FAST FACTS: Moose at Laval – Jan. 4

The Manitoba Moose seek to shake off a couple home losses as they open a six-game road swing in Laval tonight. The Moose are coming off a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Abbotsford Canucks on Saturday. The loss marked just the second time this season the team fell in consecutive games. The antlered ones have been good in unfriendly territory this season, winning nine of 14 games. Coverage of tonight's 6 p.m. CT contests begins at 5:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com/sports, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV.

Roster Moves

Manitoba reassigned Simon Kubicek to the Newfoundland Growlers. The defenceman appeared in three Moose contests and recorded two penalty minutes. With the Growlers, the blue liner has five points (2G, 3A) in 17 matches. Manitoba also recalled Chris Martenet from Newfoundland. The defender suited up in three games for the Moose this past season and accumulated four points (1G, 3A) in 23 games for the Growlers in 2022-23. Manitoba also made a move to send Colin Bilek back to the Trois-Rivières Lions. The forward appeared in two games for the Moose and recorded seven penalty minutes. In 21 games for the Lions, Bilek has 15 points (8G, 7A) in 21 games in his first professional season.

Bring in Burke

The Moose signed forward Brayden Burke to a professional tryout on Monday morning. The forward spent last season split between the Ontario Reign and Milwaukee Admirals and put together 30 points (7G, 23A) over a 46-game span. Burke also suited up in nine games during the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs and recorded seven points (4G, 3A). The Edmonton, Alta product’s best statistical season came in 2019-20, with the Tucson Roadrunners, where he tallied 52 points (21G, 31A) in 51 games. Over his four seasons in the AHL, Burke has tallied 129 points (42G, 87A) in 192 games.

Road Warriors

The Moose come into this evening’s matchup having won four of their past five road games. That run pushes the team’s road record to a mark of 9-4-1-0 through 14 games in unfriendly territory. That puts the 2022-23 Moose well on track to surpass the team’s 16-15-5-0 record from 2021-22. Alex Limoges leads the team with 10 points (3G, 7A) on the road this season. Goaltender Arvid Holm has been lights out in opposing buildings with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.

Heating Up

Cole Maier, alongside linemates Evan Polei and Nicholas Jones, provided the Moose offence in the Saturday loss. Maier, who was named Manitoba’s MVP for 2021-22, chipped in a pair of first period points
(1G, 1A). The multi-point outing was the forward’s fourth of the season, which is halfway to his career-high of eight he set in 2021-22. Over his entire Moose career, whenever Maier records two or more points in a single contest, Manitoba has a combined record of 15-1-0-0. Maier sits with 14 points (8G, 6A) in 20 games this season and has recorded six points (4G, 2A) over his past five outings.

Who's Trending?

Evan Polei recorded two points (1G, 1A) in Manitoba’s loss on Saturday. The forward has tallied seven points (2G, 5A) over his past five contests. Polei has four multi-point games to his credit this year, which is one away from the five he recorded in 2021-22. The forward has 12 points (5G, 7A) in 26 games and is second on the squad with a plus-nine rating.