Barons Weekly Report

Published on December 15, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release


Flashback... Entering the week in fifth place of the North Division, the Cleveland Barons made up some ground with a 2-1 week moving into fourth place.

The week started for the Barons on Wednesday night against West Division leader Grand Rapids. The Barons held a 1-0 season series lead going into the contest and looked to improve their record. The Barons, not intimidated by the then Conference co-leaders, used timely offense to knock off Grand Rapids 4-3. Four different Barons scored in the victory with Brad Boyes tallying the game-winner. Miroslav Zalesak began a huge week with a two-assist performance.

The Barons then traveled to Hamilton to battle the Bulldogs at Copps Coliseum. The Barons battled back against Hamilton at but came up just short, losing 4-2. The Barons fell into a 2-0 first period deficit against the Western Conference leading Bulldogs, but tallied two goals in the second period to tie the game going into the third. Lynn Loyns scored the Barons first goal on a nifty face-off play that saw Miroslav Zalesak and Doug Murray gain assists. The Barons flexed their power play muscles as well, as Patrick Rissmiller scored on a 5-on-4 advantage with 50 seconds left in the second. The power play was only the Barons second of the game. Garrett Stafford and Tomas Plihal assisted on the Rissmiller goal. The Bulldogs gained a 3-2 lead with 9 minutes left in the game and added an empty net goal late to defeat the Barons.

A quick trip back to Cleveland found the Barons with a 1pm face-off against the Manitoba Moose. When all was said and done, the Barons would break both franchise and season records. The Barons grabbed a quick 2-0 lead against the Moose on goals by Doug Murray and Marcel Goc. For Goc, it was his first professional goal in North America. Miroslav Zalesak assisted on both goals as he was on his way to a record-breaking performance. The Moose battled back eventually cutting the Barons lead to 2-1 and 3-2, but the Barons third period overwhelmed Manitoba. Four unanswered third period goals gave the Barons a 7-2 victory. Miroslav Zalesak added to his two assists with three goals giving him 5 points on the day. Not satisfied with just his first goal of the season, Marcel Goc added three assists. Lynn Loyns was also one of the six Barons to register a multi-point game with 4 assists on the day.

Coming Up... The Barons have a busy week, playing four games, including a three-games-in-three-days stretch. The week begins as the Barons welcome back Manitoba. The Barons beat the Moose 7-2 on Saturday. The Moose will play the fifth game of a grueling 8-games-in-12-days stretch... The Barons will host the Hershey Bears at Gund Arena on Friday night. The Barons will meet the Bears for the first time this season. Hershey is the only Eastern Conference opponent the Barons will play on the season. The Barons have never won a game against Hershey in franchise history, with a 0-6 record. The Barons have scored more than one goal only once in the lifetime series... On Saturday night, the Barons will welcome their old rivals, the Rochester Americans to town. On the season, the Barons hold a 1-0-2-0 advantage in the series. It has been evenly matched though as the Barons victory came via a 2-0 shutout. The Barons goaltending duo of Seamus Kotyk and Dimitri Patzold own a 1.26 goals against average against Rochester, who sit just one point ahead of the Barons. Not one player on the Rochester roster has more than one point against the Barons this season.

With their four-game homestand concluded, the Barons will begin a five-game, 10-day road trip against Toronto. The Barons have had their trouble with Toronto this season, losing two 4-1 leads. The Barons are 0-1-1-1 against the expansion Roadrunners. Miroslav Zalesak has been the coyote to these Roadrunners scoring 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points in the three games this season. The Barons power play has been fantastic against Toronto, converting at a 30.8% rate.

Barons Player of the Week... The Cleveland Barons Player of the Week is right wing Miroslav Zalesak. In three games this week, Zalesak registered 8 points on 3 goals and 5 assists with a +4 plus/minus rating. Zalesak scored at least one point in all three games. Zalesak shattered a Barons franchise record for points in a single game with a 5-point performance on Saturday afternoon. The 5-point outing also tied Brett McLean of Norfolk for the AHL high for most points in a single game this season. With 5 points on the week, Zalesak now has 30 points on the season. At the beginning of the week, Zalesak was tied for 9th in scoring league-wide. Zalesak now sits alone in 4th for the most points on the season. The 19 assists are tied for the 3rd-most in the league.

Oh What A Day... The Barons set or eclipsed several franchise records against Manitoba. Miroslav Zalesak's five points are a franchise record for the Barons. It is also Zalesak's high-water mark in both points and goals in a game. Not only were Zalesak's five points a Barons high, it is also tied for the highest single game total in the AHL this season. Norfolk's Brett McLean also had 5 points on October 8th... Lynn Loyns' four assists tied the Barons franchise record for assists in a single game. Loyns also tied the AHL single-game mark for helpers on the season. Five other players have done it as well... The seven goals on the day tied a Barons season and franchise high. The Barons scored seven goals against San Antonio on October 23rd... The Barons had 14 assists on the day tying a team franchise record. The Barons recorded 14 assists on December 8th, 2001 in a 7-5 win against Grand Rapids. The 14 assists are also tied for the most in a single game in the AHL this season... The Barons had six players record multi-point games (Zalesak, Goc, Loyns, Boyes, Rissmiller, Clowe). That is the most players to have a multi-point game in the same game this season. The franchise record is 7, set on opening day last season on October 12th, 2002.

Injuries and Transactions... On Monday, goaltender Seamus Kotyk was reassigned to the Barons by San Jose. Kotyk dressed in seven games for the Sharks, but did not appear in a game. Garrett Stafford was signed by the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday to a standard player contract. Stafford is currently tied for fourth on the Barons in scoring. Left wing Nick Bootland made a brief visit to Cleveland for Wednesday's game against Grand Rapids. Bootland, on load from Columbus (UHL), scored a goal. Bootland has played at least on game in all three seasons for the Barons... Craig Valette and Yuri Moscevsky both missed time this week due to the flu.

Top Barons... Brad Boyes has scored at least one point in six out of the last nine games. In those nine games, Boyes has registered 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points. Boyes is second on the team with 22 points... Patrick Rissmiller, the Barons third leading scorer, has registered at least one point in four consecutive games. Rissmiller has 1 goal and 4 assists in those four contests... After a five-game scoreless streak, Barons captain Tavis Hansen has come alive. Hansen has at least one point in 6 out of the last eight games. He has 3 goals and 3 assists in that span. Nine of Hansen's eleven points have come on home ice... Rookie Ryane Clowe has also been good at home. Clowe currently has scored a point in four consecutive home games. In those games, Clowe has 5 points on 3 goals and 2 assists. Clowe is tied for 8th among all AHL rookie scorers with 15 points this season. Overall he has 7 goals and 8 assists... Rookie goaltender Dimitri Patzold has two consecutive wins. In his last six games, Patzold has posted a 4-2 record with a 2.51 GAA and a .928 save percentage... Both Doug Murray and Lynn Loyns own two-game scoring streaks.

Carkner's Christmas... Matt Carkner, a defenseman for the Barons, and his wife Kary are organizing "Carkner's Christmas" that provides children with gifts. The program benefits children that lack the necessities needed for day-to-day life. Each Cleveland Baron player adopts a child. Every player will then buy a variety of gifts that fulfill these needs for the children. Each child will also receive three gifts from their wish list. The Barons conducted a similar program last season titled "Swiss Christmas". Steve "Swiss" Wissman, former Barons equipment manager, started the program. After participating in it, Carkner made it a priority to continue the program. The Barons will travel to Mary Bethune Elementary School, Bolton Elementary School, and Alfred Benesch Elementary School on December 17th and 18th to distribute the presents.

Pasta Lear's Hitting The Books With The Barons... The Cleveland Barons will travel to Surrarrer Elementary School in Strongsville as part of the "Pasta Lear's Hitting The Books With The Barons" program. Ryane Clowe will visit the classroom with Barons mascot SlapShark. Pasta Lear's Pizzeria and Deli also provides a pizza party for the winning classroom. Pasta Lear's is located on 6310 Engle Road in Brookpark. For more details on the "Pasta Lear's Hitting The Books With The Barons" program, Crash The Net at www.clevelandbarons.net.

Teddy Bear Toss... The Cleveland Barons will try to toss the Hershey Bears on Friday night at 7pm at Gund Arena. Fans are welcomed and encouraged to bring a stuffed animals to the game. Following the Barons first goal, fans throw their stuffed animals on the ice. All stuffed animals collected will be donated to Cops For Kids. The Cleveland Police Department will distribute the stuffed animals to children on their patrols. Also, during one of the game's intermissions, one lucky fan will be selected to participate in the Harpo's Chicken Wing Shootout. The contestant will attempt to make a shot from center ice on an open night to win the entire crowd an order of 12 chicken wings at Harpo's Sports Café. The Harpo's Chicken Wing Shootout is held every Friday night home game.

Cleveland Hockey Legends Night... The Cleveland Barons will host "Cleveland Hockey Legends Night" on Saturday, December 20th at 7:00pm at Gund Arena against the Rochester Americans. On that night, Jock Callander, Fred Glover, and Dave Michayluk will be inducted into the inaugural class of the "Cleveland Hockey Legends Ring of Honor". The "Cleveland Hockey Legends Ring of Honor" will be unveiled prior to the game, as Callander, Glover, and Michayluk dasher boards will be displayed during the induction ceremony.

The three players are the most prolific scorers in the history of Cleveland Hockey. In addition, the first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive a Jock Callander Bobblehead Doll.

Standings... With 28 points, the Barons sit in fourth place of the North Division. They are just one point behind Rochester for third place and three points behind St. John's for second. St. John's has played six games more than the Barons on the season and the Barons actually own the second-best winning percentage in the league. Hamilton has maintained first place as they have 38 points, the most in the Western Conference... The Barons snapped Grand Rapids' eight-game unbeaten streak on Wednesday, but the Griffins are still in control in the West Division with a 5-point lead over second-place Chicago. Following a long losing streak, the Houston Aeros are trying to make a move in the West Division. Houston has won four consecutive games... The story of the young AHL season has been the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Bridgeport, with 42 points on the season, has the best record in the league at 18-3-5-1. The have a 20 game unbeaten streak and have not lost a game in regulation in 22 games. Even with that streak, the Hershey Bears remain in striking distance, only seven points out of first place... Hartford and Providence are tied atop the Atlantic Division with 35 points.

Up and West... The San Jose Sharks sit in second place of the Pacific Division with 32 points. They are just two points behind the division leader Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks defeated the Anaheim Mighty Duck on Saturday night. Evgeni Nabokov stopped all 28 shots that he faced to secure a 2-0 victory ... Nabokov returned to action on Thursday and secured a 2-2 tie against the Edmonton Oilers... Also on the injury front, 2003 first-round draft choice Milan Michalek returned to the ice Friday afternoon, for a second session with a stick and puck since his knee surgery back in October. Michalek appeared in two games for the Sharks, suffered the knee injury in the second game. In his brief two-game stint, Michalek only took one shot. For the record, he connected for a goal and a 100% shooting percentage... Niko Dimitrakos leads the Sharks with a +5 plus/minus rating... The Sharks will whip through a three-game road trip this week as they will go through Detroit, St. Louis, and Anaheim. After playing Anaheim on Sunday, the two teams will travel to San Jose to battle again on Monday night. It will be the fourth time in two weeks the two team will have played.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 15, 2003


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