Fast Facts: Moose vs. Rockford – March 5

The Moose and IceHogs battle for the second time this week today at Canada Life Centre. Manitoba rolled by Rockford by a 7-2 count in the teams' previous meeting on Thursday. Today is Autism Acceptance Day at Canada Life Centre. The Moose will wear special edition jerseys which will be auctioned at the game and online in support of the St.Amant Foundation. Click here more information on the Autism Acceptance campaign and today's game. Tickets for today's 2 p.m. matchup are available at MooseHockey.com/TICKETS. Coverage of today's game gets started at 1:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com/sports, AHLTV and the Manitoba Moose App.

Call Him Evan Goal-ei

Forward Evan Polei has found his soring touch and has helped propel the Moose to two consecutive wins. Polei forced overtime against the Chicago Wolves on Feb. 27 with his fifth of the season. The scoring continued against Rockford on Thursday, as the gritty forward recorded three-points (1G, 2A) with all three coming in the third period. It was Polei’s second career AHL three-point game, with the previous performance coming March 6/19 against San Jose with Bakersfield. Polei has four points (2G, 2A) his past two games and finds himself with 13 points (6G, 7A) in 43 games during his first season in antlers.

Magnificent Meireles

Greg Meireles put on quite the performance in the Moose 7-2 victory over Rockford on Thursday evening. The forward, who is in his rookie season in the AHL, recorded three points (1G, 2A) in the recent win. Meireles has been especially productive as of late and has registered seven points (2G, 5A) over the course of his last five games. The Kitchener Ranger alumni sits with 26 points (5G, 21A) in 43 games, one point off the team lead held by defenceman Leon Gawanke. Meireles leads all Moose rookies in scoring and is tied for 21st among the AHL’s freshman class.

Welcome Additions

The Winnipeg Jets reassigned forward C.J. Suess and defenceman Dylan Samberg to the Moose on March 1. Neither player seems to have missed a beat, as both recorded points in their return to the Moose lineup. Suess, whose streak dates back to Dec. 12 in Chicago, now has four points (1G, 3A) in his last three games. The forward has totalled 13 points (4G, 9A) in 24 games this season. Samberg’s streak reaches back to Jan. 7 at Texas. The defenceman has three assists his last three games and sits with six total points in 17 games with the Moose this season.

Offence from the Defence

The Moose have found success this season through their defencemen. Five of Manitoba’s regular defenders have cleared the 10-point plateau. Leon Gawanke leading the way with 27 points (8G, 19A). Declan Chisholm, who netted his seventh of the season in Thursday’s win, is now tied with Johnathan Kovacevic (7G, 9A) for second in goals from the Moose blueline. Chisholm also became the second Moose defender to clear the 20-point mark, reaching 21 points (7G, 14A) for the campaign. Gawanke’s eight goals are tied for fourth among AHL defenders, trailing leader Ryan Murphy who has 10 goals for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Who's Trending?

Mikey Eyssimont recorded two points (1G, 1A) in the 7-2 win on Thursday night. The forward is riding a hot streak and with five points (1G, 4A) over the course of his last five games. Eyssimont is now up to 22 points (9G, 13A) in 36 games. He sits six points shy of his career high of 28 points set back in 2019-20 with the Pacific Division’s Ontario Reign.