Barons Weekly Report

Published on December 13, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release


Flashback

12/10/04 Hamilton 2 – Cleveland 0... Nolan Schaefer was fantastic on Friday night, but fell short in saving 36 out of a possible 38 shots on net. Corey Locke and Duncan Milroy, who each had multi-point nights, scored the goals for Hamilton. Hamilton goaltender Dan Ellis stopped 29 shots in gaining his second consecutive victory over Cleveland and his first shutout of the season.

12/11/04 Cincinnati 1 – Cleveland 0... In a classic goaltending duel, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were propelled by Casey Hankinson's second period goal. It would be the only mark in the book in an otherwise flawless night for Barons goaltender Nolan Schaefer. The native of Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan stopped 30 shots in the defeat. On the other side, Mathieu Chouinard started his first game of the season for the Mighty Ducks. Chouinard stopped all 37 shots fired on net by the Barons, including a wrist-shot from Garrett Stafford on a face-off play with just 4 seconds left.

12/12/04 Cleveland 5 – Cincinnati 1... The Barons snapped a scoreless streak that spanned 198:21 when Ryane Clowe scored a power play goal in the second period. Clowe continued his dominance, racking up 2 goals and 2 assists to match a career-best 4 points. The Barons were a perfect 9 for 9 in killing penalties on the night. Dimitri Patzold had his shutout bid snapped with less than two minutes in the third period. He stopped 38 shots on the night to gain his 6th victory of the season. The Barons also received goals from Christian Ehrhoff (GW-PP), Shane Joseph, and Craig Valette. Garrett Stafford and Grant Stevenson each recorded two assists in the victory.

Coming Up

12/14/04 vs. St. John's – National City Rink located in Gund Arena – 7:00pm

The Barons will welcome the St. John's Maple Leafs to the National City Rink located in Gund Arena for the first time this season on Tuesday, December 14th at 7:00pm. The Barons and Maple Leafs split the first two games of the season series back in October in St. John's. The Barons were paced by Marcel Goc, Patrick Rissmiller, and Ryane Clowe who each recorded three points against the Maple Leafs in the two games. Clowe is a native of St. John's. Maple Leafs forward Kyle Wellwood scored 5 goals in the second game against the Barons to set a Maple Leafs record. Cleveland owns a 7-2-1-0 lifetime record against St. John's. The Barons have only lost one game in Cleveland to St. John's (3-1-0-0).

TWO FOR TUESDAY... Every Tuesday night home game at National City Rink located in Gund Arena, the Barons host "Two For Tuesday". Fans can purchase 2-for-1 tickets in any price level. The offer is only valid at the Gund Arena Box Office.

12/17/04 vs. San Antonio – National City Rink located in Gund Arena – 7:00pm

The Barons will host the San Antonio Rampage for the first time this season. Last season, the Barons gained at least one point in all four games against the Rampage (2-0-0-2). The Barons set a franchise record for shots on goal against the Rampage last season. On March 2nd, the Barons were shutout in a 1-0 overtime loss, but managed 55 shots on net. But a tight, low-scoring game can be expected between these teams. In seven of their ten lifetime meetings, one team has only managed one goal. San Antonio currently sits in fifth place of the West Division with a 9-10-2-4 record.

NATIONAL CITY BANK NIGHT... Every Friday night, fans can purchase $16 tickets at a 2-for-1 special when presenting a National City Bank card at the Gund Arena Box Office. The offer is only valid at the Gund Arena Box Office.

EAST OF CHICAGO COLLECTOR'S PUCK NIGHT... The first 1,000 children 14-and-under in attendance on Friday night will receive a complimentary East of Chicago Collectors Puck. It is the first of two East of Chicago Collectors Puck giveaways this season. The next will occur on Friday, March 4th. East of Chicago, Pizza Done Right!

12/18/04 @ Grand Rapids – Van Andel Arena – 8:00pm

The Barons will meet the Griffins for the fourth time this season on Saturday. It will kick off the first of two consecutive games against Grand Rapids for the Barons (12/18, 12/22). The Barons have yet to gain a victory against the Griffins this season posting a 0-2-0-1 record against the West Division opponent. Griffins goaltender Joey MacDonald has posted a perfect 2-0-0 record against the Barons this season with a .96 goals against average and a .969 save percentage. When the two teams meet, Nick Bootland will play against his younger brother Darryl, a right wing for the Griffins.

BY THE BUS LOAD... A group of Barons Season Ticket Holders qualified to win a bus trip to the Barons game against Grand Rapids. Two bus loads of fans will leave from Lakefront Lines on Brookpark Road in Parma on Saturday afternoon to take in the road game.

Carkner's Christmas

Matt and Kary Carkner are organizing the Second Annual Carkner's Christmas, in conjunction with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cleveland. Each Barons player and coach will purchase three needs and wants for a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters Cleveland that is at a high level of need. On Wednesday, December 15th and Thursday, December 16th, the Carkner's will join Santa Clause and SlapShark and deliver the presents to the children's schools. On the 15th, they will visit Mary Bethune at 1pm and Alfred Benesch at 2pm. On the 16th, they will visit RG Jones at 1pm and Harrison Elementary at 2:30pm. The Cleveland Hockey Booster Club is also getting involved and adopting three children as well.

Labatt Blue Cup

Following this past weekend's games, the Labatt Blue Cup series is still dead even between Cleveland and Cincinnati. The Barons and Mighty Ducks each have won their two respective home games. The next Labatt Blue Cup match-up will occur on January 19th at Cincinnati.

Fill The Gill

Aaron Gill, a rookie center, will make an appearance at the Cleveland Hockey Booster Club meeting on Monday, December 13th at 7:30pm. Gill will have a question and answer session with the Booster Club.

Lessons From the Pros

Patrick Rissmiller and Josh Prudden will give on-ice instruction to a team from the Thorton Park Ice Rink in Shaker Heights on Wednesday, December 15th. The two will instruct the team from 7:30-8:30pm.

Great Northern Mall Appearance Jim Fahey and Mike Hoffman will make an appearance at Great Northern Mall on Thursday from 7-8:30pm. The two will sign autographs and wrap presents at the Great Northern gift wrapping center located between Dick's Sporting Goods and Wild Mango. The appearance is part of the American Red Cross's Wishes for the World campaign.

Natural Born Killers The Barons have allowed just two power play goals in the last eight games. They have killed 31 out of a possible 33 penalties in that span for a 93.9% success rate on the PK.

Up And West

With Friday's game against San Antonio this week, the Barons will have played ten of their last thirteen games against an opponent from the West Division. The Barons have been successful against the West over the last two seasons. Last season, the Barons posted a 15-7-3-3 record against the West. This season, the Barons have posted a 6-4-1-2 record against the West Division. Combined, the Barons have a 21-11-4-5 record against the West the last two seasons with a winning percentage of .622. The Barons have gained at least one point in 73.2% of those 41 games (30/41).

Passing Proficiency

The Barons currently have 21 power play goals this season. With 41 assists, all but one of those goals has been accompanied by two assists. The one goal that did not have two assists came on November 6th in the Barons win over Hamilton in overtime. The Barons first goal of the game, scored by Christian Ehrhoff on the power play, was assisted by Marcel Goc.

Barons Player of the Week

The Cleveland Barons Player of the Week is goaltender Dimitri Patzold. Patzold was victorious in his only appearance on the week, snapping a three-game losing streak for the Barons. He was close to a shutout, but a fluke goal with less than two minutes left in the game dissolved those hopes. In all, Patzold stopped 38 shots against Cincinnati in evening the Labatt Blue Cup series at 2 games apiece.

The Clowe-ser

Ryane Clowe has recorded one point in the last five out of the last seven games. His 17 points and 11 assists lead the Barons. Clowe has recorded at least one goal in three consecutive Barons home games. His +4 plus/minus rating also leads the team. Clowe's four-point performance tied a career-high and set the Barons season-high mark on Sunday against Cincinnati.

Riss Shot

Patrick Rissmiller is just one point shy of his 100th AHL point. In 172 career AHL games, Rissmiller owns 36 goals and 63 assists for 99 points. He is just two points shy of tying Ryan Kraft for third on the Barons all-time points list. Chad Wiseman is second with 102, while Miroslav Zalesak leads the way with 166. He is also just one assist shy of tying Chad Wiseman for third in all-time assists. He currently is fourth with 63... Rissmiller leads the team with eight goals on the season. He is also second on the team in shots with 69.

Shane On You

Shane Joseph, a right wing, leads the Barons in rookie scoring with 12 points and is tied for 14th in the league among rookies. Among the leagues rookies, his 5 goals are tied for 14th and his 7 assists are tied for 14th. Those seven assists are tied for fifth on the Barons and his 12 points are tied for fourth.

The Only Nolan Goaltender Nolan Schaefer is playing well as of late. In winning four out of his last seven games (4-3-0), he has posted a 1.68 goals against average and a .944 save percentage (201/213) in 427:27 minutes. That span includes his 33-save shutout against the Hamilton Bulldogs and a 16-round shootout victory over Utah that set an AHL record.

Oh My Goc Marcel Goc is second on the Barons with his 16 points this season. His 7 goals and 9 assists are tied for second on the team. His three goals at home are tied for third on the team. Two of those goals have come on special teams, one on the power play and one short-handed. His three short-handed goals on the season are tied with Jason Spezza for the league lead. All of Goc's short-handed goals have been unassisted.

Air Ehrhoff

Christian Ehrhoff scored his third game-winning goal of the season on Sunday night against Cincinnati. Those three game-winning goals are tied for first among defensemen with Manitoba's Kirill Koltsov, who also notched his third game-winner on Sunday night. Ehrhoff leads the Barons in shots with 91 on the season, an average of 3.64 per game. Those 91 shots lead all AHL defensemen and are tied for 8th overall. Ehrhoff tied a Barons franchise record on November 6th against Hamilton with 10 shots. Ehrhoff is also mixed in the defenseman leader board in several other categories including: goals (T-6th, 5) and points (T-20th, 12).

The Carkinator

Matt Carkner tied Miroslav Zalesak for the Barons franchise record with 196 games played. Carkner will break the record in his next game.

Barons Broadcasts

Saturday night's road game can be hear live on SportsTalk AM-850 WKNR. 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 December 13, 2004


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