tyrel Bauer (2A), Dmitry Kuzmin (2A), Nikita Chibrikov (2A) and Brad Lambert (1G, 1A) all tallied multi-point games, while Chaz Lucius posted an assist. Five of Manitoba’s top-10 scorers this season are rookies and are paced by Chibrikov’s 20 points (8G, 12A) and by Lambert’s 19 points (9G, 10A). The second round and first round Winnipeg Jets draft selections also find themselves in the scoring race among AHL rookies, with Chibrikov tied for fifth and Lambert right behind him tied for eighth among first-year skaters.

Today’s Winning Numbers

The winning formula for Manitoba this season has been giving up two goals or less in a contest. If that threshold is met, the record is 7-0-0-0, with the club notching four of those wins on the road. When the Moose are tied after 20 minutes, the club has a mark of 7-0-0-0. If Manitoba is holding a lead after 40, the squad boasts a 6-0-0-0 record. The sweet spot is when the Moose play in a contest this season that is settled in two or less goals. In that scenario, Manitoba field a 10-3-0-0 record.

Who's Trending?

Kyle Capobianco tallied a second period goal in Manitoba’s Sunday win. The defenceman ranks third in Moose scoring and first among antlered defenders with 18 points (5G, 13A) in 20 games. Capobianco sits sixth among all AHL defencemen this season in points. He’s also one of two Moose skaters on the campaign to record four points in a single contest.