Barons Weekly Report

February 2, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release


Flashback... The Barons maintained second place in the North Division by posting a 2-1-0-0 record this week.

The Barons had their four-game home winning streaked snapped on Tuesday night against Toronto. Goals by Miroslav Zalesak and Tavis Hansen weren't enough to overcome the Roadrunners. Cleveland actually outshot their North Division rivals by a 40-22 margin. Strong goaltending by Toronto's Stephen Valiquette and two goals from Mike Bishai did the Barons in by a 4-2 count...

The Barons then made the 13-hour trip to St. John's, Newfoundland for a back-to-back set on "The Rock". The Barons made the trip worthwhile, by sweeping the pair. Friday night was homecoming night for the Barons. St. John's native Ryane Clowe played his first professional game in front of his home crowd. The rookie forward made it count too by scoring a goal. Brad Boyes, a former St. John's Maple Leaf, made his first appearance in St. John's since he was traded to the Sharks organization. Boyes must have carried a grudge, as the second-year forward scored two goals to lead the Barons to a 4-1 victory. Nolan Schaefer was excellent in net stopping 36 shots on the evening. Schaefer has loved his time against the Maple Leafs this season. In his two games against the Maple Leafs this season, Schaefer is 2-0 with a .975 save percentage and a 1.00 GAA... On Saturday, the two teams came out fighting. The first period featured 34 penalties in minutes. The feistiness paid off as the Barons got the upper-hand with a power play goal and secured a 3-2 lead after the first period. Again, Brad Boyes was phenomenal against his former mates, this time assisting on two Miroslav Zalesak goals. Greg Labenski scored his third goal of the season to start the game for the Barons. Craig Valette scored the game-winner in the second stanza. Again the Barons goaltender was tested, with Seamus Kotyk in net this time. Kotyk stopped 38 out of 41 shots on the night for his seventh win in his last nine decisions. Kotyk faced his first penalty shot this season in the game and the second of his career. The Leaf's Josh Holden scored on the showdown.

Coming Up... After a grueling trip to St. John's, the Barons will get a bit of rest before returning to action on Thursday night. The Barons will play the first of two games against Manitoba this week. The Barons and Moose have had quite an entertaining series this season. Miroslav Zalesak has benefited from it the most though. In his four games against Manitoba, the league's leading scorer has registered 6 goals and 3 assists. Those 6 goals have come via two hat tricks. The Barons were victorious in both games when Zalesak recorded a hat trick. The Barons and Moose have each hosted a two-game home series thus far. In each instance, the home team was victorious in the first game, while coming up short in the second. Brad Boyes has performed well against the Moose this season as well. In the four games thus far, Boyes has 2 goals and four assists... The Barons will host the Moose again on Saturday afternoon. The Barons must be cautious of the Moose's Jimmy Roy. Roy has sparked the Moose against the Barons this season with 2 goals and 2 assists.

Barons Player of the Week... The Cleveland Barons Player of the Week is right wing Miroslav Zalesak. On the week, Zalesak recorded 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points in 3 games. Zalesak scored at least one point in each contest. Zalesak two two-point performances led the Barons to a sweep of the St. John's Maple Leafs this weekend. On the week, Zalesak posted a +3 plus/minus rating to bump his season total to +9.

Barons Rookie of the Month... Garrett Stafford is the Barons Rookie of the Month for January. On the month, Stafford scored 16 points on 3 goals and 13 assists. Stafford led the Barons to a 9-5-0-1 record in January that put the Barons in second place in the North Division. In the nine games that Stafford recorded a point, the Barons posted a 6-2-0-1 record. In fact, the Barons have not lost a game in regulation in the last 6 games that Stafford records a point (5-0-0-1). In his 5 multi-point games this month, the Barons posted a 4-1-0-0 record. Stafford helped the Barons reach seven games over .500 for the first time in franchise history. On January 9th, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Hamilton. Stafford's 13 assists this month led the team, as did his +7 plus/minus rating.

Interesting Statistics Of The Week... The Barons have posted a 7-2 record in their last nine games. That has pushed the Barons to 7 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history. The Barons have been successful due to poise and discipline. Over those nine games, the Barons are 7-1 when they held their opponent to four power plays or fewer per game (they allowed 5 in a loss to Grand Rapids). The Barons have killed 86.4% of the penalties during the eight games that they held their opponent to 4 opportunities or less. On the season, the Barons are 12-4-3-2 when they hold their opponent to four or fewer power plays in a game... The Barons have posted a winning record in each of the last four weeks (Monday-Sunday).

All-Things Food Night presented by SoftRock WDOK... The Cleveland Barons and SoftRock WDOK 102.1-FM will host "All Things Food Night" this Thursday as the Barons host the Manitoba Moose. All fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to the game. The proceeds of the food collection will be donated to the "WDOK Feed-A-Family" program. Throughout the game, the Barons will host a plethora of food related giveaways and promotions.

Post-Game Skate presented by Marc's... The Cleveland Barons will host the third "Post-Game Skate Presented by Marc's" on Thursday night. Following the Barons game against the Manitoba Moose on Thursday, the entire team will hit the ice and skate with the fans. The players will be available for autographs and pictures. Fans are encouraged and welcomed to bring their skates to the rink as skates WILL NOT be provided at Gund Arena.

Power Puff Girls courtesy of Cox Communications... The Cleveland Barons will host a "Kids Day Matinee" this Saturday afternoon at 1:00pm against the Manitoba Moose. Throughout the game, fans can enjoy a number of kids related promotions and music. The highlight of the day will feature the "Power Puff Girls courtesy of Cox Communications". Families can take advantage of the 4 for $43 Family Pack. For just $43, you receive 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas, and a parking pass. For more details, call the Barons front office at 216-420-0000.

Top Barons... By recording a point in all three games on the week, Miroslav Zalesak has now recorded at least one point in 23 out of the last 26 games. During the span, Zalesak has recorded 35 points on 18 goals and 17 assists. Zalesak, with 57 points, currently holds a 5-point lead in the AHL scoring race over Manchester's Pavel Rosa. His 26 goals are first in the AHL and his 31 assists are tied for third. Zalesak's 20 power play points are tied for third in the league and his 9 power play goals are tied for fourth. Zalesak has recorded a point in 75% of the Barons games this season (36/48)... Brad Boyes is hot on the tale of Miroslav Zalesak in scoring. Boyes is now just 11 points behind the league leader with 46 points. Boyes is tied for sixth in scoring (46), tied for ninth in goals (19), and ninth in assists (27). In Boyes' eleven multi-point games this season, the Barons have yet to lose a game in regulation with a record of 10-0-0-1. When Boyes scores a goal, the Barons are 11-4-1-1. In the last five games in which Boyes scores at least one goal, the Barons are 5-0-0-0. When Boyes scores two goals in a game, the Barons are 3-0-0-0... Seamus Kotyk has been more than steady in between the pipes for the Barons. He is 7-1-1 in his last nine decisions. In those nine games, Kotyk owns a 2.21 GAA (20 GA) and a .942 save percentage (326-346). Kotyk was injured in the first period during his start on 1-2-04 resulting in a no decision. During his unbeaten streak, Kotyk's GAA has dropped from 2.58 to 2.42 and his save percentage has risen from .924 to .931. In fact, with a .931 goals against average, Kotyk has the sixth best mark in the AHL... Garrett Stafford has been tremendous as of late and he earned a spot at the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Game. Among all AHL defenseman, Stafford ranks first in points (31), tied for third in goals (8), second in assists (23), tied for third in power play points (12), tied for third in power play assists (8), and tied for fifth in power play goals (4). Stafford also leads all AHL rookie defensemen in goals, assists, and points. Overall, Stafford is tied for second in rookie scoring, tied for first in rookie assists, and tied for 16th in rookie goals... Milan Michalek, just reassigned from San Jose, recorded two assists on Friday night against St. John's. For the Czech-native, it marked his first two career AHL points...

Standings... The Barons still control second place in the North Division with 55 points. They are just 6 points behind Hamilton, who has played two more games than the Barons. Rochester and Syracuse are both on the tale of the Barons. Rochester is just three points back, while Syracuse is five points behind. In the West Division, the Grand Rapids Griffins are starting to feel the heat. Entering the week with the league's largest division lead, the gap has closed as the Chicago Wolves have rattled off six consecutive victories. Chicago sits just 5 points behind the Griffins with one game in hand. The Barons sit just behind Chicago in the Conference race. Chicago is four points ahead of the Barons in third place in the Western Conference... The East Division is still going back and forth.

Bridgeport and Philadelphia have played musical chairs with the top spot as of late. Bridgeport now owns first place with 63 points. In the Atlantic Division, Hartford has maintained their first place status with 59 points. They have done so even with three consecutive non-wins (0-2-1-0). They hold a 4-point lead over Providence.

Up and West... Right wing Jonathan Cheechoo and defenseman Christian Ehrhoff will compete in the NHL YoungStars Game on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Xcel Energy Center that will be telecast live at 5 p.m., by ESPN. Both players have been members of the Barons at one time. Speaking of the All-Star Weekend, Sharks forward Patrick Marleau was selected as a reserve to the Western Conference All-Star squad... After starting the season with just one win in their first nine games (1-5-3-0 from Oct. 9-28), the Sharks have roared back to post a 24-9-7-3 record in their past 43 games... San Jose has earned points in 40 of their 53 games this season, including 36 of their last 44.



American Hockey League Stories from February 2, 2004


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