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Ak-Sar-Ben Knights Weekly Report

November 21, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


Omaha, NE - The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights took advantage of two home games with back to back wins over the San Antonio Rampage and the Hamilton Bulldogs last week. It marked the second time this season the Knights have won two games in a row. From that relatively light week, the Knights dive into their busiest week of the season when they play four games in six days, including their first three-in-three weekend, beginning Tuesday when they host Hamilton. Omaha will bookend a game in Chicago on Saturday with home games against the Iowa Stars on Friday and Sunday. The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights are in third place in the West Division of the American Hockey League with a record of 7-8-0-3, good for seventeen points. 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:

Thursday, November 17: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 2, San Antonio Rampage 1
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights snapped a three-game losing streak, beating the Rampage 2-1 on Thursday night at the Civic Auditorium. Eric Nystrom scored his first professional goal to snap a 1-1 tie early in the third period, and Brent Krahn made 32 saves for his fourth win of the year. All three goals were scored early in each period. The Rampage broke the deadlock when Martin Sonnenberg tipped home a shot by Matt Jones just 3:07 into the game. San Antonio held the 1-0 lead until the 1:13 mark of the second period. With the Knights on the powerplay, Dave Moss, stationed at the right of the goal, fed Carsen Germyn in the slot. Germyn beat goalie Scott Stirling with a wrist shot for his team-leading eighth goal of the year. Mark Giordano earned the other assist. Nystrom's goal came in the first half minute of the third. Brandon Prust scooped up a loose puck and slipped it behind the Rampage net to Nystrom who walked out into the slot and beat Stirling with a wrist shot over his glove hand. Krahn was steady all night, especially in the first period when the Rampage fired 16 shots on goal. He snapped a personal four-game winless streak with the victory.

Friday, November 18: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 3, Hamilton Bulldogs 1
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights won their second straight game, beating the Bulldogs 3-1 the next night at the Civic. Carsen Germyn continued his strong play with two powerplay goals including the game winner, and Brent Krahn once more stood tall in the Knights' net making 24 saves. The Bulldogs scored first when Jean-Francois Jacques tipped in a pass from Francis Lemieux at 10:25 of the first period. The Knights answered on the powerplay in the second. Mark Giordano brought the puck across the blue line and slipped a pass to Germyn who blew a shot past goalie Cristobal Huet for his ninth goal of the year. Just 2:10 later, Germyn struck again, taking another feed from Giordano and beating Huet with another bomb from the slot. The Bulldogs outshot the Knights 9-4 in the third period, but the Knights would get the insurance goal they needed. Eric Nystrom picked up his second goal in as many games, beating Huet through traffic at 13:57 of the period.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

DAY/DATE EVENT TIME BROADCAST
Mon., Nov. 21 Practice @ OCA 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Tues., Nov. 22 Morning Skate @ OCA 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Game vs. Hamilton 7:00 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Wed., Nov. 23 Practice @ OCA 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Thurs., Nov. 24 Practice @ OCA 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 25 Morning Skate 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Game vs. Iowa 7:00 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Sat., Nov. 26 Game at Chicago 7:00 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Sun., Nov. 27 Game vs. Iowa 5:00 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2

Legend
OCA--Omaha Civic Auditorium
TIA--Tranquility Ice Arena
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:

Tuesday, November 22: vs. Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal Canadiens/Edmonton Oilers), 7:00 p.m.
Second meeting of four; second of two in Omaha
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights and the Bulldogs renew acquaintances in the second Omaha meeting of the season. Hamilton is tied with the Cleveland Barons for sixth place in the North Division of the AHL with a record of 7-10-0-1, good for 15 points. The ‘Dogs are playing their final game of four straight on the road. They have lost all three games, scoring just two goals. Hamilton's most recent game is a 1-0 loss at Iowa on Saturday. Jean-Francois Jacques leads the Bulldogs in goals and points with eight goals and six assists for 14 points. He had the team's lone goal against the Knights in their first meeting. Defenseman Ron Hainsey leads the team with eleven assists. Cristobal Huet and Jeff Deslauriers share time in the Bulldogs' net. Huet has appeared in two games while Deslauriers has seen action in three.

Friday & Sunday, November 25 & 27: vs. Iowa Stars (Dallas Stars/Edmonton Oilers), 7:00 p.m. (Fri.) & 5:00 p.m. (Sun.)
Third and fourth meetings of ten; first two of five meetings in Omaha
The Stars make their first appearance in Omaha since the preseason on Friday and then return for a Sunday matinee. The Knights have already played two games in Des Moines, both shutout wins. The Knights won 1-0 on October 8th and 2-0 on October 25th. In each case, goaltender Brent Krahn backstopped the wins. The Stars begin the week in sixth place in the West Division with a record of 6-9-0-0, good for 12 points. They have played three fewer games than the Knights. Defenseman Patrick Traverse leads the Stars with twelve points, eleven of which are assists. Center Toby Petersen is the team's leading goal scorer with five, and he ranks second in points with eleven. Mike Smith has played a majority of the games in the Stars' net, posting a record of 4-5-0 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. He also owns the team's only shutout. The Stars don't play before facing the Knights on Friday.

Saturday, November 26: @ Chicago Wolves (Atlanta Thrashers), 7:00 p.m.
Third of ten meetings; first of five in Chicago
The Knights make their first trip to Chicago to face the Wolves in the middle game of the three-in-three weekend. The two teams have split the first two meetings. Chicago won 5-2 in the season opener on October 7th. The Knights prevailed 7-6 in a shootout on October 28th, their only shootout win in four tries this season. The Wolves are in fifth place in the West with a mark of 5-6-1-2, good for 13 points. They have won two straight games including a 3-2 win against Milwaukee on Saturday that snapped the Admirals' seven-game win streak. Ramzi Abid leads the Wolves in scoring with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points. Scott Barney is second in points (13) and leads the team with nine goals. Jared Ross has a team-leading ten assists and is third in points (12). The Wolves have had a revolving door in goal where five players have already played at least one game. The Wolves received rookie netminder Adam Berkhoel back from their NHL affiliate, the Atlanta Thrashers, on Monday. Berkhoel was in goal for the Wolves' win against the Knights on October 7th. Chicago hosts Hamilton on Wednesday and visits Peoria on Friday before hosting the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights.

KNIGHTS NOTES:
Rookie Eric Nystrom scored his first professional goal on Thursday, November 17th vs. San Antonio. It was also the game winner.

Goaltender Brent Krahn earned back-to-back wins last week, beating San Antonio 2-1 and Hamilton 3-1. In those games, he allowed just two goals for a goals against average of 1.00 and a save percentage of 96.6%.

Carsen Germyn scored three goals in two games last week to run his goal-scoring streak to three games. He has points in five of the last six games.

Over the last seven games, the Knights have killed off 63 of 67 opponent powerplays, a success rate of 94%.

TRANSACTIONS:

None

IN THE COMMUNITY:
Players at O.M.A.H.A., Monday, November 21: Knights' players Derek Couture and Cam Cunning will be taking part in the Omaha Metro Amateur Hockey Association's Squirt practice at the Benson Ice Arena at 5:15 p.m. The Knights will lead the youth players through drills and offer playing tips.

Knights Serve Dinner at Open Door Mission, Thursday, November 24: Knights' players and team staff will be serving Thanksgiving meals at the Open Door Mission on 21st Street from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

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.

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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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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