Barons Weekly Report
February 17, 2004 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release
Flashback... The Cleveland Barons began the week by hosting the San Antonio Rampage on Thursday at Gund Arena. The Barons improved their season mark against the Rampage to 2-0-0-1 with a 4-2 victory. Trailing 2-1 after the second period, the Barons used three goals to lead them to a 4-2 victory. Back on October 23rd, the Barons outscored the Rampage 6-0 in the third period en route to a 7-1 victory. The game marked the first time this season that San Antonio lost while leading after two periods (12-1-2-0).
Nolan Schaefer saved 35 shots to improve his record at home to 5-0 this season. Miroslav Zalesak scored the game-winning goal for the Barons. Marcel Goc, Doug Murray, and Craig Valette scored the other goals for the Barons... Following Thursday night's game, the Barons traveled to Utah to begin a 5-game road trip. After Utah took a 1-0 lead, the Barons, led by Miroslav Zalesak's two goals, regained a 2-1 advantage heading into the third period. After Utah tied the game at 2, the Barons responded with a Tavis Hansen goal to regain a 3-2 lead. The Grizzlies however, would score three unanswered goals to win the game 5-3. The Barons allowed a season-high 28 shots in the third period. Utah's Rob Valicevic tied a franchise-high by recording 5 points on 2 goals and 3 assists... The Barons didn't have to wait long for their revenge. Cleveland was victorious in a rare Monday matinee by a score of 2-1. Seamus Kotyk made several key saves along the way as he gained his 10th win of the season. Trailing 1-0 heading into the third period, the Barons came out with all guns blazing. The Barons managed 2 goals on 17 shots during the stanza. Jon DiSalvatore and Jesse Fibiger scored the goals for the Barons. The Barons killed a 5-minute major in the second period and only allowed one Utah shot during the disadvantage.
Coming Up... The Barons will finish off their 5-game road trip this weekend with 3 games in 3 nights. The action begins on Thursday night as the Barons travel to Toronto to battle the Roadrunners. The Roadrunners have been the thorn in the side of the Barons this season as Toronto is 3-1-1-0 against Cleveland this season. The Barons have twice lost 4-1 leads in the final period against Toronto this season. Miroslav Zalesak has been great in the five games against the Roadrunners this season posting 4 goals and 4 assists. Meanwhile, Mike Bishai has killed the Barons with 5 goals and 2 assists... The Barons will then travel to St. John's to battle the Maple Leafs on Friday and Saturday night. The Barons have used three goaltenders to record a 5-1-0-0 record against the North Division rivals. Nolan Schaefer has had the most success against the Maple Leafs posting a 2-0 record with a 1.00 GAA and an amazing .975 save percentage. Seamus Kotyk (1-0) and Dimitri Patzold (2-1) also have victories against St. John's. The last time the Barons traveled to St. John's, they swept two games in two nights against the Maple Leafs. Brad Boyes, a former Maple Leaf, has been tremendous in the season series. In six games, the alternate captain has 4 goals and 4 assists. Miroslav Zalesak has kept pace with Boyes as he also has 4 goals and 4 assists against the Maple Leafs this season. Rookie Kyle Wellwood has done well for himself against the Barons registering 4 goals and 2 assists in the series. Wellwood leads all rookies in scoring with 40 points on the season. Currently St. John's is holding on to the final playoff spot in the North Division with 53 points. They are fending off Toronto, who sits just one point behind the fifth place Maple Leafs.
Barons Player of the Week... The Cleveland Barons Player of the Week is right wing Miroslav Zalesak. On the week, he scored 3 goals in 2 games. Zalesak's goal against San Antonio was good for the game-winner. His two goals against Utah gave the Barons a 2-1 lead.
Interesting Statistics Of The Week... Miroslav Zalesak and Brad Boyes are the only two teammates that have 50+ points this season. Their 114 points are the most between a pair of teammates. Manchester's Pavel Rosa and Steve Kelly are the second most productive tandem as they share 104 points... The Barons have gained a point in 64.1% of their last 39 games. The Barons are 22-14-1-2 for a .603 winning percentage during that span... The Barons have not fallen in regulation in back-to-back games this season. In games following a loss in regulation, the Barons have proved resilient posting a 15-0-1-2 record. The Barons have gained a point in 63.9% of their last 36 games. The Barons are 20-13-1-2 for a .603 winning percentage during that span. Coincidentally, the Barons are now 8 games over .500.
Top Barons... Miroslav Zalesak has now recorded at least one point in 26 out of the last 31 games. During the span, Zalesak has recorded 40 points on 21 goals and 19 assists. Zalesak, with 62 points, currently holds a 3-point lead in the AHL scoring race over Hershey's Eric Perrin. His 29 goals are first in the AHL and his 33 assists are tied for fourth. Zalesak has registered a point in 73.6% of the Barons games this season (39/53). The Barons are 21-10-3-5 in those games. When he does not record a point, the Barons are 5-8-1-0... Brad Boyes is hot on the tail of Miroslav Zalesak in scoring. Boyes is now just 10 points behind the league leader with 52 points. Boyes has recorded at least one point in four consecutive games.
During that time, he has 2 goals, 4 assists, and a +3 plus/minus rating. Boyes is sixth in scoring (52), tied for seventh in goals (21), and tied for eighth in assists (31). In Boyes' 13 multi-point games this season, the Barons have yet to lose a game in regulation with a record of 12-0-0-1. When Boyes scores a goal, the Barons are 12-4-1-1. In the last six games in which Boyes scores at least one goal, the Barons are 6-0-0-0. When Boyes scores two goals in a game, the Barons are 4-0-0-0... Seamus Kotyk has been stellar between the pipes for the Barons. He is 8-2-1 in his last eleven decisions. In those eleven games, Kotyk owns a 2.17 GAA (24 GA/662:57) and a .940 save percentage (373-397). Kotyk was injured in the first period during his start on 1-2-04 resulting in a no decision... Garrett Stafford is amidst a great rookie campaign. Among all AHL defenseman, Stafford ranks tied for first in points (32), tied for sixth in goals (8), and tied for third in assists (24). Stafford also leads all AHL rookie defensemen in goals, assists, and points. Overall, Stafford is fifth in rookie scoring, second in rookie assists, and tied for 21st in rookie goals... Nolan Schaefer has been tremendous on home ice this season. In his 5 home starts, Schaefer is 5-0 with a 1.40 goals against average and a .955 save percentage. Overall, the Barons have gained at least one point in 9 out of the rookie's 12 starts... Ryane Clowe is another rookie having a great season. Among all rookies, Clowe is tied for tenth in scoring (28), fourth in assists (19), and fifth in plus/minus (+13)... Jon DiSalvatore is tied for 15th in rookie scoring with 24 points. Among all rookies, he is tied for 12th in goals (11), tied for 23rd in assists (13), and fourth in shots (123)... Patrick Rissmiller has registered a point in 9 of the last 11 games. In those contests, Rissmiller has registered 1 goal and 8 assists.
Rissmiller has the league's longest current home assist streak. He has an assist in the last 6 Barons home games. The six-game point streak is also tied for the longest current home streak in the AHL... Barons defenseman Jim Fahey has recorded an assist in four out of the last five games. During that span, Fahey has 5 assists and is +1. In just 32 games, Fahey is second among Barons defenseman with 19 points.
3rd Annual Cleveland Barons Auction... The 3rd Annual Cleveland Barons Auction will be held on March 3rd at Windows on the River. Proceeds from the event benefit the Doug Dieken Foundation. A plethora of great items will be on the auction block including a LeBron James autographed basketball, a variety of autographed hockey sweaters, and various autographed sports equipment. The Doug Dieken Foundation was started by Dieken in 1997 after witnessing the impact the Special Olympics program had on his brother, who is developmentally disabled. In response to a lack of city funding for the program, the Doug Dieken Foundation began co-sponsoring a variety of events. The Annual Cleveland Barons Auction has become the cornerstone of a foundation that serves as the primary support for the Cleveland Public Schools Special Olympics Program. The entire Barons roster and front office will be on hand to enjoy the evening. Each table will have at least one member of the Cleveland Barons sitting with them. For details, call the Barons front office at 216-420-2518.
Get Fueled With The Barons At Quaker Steak And Lube... The Cleveland Barons, in conjunction with Labatt Blue, will host a "Night-Out With The Barons" on Wednesday, February 25th at Quaker Steak and Lube located on 5935 Canal Road in Valley View. Barons players Brad Boyes, Seamus Kotyk, Greg Labenski, Robert Mulick and Miroslav Zalesak will sign autographs and pose for photographs with restaurant goers. Patrons will have the opportunity to win a variety of prizes from the Cleveland Barons and Labatt Blue. Contact the Barons front office at 216-420-0000 for more details.
It's Great At The Gund... On Saturday, February 28th, the first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive a Niko Dimitrakos Bobblehead Doll. Dimitrakos, the 2002-03 Barons Rookie of the Year, has spent the majority of the season with the San Jose Sharks.
Labatt Blue Cup... The Cleveland Barons and the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks will meet on Sunday, February 29th at 5:00pm at Gund Arena for the second game in the Labatt Blue Cup. The Barons were victorious in the first contest of the eight game series. The winner of the season series will be awarded the Labatt Blue Cup, the first time the two teams have ever competed for an Ohio trophy.
Up and West... The San Jose Sharks have won two consecutive games and pushed their Pacific lead to 7 points. The Sharks began the two-game streak by winning a 2-1 game in Columbus on Saturday night. The Sharks blasted the Blue Jackets with 50 shots on net, the most allowed by Columbus on home ice in franchise history. The Sharks used that momentum to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers on a nationally televised game on Monday night.
Outscoring the Flyers in every period, San Jose easily strolled to a 5-2 victory. The Flyers are in first place of the Atlantic Division and going into the night, were tied for the second fewest home losses with San Jose... The Sharks have gotten through the first four games of a six-game road trip. They are 2-2-0-0 on the trip thus far. The trip will conclude with games against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday and the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
Standings... The Cleveland Barons sit one point behind Syracuse for second place in the North Division. Cleveland and Syracuse are both chasing the Hamilton Bulldogs who sit in first place with 69 points. Trailing the Bulldogs by just 8 points, the Barons also have two games in hand.
Rochester, in fourth place, has sputtered as they are winless in their last 6 games. Manitoba, at the bottom of the North, are 0-5-0-0 in their last 5 games. They were 4-1-0-0 in the 5 games prior to that... The Grand Rapids Griffins continue their claim to supremacy in the league's points standings.
The Griffins have 74 points and hold the largest division lead over Milwaukee. Milwaukee has nothing to hang their heads about though. Their 65 points would put them within two points of two divisions and 4 points within first of another. Milwaukee has rattled off 7 consecutive wins...
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers remain in first place by one point over the Philadelphia Phantoms in the East Division. Both teams have gained points in 7 of their last 10 games. The Norfolk Admirals have won 4 consecutive games to place them in a tie with Binghamton for the fourth playoff spot...
The Hartford Wolf Pack hold a convincing eight-point lead in the Atlantic Division and have won four consecutive games. They have led the division all season long. Portland has passed Manchester in the standings to gain fourth place. Portland is 5-0-1-0 in their last six games.
North American Hockey League Stories from February 17, 2004
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- Barons Weekly Report - Cleveland Barons
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