Barons Weekly Report

January 24, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release


Coming Up

1/25/05 vs. Rochester – National City Rink located in Gund Arena – 7:00pm www.sportstalkcleveland.com

The Barons will meet the Rochester Americans for the third time this season. Rochester has defeated the Barons twice by 4-1 finals. The Americans currently sit one point behind the first-place Manitoba Moose in the North Division. Chris Taylor leads the Amerks on the season with 37 points (11-26-37). Former 2003 Frozen Four MVP, Thomas Vanek, leads Rochester with 16 goals. Ryan Miller is among the leaders in several goaltending categories. He is 22-11-2 with a 2.21 goals against average and a .929 save percentage. His five shutouts on the season are tied for the league lead. It doesn't get much easier behind him either. Back-up Tom Askey is 5-1-2 with a 1.73 goals against average and an amazing .941 save percentage. Askey has appeared in both games against the Barons this season.

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, excluding glass seats.

1/28/05 vs. St. John's – National City Rink located in Gund Arena – 7:00pm www.sportstalkcleveland.com

Friday night will mark the first of back-to-back games against the St. John's Maple Leafs. The Barons are 2-1-0-0 against St. John's this season, outscoring the baby Leafs 9-3 in their two victories. The Maple Leafs are third in the North Division with an overall record of 26-16-0-1. Ryane Clowe is a native of St. John's, Newfoundland. His 5 points (1-4-5) against St. John's this season are tied for the team lead. In Dimitri Patzold's one performance against St. John's, he stopped 33 shots in a 5-1 victory.

Blanket Giveaway... The first 1,000 fans that attend the Barons game against the St. John's Maple Leafs on Friday, January 28th will receive a blanket courtesy of the Ohio Department of Insurance. It is part of the "Get Smart About Insurance Week" program.

1/29/05 vs. St. John's – National City Rink located in Gund Arena – 7:00pm www.sportstalkcleveland.com

The Barons will host the Maple Leafs for the second consecutive night on Saturday. Kyle Wellwood leads St. John's with 19 goals on the season. He is second on the team with 47 points (19-28-47). Against the Barons, Wellwood has recorded five goals this season. They all came on October 30th in the 8-3 defeat of the Barons. Those five goals are the most by one individual in any AHL game this season.

St. Edward vs. St. Ignatius... The St. Edward Eagles will host the St. Ignatius Wildcats on Saturday, January 29th at 3:45pm on National City Rink located in Gund Arena. The game will take place prior to the Barons vs. St. John's game at 7:00pm. It is the second season that the two teams will play prior to the Barons. Last season, St. Edward defeated St. Ignatius 3-2, despite a late charge by the Wildcats. A ticket to the Barons game will grant admission to all of the day's festivities. The first 3,000 fans in the building will receive a Barons T-Shirt. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Barons front office at 216-420-0000.

Flashback

1/19/05 Cincinnati 4 – Cleveland 3 SOL... Trailing 2-0 after two periods, the Barons rallied to send the game to overtime. The game was eventually decided by a shootout, in which Cincinnati won 3-1. The Barons tied the game at two halfway through the third period after receiving goals from Christian Ehrhoff and Ryane Clowe. The Mighty Ducks responded by tallying a goal with just 5:34 left in the game. Josh Prudden notched his ninth goal of the season with just 53 seconds left in regulation. The Mighty Ducks now lead the Labatt Blue Cup with a 6-5 points lead (the Barons are 2-2-0-1 and the Mighty Ducks are 3-2-0-0).

1/21/05 Utah 3 – Cleveland 2... The Barons were unable to muster the same third period magic that they possessed one game earlier. While Grant Stevenson's goal in the third period tied the game at two, the Grizzlies would score the game-winning goal with 5:25 left in regulation. Nolan Schaefer made 31 saves on the night and Garrett Stafford recorded two assists.

1/22/05 Cleveland 4 – Utah 1... The Barons built a 4-0 lead through two periods in knocking off Utah 4-1. Josh Prudden kick-started the Barons by scoring a goal just 3:40 into the game. The goal was scored just one second after a power play expired for the Barons. Doug Murray recorded his second-career three-point game (1-2-3) on the night. Dimitri Patzold faced 31 shots in the final two periods as he stopped 35 shots on the night. The Barons were 2-for-8 on the power play for the evening.

Cleveland Barons Hockey Insider Show The Cleveland Barons Hockey Insider Show will air every Monday night from 8-9pm on SportsTalk 850-AM WKNR. The weekly show will be hosted by The Voice of the Barons Jamie Smock and Jason Gibbs, Promotions Director for WKNR. The show can also be heard on www.sportstalkcleveland.com.

Program Note

The Cleveland Barons Hockey Insider Show on Monday, January 31st from 8-9pm on SportsTalk 850-AM WKNR will be altered slightly. Current Barons forward, Riley Armstrong, will co-host the show with Jason Gibbs. Armstrong will interview current teammates as well as take calls from the fans.

Up And West The Barons have fared well against the West Division over the last two seasons posting a 26-13-4-6 record. That is good for a .633 winning percentage as they have gained at least one point in 73.5% of the games (36/49). This season, the Barons are 11-6-1-3 against the West.

Penalty Kill In the last 14 games, the Barons have an 85.3% success rate in killing penalties (58/68). The Barons have allowed just 17 power play goals in the last 27 games. They have killed 107 out of a possible 124 penalties in that span for an 86.3% success rate on the PK.

If It Wasn't For Those Meddling Barons

Courtesy of Cox Communications, Scooby-Doo will be in attendance for the Barons game against the Chicago Wolves on Saturday, February 5th at 1:00pm. Kids will get the chance to take pictures with everyone's favorite cartoon dog.

Money In The "Bank" National City Rink has been kind to the Barons lately. In their last 16 games on National City Rink, the Barons are 10-5-0-1. The Barons have not allowed a power play goal in over four home games. They have killed 15 consecutive penalties on home ice.

It's Great At The Gund

Gund Arena has been kind to its home teams since November 10th. Combined, the Barons (10-5-0-1) and Cavaliers (13-2) are 23-7-0-1 since that date. In hockey terms, that is a combined winning percentage of .758.

Passing Proficiency

The last 23 power play goals by the Barons have been assisted by two players. The Barons currently have 34 power play goals this season. With 67 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 defenseman Doug Murray. On the week, Murray recorded four points (1-3-4) and a +1 plus/minus rating. His three-point performance against Utah on Saturday tied a career high. Murray was a contributor on three of the Barons four power play goals on Friday and Saturday against Utah (1-2-3).

Pack Up The Conboy

Tim Conboy has stirred the pot in the last three games. In those three games, he has one goal, two assists and 21 penalty minutes. Over the last five games, Conboy has a +5 plus/minus rating. In the last 15 games since December 14th, Conboy has posted seven (3-4-7) of his season-total 11 points (3-8-11). In that span, Conboy has a +7 plus/minus rating

No Joshing

Josh Prudden has scored one goal in four of his last five games. In that five-game span, Prudden leads the Barons with six points (4-2-6). On the season, Prudden leads Barons rookies in goals with 10, which ranks second overall on the team. Prudden's four game-winning goals and three first goals lead the team, and his three unassisted goals are tied for the team lead. He is tied for eighth overall in goals among rookie scorers. Prudden's 15 points are second on the Barons in rookie scoring.

Strapping On The Boots

Nick Bootland has recorded a point in two of his last three games (1-1-2). He scored the game's first goal against Syracuse on 1/15. That goal puts him just three goals short of 100 professional goals as he stands at 97. Bootland has four goals and six assists in 41 games this season.

The Clowe-ser

Ryane Clowe's 31 points, 22 assists, and +7 plus/minus rating all lead the Barons. Clowe has been productive on the power play as he is second on the team with 11 points and tied for second on the team with five power play goals. His seven multi-point games this season lead the Barons. Clowe's four-point performance on 12/12 against Cincinnati tied a career-high and set the Barons season-high mark.

Air Ehrhoff

Christian Ehrhoff is tied for first in power play goals (6) and game-winning goals (3) among all AHL defenseman. His nine goals overall are tied for the second most among AHL defenseman. Ehrhoff's 149 shots lead all defenseman and are the seventh-most among all skaters. With 21 points on the season (9-12-21), Ehrhoff is 13th among all defensemen. He leads the Barons with 12 power play points (6-6-12) and six power play goals.

Riss Shot

Patrick Rissmiller is second on the Barons all-time list with 109 points, 68 assists, and 41 goals. Rissmiller leads the Barons with 13 goals this season. His 24 points (13-11-22) and 111 shots are both second on the Barons. Rissmiller is currently out of the lineup due to injury.

Sugar Shane

Shane Joseph returned to the lineup on Friday night after a seven-game absence due to injury. In his return, he has recorded a point in both games (1-1-2). He helped the Barons compile a 4-for-13 mark on the power play in his two games. Both of Joseph's points came on the power play and he was on the ice for three out of four of the goals. Joseph is fifth on the team with 19 points (8-11-19). Among league rookies, he is tied for 12th in points (19), 13th in assists (11), and 16th in goals (8).

Patzold Plus

Dimitri Patzold has put up stellar numbers in the last four games. Posting a 2-1-1 record, he has stopped 133 shots in 140 chances for a .950 save percentage. He has a 1.72 goals against average spanning 244:42 in those games. The Barons have gained at least one point in his last three appearances.

Staff Report

Garrett Stafford has reverted back to his normal defensive position. He had been playing forward due to injuries in the Barons lineup. In his return to defense, Stafford has posted three assists in two games (0-3-3). Two of those assists came on the power play and the third was recorded one second after the power play expired. Stafford is third among Barons defensemen with 14 points (3-11-14).

Plihal Power

Tomas Plihal is tied for second on the Barons with 5 power play goals. Plihal has recorded a point in back-to-back games (1-1-2). Both of Plihal's points in the last two games have come on the power play.

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

1-25 Pre-Game Skate National City Rink located in Gund Arena 10:00am

1-25 vs. Rochester National City Rink located in Gund Arena 7:00pm

1-26 Practice Barons Arena 10:30am

1-27 Practice National City Rink located in Gund Arena 10:30am

1-28 Pre-Game Skate National City Rink located in Gund Arena 10:00am

1-28 vs. St. John's National City Rink located in Gund Arena 7:00pm

1-29 Pre-Game Skate National City Rink located in Gund Arena 10:00am

1-29 vs. St. John's 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 or www.sportstalkcleveland.com.



American Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2005


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