Barons Weekly Report

January 31, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release


Coming Up

2/1/05 vs. San Antonio – National City Rink located in Gund Arena – 7:00pm www.sportstalkcleveland.com

The Barons will meet the San Antonio Rampage for the second time this season. In the first game, the Barons defeated the Rampage, 3-2, on National City Rink located in Gund Arena. Dimitri Patzold was in net for the victory, stopping 20 shots on the night. The 22 shots allowed to San Antonio in that game is the second fewest total the Barons have allowed all season. Tim Conboy scored the first goal of his professional career and recorded his first career multi-point performance (1-1-2) on that night. Josh Prudden scored the game-winning goal in the contest.

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.

2/3/05 vs. Syracuse – National City Rink located in Gund Arena – 7:00pm www.sportstalkcleveland.com

The Barons will host the Crunch on home ice for the first time this season. The two teams have met three times thus far, all Syracuse home games. The Barons have posted a 2-1-0-0 record against Syracuse this season. Josh Prudden leads the Barons with 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points (2-2-4). Both of Prudden's goals in the series have been tallied unassisted, one a short-handed goal and the other a game-winner. Dimitri Patzold has a 1-1-0 record against Syracuse with a 1.50 goals against average and a .959 save percentage. Patzold was the tough-luck loser when the Barons played the Crunch at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The Barons were shutout in that game, 1-0.

2/4/05 @ Chicago – Allstate Arena – 8:30pm Sports Talk AM-850 WKNR/www.sportstalkcleveland.com

The Barons will meet the Chicago Wolves for the first time this season on Friday night. The Barons split the season series, 1-1-0-0, against the Wolves in 2003-04. Lifetime, the Barons have struggled against the 2002-03 Calder Cup Champions posting a 2-8-0-0 record. Shane Joseph registered his professional point against Chicago on March 24th last season. He assisted on Doug Murray's goal in just his second professional game.

2/5/05 vs. Chicago – National City Rink located in Gund Arena – 1:00pm www.sportstalkcleveland.com

The Barons and Wolves will fly back to Cleveland following Friday night's game in Chicago to play a Saturday matinee. Steve Maltais leads the all-time series between the two teams with 16 points (7-9-16) in 10 games. Maltais currently ranks second on the Wolves with 39 points (13-26-39). The home team has won the last five meetings in the all-time series.

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.

Baby Days... While children 2-and-under always get into Barons games for free, on Saturday 1pm games, their parents do to. Any person bringing a child 2-and-under will receive a free $16 ticket to the game.

Flashback

1/25/05 Rochester 5 – Cleveland 1... St. John's overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Barons in a shootout. Ryane Clowe led the Barons, scoring two goals just 1:13 apart in the first period. Kris Newbury tallied a goal and an assist of his own. Nolan Schaefer was solid in net stopping 36 shots on the night. The Maple Leafs converted all three of their shootout chances to best the Barons.

1/28/05 St. John's 3 – Cleveland 2 SO... 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.

1/29/05 St. John's 3 – Cleveland 2... Trailing 2-0 entering the third period, Jason Jaffray cut the lead in half when he intercepted a pass in the neutral zone. Jaffray raced in and fired a quick wrist-shot that beat Mikael Tellqvist. Josh Prudden then netted his 11th goal of the season with the Barons trailing 3-1. Despite constant pressure, and 22 shots on net in the third period, the Barons fell just short in their come-back bid.

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.

SlapShark Swims Down The Street

Tuesday night's Sports Extra, seen on WUAB Channel 43, will featured Barons mascot SlapShark. SlapShark will join Action News sports anchor Chuck Galeti on the set for the sportscast.

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. Three of the Barons four games this week will be against the West Division.

Penalty Kill

In the last 17 games, the Barons have an 86.4% success rate in killing penalties (70/81). The Barons have allowed just 18 power play goals in the last 30 games. They have killed 119 out of a possible 137 penalties in that span for an 86.9% success rate on the PK.

Barons Like Road Kill

The Barons haven't been kind to teams power play units when they visit National City Rink located in Gund Arena. Although their streak of 24 consecutive penalty kills was snapped on Saturday by St. John's, the Barons have held their road opponents to one power play goal in the last 28 power play opportunities. That is good for a 96.4% penalty kill rate on home ice over the last seven home games.

Passing Proficiency

The last 25 power play goals by the Barons have been assisted by two players. The Barons currently have 36 power play goals this season. With 71 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 forward Jason Jaffray. In three games, Jaffray notched two goals. His goal against Rochester came on the power play. On the season, Jaffray has appeared in 21 games, scoring 5 goals and registering 4 assists.

Pack Up The Conboy

Tim Conboy posted a career-high six shots on goal Friday night. He has stirred the pot in the last six games, in which he has one goal, two assists and 33 penalty minutes. In the last 18 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 +5 plus/minus rating.

No Joshing

Josh Prudden has scored one goal in five of his last eight games (5-2-6). On the season, Prudden leads Barons rookies in goals with 11, which ranks tied for 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 seventh overall in goals among rookie scorers. Prudden's 16 points are second on the Barons in rookie scoring.

United Marcel Service

The United Marcel Service has been delivering lately. Marcel Goc has delivered six assists to teammates in the last eight games. Overall, he has seven points (1-6-7) during that span. On the season, Goc is second on the Barons with 25 points (9-16-25). He is tied for second in the league with three short-handed goals, which are all unassisted.

The Clowe-ser

Ryane Clowe's 33 points, 22 assists, and +7 plus/minus rating all lead the Barons. Clowe has been productive on the power play as tied for first on the team with 12 points and six goals on the power play. His eight multi-point games this season lead the Barons. One more goal by Clowe will surpass his total set in last season's rookie campaign (11). 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 was named to the PlanetUSA All-Star team for the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic to be held February 13th and 14th at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH. He is tied for 18th among all AHL defensemen with 21 points (9-12-21). Among defensive scorers, he is tied for second in goals (9), tied for first in power play goals (6), and tied for first in game-winning goals (3). Ehrhoff's 156 shots lead all defensemen and are tied for sixth among all skaters. Ehrhoff leads all Barons defensemen in points and goals, and is tied for second in assists.

Gorgeous Gorges

Josh Gorges began the season without recording a point in his first 39 games. In his 40th, Gorges scored a goal just 20 seconds in to the action. He then missed the next six games due to injury. Gorges returned to the lineup on Saturday night. For the second consecutive game, Gorges notched a point, this time recording his first career assist.

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

2-1 Pre-Game Skate National City Rink located in Gund Arena 10:00am

2-1 vs. San Antonio National City Rink located in Gund Arena 7:00pm

2-2 Practice National City Rink located in Gund Arena 10:30am

2-3 Pre-Game Skate National City Rink located in Gund Arena 10:00am

2-3 vs. Syracuse National City Rink located in Gund Arena 7:00pm

2-4 @ Chicago Allstate Arena 8:30pm

2-5 vs. Chicago National City Rink located in Gund Arena 1:00pm

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 31, 2005


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