Barons Weekly Report
Published on December 20, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release
Flashback
12/14/04 Cleveland 4 - St. John's 2... The Barons caught fire to overcome a one-goal third period deficit against St. John's on Tuesday. Grant Stevenson, Josh Prudden, and Patrick Rissmiller scored three goals within a 2:49 span late in the third period to lead the Barons to victory. Rissmiller started the scoring for the Barons as well. The third-year Barons tied the game at one in the second period. His two goals pushed him over the 100-point mark in his AHL career. Nolan Schaefer was solid in net stopping 22 shots on the night and gaining his fifth win of the season. Trailing 1-0, the Barons had an apparent Prudden goal disallowed in the first period.
12/17/04 Cleveland 3 - San Antonio 2... The Barons dominated the pace of play out-shooting the Rampage, 46-22. Defenseman Tim Conboy led the Barons by scoring his first goal as a professional and recording his first multi-point game of the season (1-1-2). Josh Prudden scored the game-winning goal in the third period. Patrick Rissmiller and Grant Stevenson each recorded two assists on the night. The Barons were led in net by Dimitri Patzold, who gained his seventh victory of the season in stopping 20 shots on the night.
12/18/04 Cleveland 2 - Grand Rapids 0... Josh Prudden scored the game-winning goal yet again as the Barons shutout the Grand Rapids Griffins. It was of the highlight variety as a delayed penalty was whistled in the process. Prudden was dragged down and actually shot the puck while sliding across the ice on his stomach. Nolan Schaefer tied a Barons franchise record by gaining his 4th career shutout in his 41st game. Schaefer's second shutout of the season featured 28 saves. Shane Joseph added a late insurance goal to give him his second multi-point game of the season (1-1-2). Ryane Clowe and Aaron Gill also tallied assists on the night.
Coming Up
12/22/04 vs. Grand Rapids - National City Rink located in Gund Arena - 7:00pm
The Barons and Griffins will meet for the second time in as many games when Grand Rapids travels to Cleveland on Wednesday. The Barons defeated the Griffins, 2-0, on Saturday night for their first win against Grand Rapids this season. The Barons are 1-2-0-1 against the West Division front-runner this season. Shane Joseph leads the Barons with 4 points (1-3-4) against Grand Rapids this season. Meanwhile, Niklas Kronwall leads everyone in the season series with six points (1-5-6). With an 18-9-1-0 record, the Griffins lead the West Division. The Barons will look for their fifth consecutive victory, which would set a franchise record.
FOOD DRIVE... On Wednesday night, the Barons and SoftRock 102.1-FM WDOK will hold a food drive as part of the WDOK/NewsChannel 5 WEWS Feed-A-Family program. There will be collection areas at each entrance at the game against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Any non-perishable food item will be accepted. The proceeds from this campaign are divided equally between the Salvation Army and the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland.
12/27/04 vs. Manitoba - National City Rink located in Gund Arena - 7:00pm
The Barons have a 1-1-0-0 record against the Moose on the season. Shane Joseph and Marcel Goc lead the Barons with 3 points apiece against the Moose on the season. Nolan Schaefer has been in net for both games against the North Division rival. He is 1-1-0 with a 3.84 goals against average and a .879 save percentage. He gained his victory in a shootout. During that shootout, Schaefer stopped 4 out of 5 shooters.
TEDDY BEAR TOSS... Fans are encouraged to bring new and used stuffed animals to the game on Monday night. After the Barons score their first goal, fans can litter the ice by throwing their stuffed animals on to the National City Rink. The stuffed animals will be collected and donated to the Cleveland Police Department. The toys are used by police officers who are on the job. The stuffed animals are used to comfort children on the scene at situations such as domestic disputes.
JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIOUS... Can Jimmy invent a special Manitoba Moose repellent? Will the Barons use one of Jimmy Neutron's special formulas to defeat this North Division rival? Find out December 27th by taking a trip to Retroville (National City Rink, Gund Arena) and meeting Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, courtesy of Cox Communications!
Winning Streak
The Cleveland Barons have a four game-winning streak. The four-game win streak ties a Barons franchise record. They have won four straight two other times: 11/20/02 - 11/24/02; 1/17/04 -1/23/04. During their current four-game winning streak, the Barons have outscored their opponents 14-5. During the streak the Barons have killed 18 out of 20 penalties for a 90% kill rate.
On The Defense
The Barons have held opponents to two goals or less in the last six games. The Barons are 4-2-0-0 during that span and have allowed an average of 1.33 goals per game (8 goals - 6 games). During their four-game win streak, the Barons have improved that mark to 1.25 goals per game (5 goals - 4 games). In the Barons last eleven games, the Barons have held their opponent to two or less goals in regulation in nine contests. They are 6-4-0-1 in those 11 games and have held their opponent to 2.09 goals per game (23 goals - 11 games).
Natural Born Killers
The Barons have allowed just four power play goals in the last eleven games. They have killed 40 out of a possible 44 penalties in that span for a 90.9% success rate on the PK.
Up And West
The Barons have played 11 out of their last 14 games against teams from the West Division. The Barons are 6-4-0-1 in those 11 games. Overall, the Barons have posted an 8-4-1-2 record against the West Division this season. Last season, the Barons posted a 15-7-3-3 record against the West. Combined, the Barons have a 23-11-4-5 record against the West the last two seasons with a winning percentage of .640. The Barons have gained at least one point in 74.4% of those 32 games (32/43).
Passing Proficiency
The Barons currently have 23 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 left wing Josh Prudden. Prudden set a Barons franchise record by scoring three consecutive game-winning goals this week. His three-game goal-streak has pushed his season totals to 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points. Prudden ended the week with 3 goals on seven shots and a +2 plus/minus rating. Each of the rookie's game-winners were of a different variety. His game-winner against St. John's was unassisted, his game-winner against San Antonio was on the power play, and his game-winner against Grand Rapids was also the game's first goal.
The Only Nolan
Goaltender Nolan Schaefer is playing well as of late. In winning six out of his last nine games (6-3-0), he has posted a 1.53 goals against average and a .947 save percentage (251/265) in 547:27 minutes. That span includes his 28-save shutout against Grand Rapids, his 33-save shutout against the Hamilton Bulldogs and a 16-round shootout victory over Utah that set an AHL record.
Shutout Record
Nolan Schaefer tied a Cleveland Barons franchise record by recording his 4th career shutout in just his 41st career game on Saturday against Grand Rapids. Schaefer joins current San Jose Sharks goaltender Vesa Toskala at the top of the franchise list. Toskala recorded his four shutouts in 111 career games. Dimitri Patzold is just behind Schaefer and Toskala with 3 career shutouts in 41 career games. His two shutouts this season are tied for 8th in the league.
Dimitri Dominant
Dimitri Patzold has won his past two games in dominant fashion. In 119:58, Patzold has stopped 58 out of 61 shots for a .951 save percentage. In those games, Patzold has a 1.50 goals against average. On the season, Patzold is 7-5-2 with a .923 save percentage and a 2.40 goals against average. His .923 save percentage is tied for 16th in the league and 2.40 goals against average is 21st.
The Clowe-ser
Ryane Clowe has been on fire over the last four games. In that four-game span, Clowe has eight points (3-5-8) and a +7 plus/minus rating. He has recorded one point in the last seven out of the last ten games. His 20 points, 13 assists, and +8 plus/minus rating all lead the Barons. With four power play goals and eight power play points, he is tied for the team lead in both categories. Clowe's four-point performance on 12/12 against Cincinnati tied a career-high and set the Barons season-high mark.
Riss Shot
Patrick Rissmiller now has 103 points in his three-year career with the Barons. That is second on the franchise's all-time point list. He is chasing Miroslav Zalesak who is atop the list with 166 points. Rissmiller surpassed both Ryan Kraft (101) and Chad Wiseman (102) on the list in the past week. Rissmiller leads the Barons with 10 goals this season, which are tied for 28th among all league scorers. His 18 points (10-8-18) and 81 shots are both second on the Barons. In the last three games, Rissmiller has recorded two goals and two assists with a +4 plus/minus rating. Rissmiller is tied for first on the team with 4 multi-point games this season.
Shane On You
Shane Joseph, a right wing, leads the Barons in rookie scoring with 15 points and is tied for 11th in the league among rookies. Among the leagues rookies, his six goals are tied for 10th and his nine assists are tied for 13th. Those nine assists are tied for third on the Barons and his 15 points are fourth. Joseph has recorded at least one point in three of the last four games. In that span, Joseph has registered two goals and two assists,
Air Ehrhoff
Christian Ehrhoff's 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 100 on the season, an average of 3.57 per game. Those 100 shots lead all AHL defensemen and are 6th 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), power play goals (T-4th, 3), and points (T-19th,13).
I'll Grant You That
The Barons play well when center Grant Stevenson records a point. Stevenson has recorded at least one point in ten games. In those games, the Barons are 9-1-0-0. The Barons are 4-0-0-0 when Stevenson scores a goal. Stevenson has recorded at least one point in three out of the last four games (2-2-4).
Hoffman Signs
Mike Hoffman signed an AHL contract on Friday with the Barons. Hoffman, who has appeared in 24 games, began the season on a professional tryout. He has recorded 2 assists and 87 penalty minutes on the season. His 87 penalty minutes lead the team and are fourth among all league rookies. His 13 major penalties are second among all AHL rookies.
Jaffray Added
With injuries to Marcel Goc and Tomas Plihal, the Barons added Jason Jaffray to the roster. Jaffray previously played for the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL). In 23 ECHL games this season, Jaffray has 6 goals, 6 assists, and 22 penalty minutes. In 141 career ECHL games, Jaffray has 171 points (77-94-171). Jaffray was the ECHL Rookie of the Year for the 2002-03 season when he recorded 85 points on 34 goals and 51 assists in 64 games.
Practice Makes Perfect
Below is the Barons schedule for the week. Practice times are subject to change. All practices at Barons Arena are open to the public. For information, contact the Barons at 216-420-0000...
Date Event Location Time
12-21 Practice Barons Arena 10:30am
12-22 Pre-Game Skate National City Rink located in Gund Arena 10:00am
12-22 vs. Grand Rapids National City Rink located in Gund Arena 7:00pm
12-27 Pre-Game Skate National City Rink located in Gund Arena 10:00am
12-27 vs. Manitoba National City Rink located in Gund Arena 7:00pm
Barons Broadcasts
All games this season can be heard live by Crashing The Net at www.clevelandbarons.net The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
American Hockey League Stories from December 20, 2004
