The Manitoba Moose head into Friday’s date with the Iowa Wild carrying plenty of offensive momentum and a few hot hands driving the charge.
Manitoba and Iowa will meet for the first time in the regular season, with coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m. CDT on CJOB.com, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV on FloHockey.
Puck drop at Casey’s Center is set for 7 p.m. CDT.
Parker Ford has been right in the middle of it for the Moose. The Wakefield, RI. native is on a five-game point streak with six points in that stretch, collecting one goal and five assists.
That run ties him for the fifth-longest active streak in the league, behind only William Strömgren of the Calgary Wranglers for the longest active mark. Ford also crossed a major pro milestone with an assist in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, reaching 100 points as a professional with 44 goals and 56 assists.
He now sits two points shy of 100 in his AHL career. In 2026-27, Ford’s six points have him tied for fifth on the team with Lucas Wahlin, one behind Danny Zhilkin.
The scoring hasn’t come from the forwards alone. Manitoba’s defense has chipped in heavily over the last four games, with blueliners combining for 12 points and two goals.
Alfons Freij and Henry Thrun have each supplied a goal in that span, while Thrun and Isaak Phillips are both on four-game point streaks. Five of the Moose’s seven defensemen who have appeared in a game have already recorded at least one point, including Elias Salomonsson, who picked up his first point of the season in his second game on Wednesday.
That balanced production has helped Manitoba pile up offense early. Seven games into the year, four Moose are already averaging a point per game or better.
Danny Zhilkin moved himself to that mark with a two-point effort in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, giving him seven points in seven games. Brayden Yager, Nikita Chibrikov and Noah Gregor had already been above the line.
Manitoba’s four point-per-game players are tied for third-most in the AHL, trailing only Coachella Valley and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, who have five each. Ford and Wahlin are both close behind with six points apiece.
The last Moose player to finish a season at a point-per-game pace or better, with at least 40 games played, was Jansen Harkins in 2022-23. Before that, Jason Krog was the last Moose to do it over more than 70 games, putting up 86 points with 30 goals and 56 assists in 2008-09.
Even with the scoring bursts, Manitoba has also shown it can win tight games. Both of the Moose’s losses have come by one goal, while their only one-goal win came in overtime against the Texas Stars on Oct. 18 at Canada Life Centre.
The other victories have been far more emphatic, by scores of 8-3, 7-4 and 6-1. Through seven games, Manitoba still leads the league in goals with 32 and has allowed the 10th-fewest at 17 against.
Zhilkin also comes into Friday trending the right way. The Moscow, Russia native had a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s loss in Grand Rapids, pushing his season total to seven points.
He now has 48 points in his AHL career, with 20 goals and 28 assists. His seven shots on goal Wednesday were a new career high, and he has 21 shot attempts so far this season.
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