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Fast Facts: Moose vs. Rockford - March 24 - Manitoba Moose

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Fast Facts: Moose vs. Rockford – March 24

By: Manitoba Moose Staff | Published: March 24th 2023

The Manitoba Moose face off against the Rockford IceHogs in a rematch of Wednesday's tilt. The previous meeting between the teams saw the Moose tie the contest with 11 seconds remaining in regulation, but fall 4-3 in a shootout. Jansen Harkins led the way for the Moose with two goals and an assist in the loss, while Rocco Grimaldi scored in regulation and the shootout winner for the IceHogs. With the point, and Chicago's regulation loss on Wednesday, the Moose are eight points away from clinching a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Tickets for tonight's 7 p.m. game are available at MooseHockey.com/TICKETS.

Rack Them Up

Jansen Harkins notched three points (2G, 1A) in Wednesday’s shootout defeat. The contest marked the second time this season, and fourth in his AHL career, the forward tallied a trio of points in a single game. It also matches his career-high from the 2019-20 campaign. The North Vancouver, B.C. product is riding a four-game point streak while recording seven points (5G, 2A) over that span. Harkins, a second round Winnipeg pick in 2015, also hit the 40-point (19G, 21A) mark for the first time in his career, which makes him the third Moose skater to do so this season. Harkins has registered 122 points (46G, 76A) in 189 AHL games.

Powered by Special Teams

Moose special teams have buoyed the club’s effort during the current four-game point streak. Manitoba’s power play has converted in three of the last four contests, with the man-advantage striking for two goals on Wednesday. That marks the 13th time this season the power play has notched at least two goals in a single contest. On the flip side, Manitoba’s penalty kill in the four-game streak has seen the team successfully kill off 11 of the 12 opportunities they have faced, including going 8/8 over the past three contests. The Moose penalty kill ranks eighth in the league at 83.1 percent, while the power play clocks in at fourth in the AHL with a 23.1 percent conversion rate.

Extra Attacker

The last two games have seen the Moose score a late tying goal with the net empty and the extra attacker on the ice. Both goals were scored by Jansen Harkins and both contests eventually went into a shootout, with the Moose coming away with a win and loss. Wednesday’s goal was the latest tying marker and came with 11 seconds left in the game. In the same scenario in 2021-22, Manitoba also scored a pair of goals on the season, with Evan Polei netting one and current Winnipeg Jet David Gustafsson scoring the other.

Magic Number

Entering today’s contest, the Moose have 11 regular season games left in the 2022-23 regular season. Manitoba currently sits third in the Central Division with 75 points (33-19-5-4). The magic number for the Moose to officially clinch a playoff spot rests at eight points, the first time that the number has dropped into single digits. There is a scenario that could see the Moose secure a playoff spot by the end of the weekend. It requires Manitoba winning both its games against Rockford and Laval, Chicago losing both of its weekend contests in regulation and Grand Rapids losing at least once over the weekend.

Who's Trending?

Alex Limoges notched an assist on Wednesday evening. That brings his totals to 48 points (17G, 31A) in 54 games. Limoges, who inked a one-year entry-level deal with Winnipeg in 2022, paces the team in points and is second on the club with four game-winning goals. That matches his career-high total from 2021-22.