Fast Facts: Moose at Abbotsford – February 11
By: Manitoba Moose Staff | Published: February 11th 2022
The Moose continue their four-game road swing with their first trip to Abbotsford since March 27, 2011. That game saw Manitoba defeat the Abbotsford Heat 2-1 when the club was the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames and the Moose were affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks. Now the Abbotsford Canucks welcome the Moose for the teams' third meeting of the season. Manitoba and Abbotsford split their first two games in Winnipeg with each team claiming a regulation win. Tune in to tonight's game on CJOB.com/sports, AHLTV and the Manitoba Moose App. Coverage gets going at 8:45 p.m. CT with puck drop shortly after 9 p.m.
Additions
The Moose announced yesterday the team signed forward Anthony Nellis to a professional tryout. Nellis has suited up in 33 games for the ECHL’s Trois-Rivières Lions this season while recording 28 points (10G, 18A). The forward has 129 games of ECHL experience under his belt with 95 points (40G, 55A) split between Trois-Rivières, the Idaho Steelheads and Fort Wayne Komets where he won the 2021 Kelly Cup. Nellis appeared in three AHL games with the Texas Stars in 2019-20. The Moose also added Declan Chisholm back to the lineup as the defender was reassigned to the club by the Winnipeg Jets. Chisholm is second among Moose blueliners with six goals on the season and has 16 points in 31 games.
Top of the Class
Leon Gawanke pushed to the top of the Moose scoring list on Wednesday with a helper on Matt Alfaro’s power play goal. With 22 points (5G, 17A) Gawanke moves past Austin Poganski for the top spot on the team. His 17 assists also lead the Moose on the season. The Berlin, Germany product is tied for 10th among AHL defencemen in points and 14th in goals. Gawanke comes into this evening’s matchup with an assist in each of his past three games. The last time a defenceman led the Moose in points through the full balance of a season was 2015-16 when Brenden Kichton paced the club with 41 points (11G, 30A) in 68 games.
Powered Up
Forward Todd Burgess picked up an assist on Wednesday, stretching his assist streak to four games. The run sets a new season-high for the rookie who previously had points in three consecutive outings. On top of having points in four straight, each of those helpers came with the Moose on the power play. Burgess’ run of success on the man advantage moves him into a six-way tie for second on the team in power play assists. The Phoenix, Ariz. native has 11 points (5G, 6A) in 25 games this season with five points (1G, 4A) on the power play.
Close Contests
The Moose hold a 10-3-1-1 record since the calandar flipped to 2022. Out of those 15 games, 14 matchups have been decided by two or less goals. An impressive 10 of those games were separated by just one goal, with six of them requiring overtime or a shootout. So far this season the Moose hold an 11-6-2-1 mark in one-goal games and an 8-2-0-0 record in two-goal contests.
Who's Trending?
Matt Alfaro notched his second goal of the season in Manitoba’s 3-1 loss on Wednesday. The tally was Alfaro’s first career AHL power play goal and came in his 14th game of the season. Overall, Alfaro has four points (2G, 2A) split between Manitoba and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
