Cleveland Barons Weekly Report

April 3, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release


Flashback

4/01/06 - Iowa 3, Cleveland 1-

The Barons couldn't stop Iowa's playoff push as they fell to the Stars on Saturday. A scoreless first period was marked with a ten-save effort from goalie Nolan Schaefer. The second period saw the Barons earn a 1-0 lead off a shot from Shane Joseph. Joseph's goal was the fourth time in the last five games that the Barons scored the opening goal of the contest. Iowa retaliated with 2:07 remaining in the period with the first professional goal of Nicklas Grossman's career. The Stars continued their rally in the third period with two additional goals including Loui Eriksson's 24th of the year and an empty-net shot from Toby Petersen. The Barons failed to post any goals in the third, handing Iowa the win.

4/02/06 - Iowa 2, Cleveland 1-

Nolan Schaefer's strong 41-save effort wasn't enough to earn a win for the Barons as they fell to Iowa in game two of a weekend set. The Barons once again struck first earning the 1-0 lead following a play from Matt Carkner that ricocheted out of the corner and left the puck in front of the net. Glenn Olson slid into the goal, along with a Star's defensemen and the puck, earning his first professional goal. In a carbon copy of the previous night, the teams skated into the third period tied at 1 apiece after Iowa's Loui Eriksson scored the period's only goal. After a scoreless third period, the teams headed into overtime. Neither team could deliver a goal, forcing a shootout. Eriksson and Junior Lessard were able to get shots past Nolan Schaefer, earning the win and a crucial playoff point for the Stars.

Coming Up

4/05/06 - Cleveland vs. Grand Rapids - National City Rink at the Q

The Grand Rapids Griffins travel to Cleveland to wrap up the season series against the Barons Wednesday night. This will be the tenth time the two teams meet this season. The Griffins' are the AHL's best team, and have already claimed the North Division and Western Conference regular season titles with a record of 53-17-1-4. They come into the game after having an 11-game win streak snapped following a 4-2 loss in Manitoba on Saturday. In the previous nine games against Grand Rapids, Mike Iggulden has earned three goals and four assists for seven points, with Lukas Kaspar not far behind with five points (3-2-5). Game time is 7:05pm ET.

4/06/06 - Cleveland vs. Toronto - National City Rink at the Q

The Barons take on the Marlies for the eighth and final time this season. In their last meeting, Toronto edged out the Barons following a back-and-forth match to earn the 6-5 win. Josh Hennessy leads the Barons in scoring and is ranked sixth among AHL rookies. In seven games against the Marlies, he has earned a total of nine points (3-6-9), with Mike Iggulden (3-2-5) earning five points. Ryan Clowe (1-4-5) has only appeared in three games, earning five points as well. Toronto has five players who have each scored six points against the Barons this season, including their leading scorer Bates Battaglia (18-44-62) who has sixty-two points on the season. The action begins at 7:05pm ET.

4/08/06- Cleveland vs. Hamilton- National City Rink at the Q

***Hockey Double Header- North American Rolling Thunder vs. Blast, 4:30pm

***Fan Appreciation Night

The Barons look to take a bite out of the Bulldogs as they face-off against Hamilton to wrap up home-play this season. This will be the eighth of nine match-ups between these teams this year. Thus far, the series is tied with each team earning three wins. Ryane Clowe has played in two games against the Bulldogs, earning one goal and four assists for a total of five points. Hamilton is lead in scoring by Corey Locke who in 71 games with the Bulldogs has 48 points (16-32-48). In six games against the Barons he has four goals, and two assists, for six points. Game time is 7:05pm ET.

Barons Player of the Week

The Cleveland Barons Player of the Week is goalie Nolan Schaefer. This is the second time in three weeks Schaefer has earned the nod for his solid play. Schaefer stopped 41 of 42 shots he faced on Sunday's game against Iowa. In addition, he was named the 2nd Star of the Game that night for his efforts. Schaefer is currently 12-20-2 with a 3.26 goals against average and a .893 save percentage.

Drawing First Blood

The Barons scored the first goal of the game in five of their last six games. This came after a stretch which saw the Barons score the first goal in only five of 28 games. They are 14-15-2-2 when they score the opening goal of the game and 10-30-0-0 when their opponent scores first. They lost in a shootout the one game in which neither team scored in regulation.

Special Teams

The Barons went a perfect 9-for-9 on the power play in their two game series against the Iowa Stars. On the season, the Barons have allowed 95 power play goals in 436 total short handed situations. On the flip side, the Barons are 71-for-487 with the man advantage. Their power play is ranked 24th in the American Hockey League.

Power Passers

Of the Barons 71 power play goals this season, 68 of them have had two Barons assists recorded for a total of 138 power play assists this season for the team. One of the three remaining goals was a Steve Bernier tally which was unassisted. The other two goals came from Patrick Rissmiller and Lukas Kaspar and had only one assist recorded. Josh Hennessy leads the way for the Barons in power play assists with 21.

Worth A Shot

The Stars held the Barons to just two shots on goal in the first period of Friday's game, the fewest shots the Barons have earned in a period this season. Overall the Barons earned 22 shots on goal in Friday's game and 23 in Saturday's. They average 29 shots per game this season.

Heni-Powered

Barons rookie forward Josh Hennessy is currently having the most prolific offensive season for a rookie with 59 points (22-37-59) in 74 games. The native of Belmont, MA tied a Barons franchise record for rookie goal scoring by recording his 22nd goal of the year against Toronto on March 25th. The record had previously been set by Jon DiSalvatore. Hennessy is currently ranked 6th among rookie scoring leaders.

Rubbermaid Player of the Game

At the end of each game the Barons select a Rubbermaid Player of the Game, given to the player who displays toughness and durability throughout the game. At the end of the season, the player with the most selections will receive a prize package courtesy of Rubbermaid. Currently, Josh Hennessy leads the race for the Rubbermaid with nine selections and Mike Iggulden and Craig Valette are tied for in second place with six selections.

Barons Broadcasts

All games this season will be broadcast live and in their entirety on-line via the B2 Networks. Fans can enjoy the play-by-play action of Barons hockey provided by the "Voice of the Barons" Jamie Smock, by Crashing the Net at www.clevelandbarons.net. Fans can watch the game via B2 Networks' Live Video Stream of the game on a pay-per-view basis of $6.00 per game. There is also a free audio version of the broadcast offered. Every Barons game broadcast begins with a pre-game show 15-minutes prior to face-off.



American Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2006


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.

OurSports Central