Barons Weekly Report

Published on March 22, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release


Magic Number... The Cleveland Barons Magic Number to clinch a berth in the AHL playoffs now stands at 12 points. Any time the Barons gain a win, tie, or overtime loss, and every time the 6th place team (currently St. John's) loses in regulation or has a game go into overtime, the Magic Number is decreased. The Barons cut 8 points off of their Magic Number since last Monday.

Flashback... The Barons got back on the right track with a 2-1-0-0 week. The Barons were lifted by the play of two rookies in Grant Stevenson and Dimitri Patzold. It began on Wednesday night, as the Barons hosted the North Division leading Hamilton Bulldogs. Grant Stevenson sparked the Barons by recording a career-high three points with two goals and one assist in the Barons 4-2 victory. Dimitri Patzold stopped 38 shots on the night to clinch the Barons victory. Garrett Stafford and Nick Bootland also tallied goals for the Barons... The Barons traveled to Cincinnati to continue the Labatt Blue Cup. Entering the game with a 2-1-0-0 series lead in the Labatt Blue Cup, the Barons played a stingy defensive game. Unfortunately, Cincinnati would get on the board first, just 2:17 into the first period, on a Chris Kunitz goal. That would be the only scoring of the night. The second period would be highlighted by three fisticuffs that all occurred within three and a half minutes of each other. Dimitri Patzold saved 23 shots in the 1-0 loss... The very next night, a very different game was played. With the exception of the Nick Bootland and Sheldon Brookbank fight, the game was a far-cry from the 1-0 loss on Friday night. The Barons and Mighty Ducks would combine for 17 power play opportunities and 4 power play goals in the Barons 4-3 victory. Dimitri Patzold was again stellar, stopping 40 shots on the night, including an unbelievable glove save with just 10 seconds left. Patzold was tested early and often as the Barons were forced to kill two 5-on-3 power plays in the first period. Cincinnati had 10 power play opportunities in total, including one 5 minute major. The Barons received their offense from an unexpected source. Steve Hildebrand, who arrived just two hours prior to game-time as he was recalled from Johnstown, recorded a goal and an assist in the first AHL game of his career. Grant Stevenson ringed in his second multi-point game of the week with two assists. Jon DiSalvatore scored his 18th goal of the season for the game-winner. Barons All-Star representatives Miroslav Zalesak and Garrett Stafford tallied the Barons first two goals of the night.

Coming Up... The Barons will compete in their final four-games-in-five-nights stretch of the season this week. Wednesday night will begin the festivities as the Barons host the Chicago Wolves. The Barons fell 4-2 to the Wolves on March 13th in the teams' only meeting this season. Jon DiSalvatore recorded a goal in the game for the Barons. Dimitri Patzold recorded his first career point with an assist on Brent Kelly's goal. Patzold stopped 34 shots in the loss. The Barons are just 1-8-0-0 in their three-year history with Chicago... On Friday night, the Barons will host the Toronto Roadrunners. The Barons and Roadrunners are currently tied in fourth place of the North Division. The Barons are 1-3-1-1 against the Roadrunners on the season. Miroslav Zalesak leads series with 8 points on 4 goals and 4 assists. The Barons have connected on 25% of their power play opportunities against the expansion Roadrunners this season. Toronto owns one of the most potent offenses in the league as they average 2.87 goals per game. That is just .04 goals better than the Barons. Toronto is 5th in the league with that mark, while the Barons are 6th... The Barons will then travel to Cincinnati to continue the quest for the Labatt Blue Cup. After splitting the two games with the Mighty Ducks last weekend, the Barons now lead the Labatt Blue Cup Standings with a 3-2-0-0 record. Three of the five games in this tight series have been decided by just one goal. The Barons are 2-1-0-0 in those games. Three of the Barons final nine games will be played against the Mighty Ducks. Cincinnati currently holds a two-point lead for the final playoff spot in the West Division... The Barons will then return home to host the Syracuse Crunch on Sunday evening. The Barons are currently 2-3-0-0 against the Crunch this season. Garrett Stafford has been great against Syracuse as he leads the series with nine points recording 4 goals and 5 assists in 5 games. The Barons have converted on 25% of their power play opportunities against the Crunch this season. Each team is averaging 25 minutes in penalties per game in this series. On the season, the Barons average 19.03 PIM's per game, while the Crunch average 22.51 (fifth most in the AHL).

Cleveland Barons Hockey Show... The Cleveland Barons will host the "Cleveland Barons Hockey Show", a weekly one-hour radio talk format show, on WKNR 850-am beginning Monday, March 22nd. The "Cleveland Barons Hockey Show" will be aired live from 7pm-8pm each Monday night until April 12th. The Voice of the Cleveland Barons, Jamie Smock, will co-host the show with Jason Gibbs, Promotions Director for WKNR. Smock has been the Barons radio voice since the 2001-02 inaugural season. It will mark the Barons first radio show in the franchise's history. To participate in the show, call 216-578-0850.

Barons Player of the Week... The Cleveland Barons Player of the Week is center Grant Stevenson. In three games, Stevenson recorded two goals and three assists with a +4 plus/minus rating. Stevenson followed his game-wining goal against Hamilton with a short-handed goal to lead the Barons to a 4-2 victory. On the week, Stevenson was a part of 5 of the Barons 8 goals.

Les Cunningham Award Candidate ... Miroslav Zalesak has been the model of consistency for the AHL this season. Zalesak has missed a total of three AHL games due to a call up to the Sharks. Zalesak has recorded a point in 71.4% of the games he has appeared in (46/65). Currently, his 70 points are third in the AHL, his 32 goals are second, his 38 assists are tied for eighth, and his 12 power play goals are fourth.

It's All In The Name... Garrett Stafford must be strongly considered for Dudley "Red" Garrett Trophy, given annually to the league's most outstanding rookie. If he wins, Stafford would be the first player to share the award's namesake in either his first or last name. The University of New Hampshire product leads all rookie defensemen in points, goals, and assists. Overall among all rookies, the blueliner is tied for sixth in scoring, second in assists, tied for second in power play points, and tied for third in power play assists. Among all defensemen, Stafford is tied for fourth in points, tied for fourth in assists, and fourth in goals.

Top Barons... Dimitri Patzold has been stellar in his last three starts for the Barons. In that span, Patzold is 2-1-0 with a 2.01 goals against average and a .944 save percentage (101/107 in 178:58)... Seamus Kotyk has been stellar between the pipes for the Barons. He is 9-5-1 in his last 15 decisions. In those 15 games, Kotyk owns a 2.25 GAA (34 GA/905:02) and a .935 save percentage (492-526). Kotyk was injured in the first period during his start on 1-2-04 resulting in a no decision. Kotyk's .929 save percentage is ninth in the AHL this season... Jon DiSalvatore set the Barons franchise record for shots in a game by managing 10 on 3/2/04. He is tied for 10th in rookie scoring with 36 points. Among all rookies, he is tied for 6th in goals (18), tied for 21st in assists (18), and fourth in shots (169). He has recorded at least one point in the nine out of the last fourteen games with 7 goals and 4 assists. He also has recorded at least one point in 14 out of the last 21 games. During that time, he has recorded 8 goals and 8 assists... Ryane Clowe is another rookie having a great season. Among all rookies, Clowe is 16th in scoring (33), tied for seventh in assists (23), and tied for 12th in plus/minus (+11)...

Up and West... The Sharks own a three-point advantage in the Pacific Division over the Dallas Stars. The Sharks Magic Number to clinch the Pacific Division crown stands at just 12 points... The Sharks received some much needed offense from Jonathan Cheechoo this week. Cheechoo scored two goals in the final 1:37 against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday to send the game to overtime. The game ended in a 3-3 tie... Cheechoo then scored two more goals on Thursday at Los Angeles. Cheechoo is second on the Sharks with 25 goals and third on the team with 42 points. The Moose Factory, Ontario native was one of three Barons representatives on the 2001-02 AHL All-Star game... Nils Ekman is making a huge impact on the Sharks. He is now just 5 points behind team leader Patrick Marleau with 48 points. Ekman was acquired prior to the season via a trade with the New York Rangers. The Rangers acquired former Barons center Chad Wiseman who is second on Hartford (AHL) in scoring.

Standings... The Barons sit in a fourth place tie with Toronto in the North Division. Toronto is the hottest team in the division having posted a 7-2-0-1 record in the last 10 games. The Barons have one game in hand over Toronto. Just two points ahead of the Barons and Roadrunners sits the Rochester Americans with 77 points. The Barons own two games in hand over Rochester. Hamilton's lead in the North Division has dwindled to just 6 points. Syracuse, in second place, has four games in hand over Hamilton... Milwaukee and Grand Rapids remain as the only two team in the league that have clinched a playoff spot. What has changed is their standing in the West Division. Milwaukee has bumped Grand Rapids out of first place. Milwaukee is 8-2-0-0 over their last 10 games. Cincinnati now holds the right to the last playoff spot in the West as they own a two-point lead over San Antonio and Utah... Philadelphia and Bridgeport are tied for first place in the East Division. The race for the rest of the division is just as close. Just two points separate third place from sixth place... Hartford nw leads Manchester by just four points in the Atlantic Division. Manchester has climbed into the race for first by posting an 8-1-0-1 over the last 10 games.

Practice Makes Perfect... Below is the Barons schedule for the week. Practice times are subject to change. For information, contact the Barons at 216-420-0000...

Date Event Location Time
3-23 Practice Barons Arena 10:30am
3-24 Pre-Game Skate Gund Arena 10:00am
3-24 vs. Chicago Gund Arena 7:00pm
3-25 Practice Gund Arena 10:30am
3-26 Pre-Game Skate Gund Arena 10:00am
3-27 vs. Toronto Gund Arena 7:00pm
3-28 @ Cincinnati Cincinnati Gardens 7:35pm
3-29 vs. Syracuse Gund Arena 7:00pm

Barons Broadcasts... Saturday's game can be heard on Fox Sports Radio 1350-AM. All games this season can be heard live by Crashing The Net at www.clevelandbarons.net.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2004


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