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Knights complete home stand this week

March 27, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


Omaha, NE - It seems like only yesterday that the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights embarked on their inaugural season in the American Hockey League. This week, they look ahead to the final ten games of the regular season. The first two games of that stretch come this week when the Knights host the Houston Aeros and the Milwaukee Admirals, the top two teams in the West Division. The Knights earned three of a possible six points last week with a loss at Milwaukee, a shootout win over Houston and a shootout loss to Peoria. The Knights are now 33-26-2-9, good 77 points and fourth place in the West Division. They hold a five point lead over the Iowa Stars for the final playoff spot in the division. The Stars have a game in hand. Tickets for all home games are on sale all week at the Civic Auditorium box office from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 422-1212 and at Ticketmaster.com. The box office is open through the opening face-off on game nights.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
Monday, March 20: Milwaukee Admirals 1, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 0
The Admirals scored the only goal of the game at 8:36 of the first period. Darren Haydar dropped a pass in the slot that Simon Gamache one-timed past Curtis McElhinney. The Knights' best chance came in the third when Tim Hambly's slap shot hit the post. McElhinney was strong in goal with 32 saves. It was the first time the Knights had been shutout since November 4th.

Thursday, March 23: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 5, Houston Aeros 4 SO
The AHL's leading scorer, Kirby Law, opened the scoring just 4:09 into the game to give the Aeros a 1-0 lead. The Knights got powerplay goals from Ajay Baines and Mark Giordano later in the period to lead 2-1 after one. Houston came on strong in the second and took the lead on goals by Matt Foy and Peter Olvecky. But before the period had ended, Tomi Maki had tied the game, wiring a shot past goalie Miroslav Kopriva to make it 3-3. Houston retook the lead midway through the third period on a goal by Roman Voloshenko, but the Knights had the answer from another rookie, Cam Cunning. He scored his first pro goal to tie the game at four. Maki and Giordano then scored in a six round shootout as the Knights won their second straight game against the Aeros. Brent Krahn stopped 34 shots in regulation and overtime and went five for six in the shootout.

Saturday, March 25: Peoria Rivermen 3, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 2 SO
As with the previous game, the Knights fought back from a pair of one-goal deficits. Peoria got a powerplay goal from Mike Zigomanis early in the game. Eric Nystrom answered on a Knights' powerplay, tipping in a shot by Richie Regehr. Jon DiSalvatore scored on a breakaway in the last minute of the first to put Peoria up 2-1 after one. Zenith Komarniski tied the game late in the second period on a floater from the blue line. The two teams went to an eight-round shootout with each team scoring in the first two rounds before goalie Brent Krahn and Gregg Naumenko took over. David Backes scored the deciding goal in the eighth round for Peoria. Krahn stopped 27 shots and went five for eight in the shootout.

THE WEEK AHEAD:
DAY/DATE EVENT TIME BROADCAST
Mon., Mar. 27 Practice @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Tues., Mar. 28 Day Off
Wed., Mar. 29 Practice @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Thurs., Mar. 30 Practice @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 31 Morning Skate @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Game vs. Houston 7:00 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Sat., Apr. 1 Morning Skate @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Game vs. Milwaukee 7:00 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Sun., Apr. 2 Day Off

Legend
OCA--Omaha Civic Auditorium
Web-Free live audio broadcast of game at omahaaksarbenknights.com (Choose "Listen Live" link from home page)
B2-B2 Networks live, pay-per-view webcast, available at omahaaksarbenknights.com for $6 per game by clicking on B2 Networks link.

OPPONENTS THIS WEEK:
Friday, March 31 vs. Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild), 7:00 p.m.
Eighth meeting of ten; fifth of five meetings in Omaha
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights play the Aeros at home for the third time this month. It's also the last meeting of the season series to be staged in Omaha. The Knights will play in Houston twice during the final week of the regular season. Omaha has now won two straight against the Aeros and has an overall record of 2-2-1-2 against the Minnesota Wild's top prospects this season. The Aeros begin the week in second place in the West Division with a record of 45-21-2-3, good for 95 points. That puts them one behind the Milwaukee Admirals with two games in hand. The Aeros are in the middle of a six-game winless streak. Kirby Law leads the Aeros and the AHL in scoring with 38 goals and 61 assists for 99 points. Teammate Erik Westrum is second in scoring with 92 points, but he is currently on recall to the Wild. Rookie Patrick O'Sullivan is third in scoring with team-leading 42 goals and 81 points. The point total is tops among all rookies and tied for fifth overall. Miroslav Kopriva and Seamus Kotyk share time in the Houston net. Kotyk has earned 12 wins in 28 games and has a 3.00 goals-against average. Houston visits Peoria on Tuesday before finishing its current five-game road trip at Omaha.

Saturday, April 1 vs. Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators), 7:00 p.m.
Tenth meeting of ten; fifth of five meetings in Omaha
The Knights and the Admirals conclude their ten-game season series in the final game of the week for Omaha. The two teams are coming off a home-and-home split of two games on March 18th and 20th. The Knights won 2-1 in overtime on the 18th while Milwaukee prevailed 1-0 in the rematch on the 20th. The Knights are 3-4-0-2 against the Admirals this year. The Admirals begin the week in first place in the West Division with a record of 44-21-6-2, good for 96 points. They have lost their last two games. Darren Haydar leads the Admirals in scoring with 27 goals and 53 assists for a career-high 80 points. His goal and assist totals are team highs, and he ranks seventh in AHL scoring. Pekka Rinne has carried most of the load in goal for the Admirals this year, posting a record of 29-18-2 in 50 games. He has a 2.86 goal-against average and a .902 save percentage. Milwaukee visits Rochester on Wednesday and hosts Iowa on Friday before coming to Omaha.

KNIGHTS NOTES:
Goaltender Brent Krahn set a new team and personal season high when he won his fifth consecutive game on March 23rd against Houston.

Goaltender Curtis McElhinney has allowed just one goal on the last 63 shots he's faced in the last two games, a save percentage of 98.4%.

The Knights are the only team in the AHL with both goalies in the top ten in goals-against average. McElhinney is 3rd while Krahn ranks 6th.

The Knights have allowed just five powerplay goals in the last 62 shorthanded chances, a success rate of 91.9%.

TRANSACTIONS:
3/24/06 DELETE Adam Pardy (D), returned on loan to Las Vegas (ECHL)
3/26/06 DELETE Craig MacDonald (C), recalled from loan by Calgary (NHL)

IN THE COMMUNITY:
Radio Appearance, Monday, March 27: Knights' play-by-play voice Dave Ahlers will be appearing on Pinnacle Sports Network's "Sports Nightly" program (KFAB AM 1110 in Omaha) at 6:40 p.m. He will speak about the Knights' season to date and look forward to the upcoming week.

The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' Speakers Bureau is available to provide speakers to local businesses, civic and church groups and other interested organizations holding weekly or monthly meetings and special events. There is no charge for this program. For more information on the Speakers Bureau or to schedule an appearance for your group's next meeting, call Dave Ahlers at (402) 344-GOAL or contact him by e-mail at dahlers@omahaaksarbenknights.com.

LADIES NIGHT:
At their game on Friday, the Knights will host Ladies Night. Ladies receive free admission with the purchase of a paid ticket. The Knights also will be holding a silent auction for dinner with Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' players Ajay Baines and Dave Moss at Dave and Buster's at 132nd and West Center Road in Omaha. Proceeds from the silent auction will benefit the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' Charitable Foundation.

AK-SAR-BEN KNIGHTS TEAM STATISTICS (As of 3.27.06):
Click here to view Ak-Sar-Ben Knights player stats. Click here to view Ak-Sar-Ben Knights goalie stats.

OMAHAAKSARBENKNIGHTS.COM
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' official web site, omahaaksarbenknights.com, is the comprehensive source for all information about the Knights during the season. Log on for player bios and stats, game recaps, a list of community appearances, stats, photos, great downloads and live links to listen to and watch Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' hockey all season.

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