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Knights do Texas Two-Step

December 19, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL) - Abbotsford Heat News Release


Omaha, NE - One week after their busiest week of the season, the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights will play just two games prior to a short Christmas break. The Knights continue a four game road trip in Texas with games in San Antonio on Thursday and Houston on Friday. The Knights are coming off a stretch of four games in five days in which they beat Milwaukee and lost to the Admirals in a shootout and then lost back-to-back games to the Iowa Stars. Two of the three losses came at home, stretching the Knights' home winless streak to seven games. They did extend their road win streak to four games with the win in Milwaukee before dropping the game in Iowa. The Knights are in fourth place in the West Division of the American Hockey League with a record of 13-13-0-6, good for 30 points. Tickets for all home games are on sale all week at the Civic Auditorium box office from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 422-1212 and at Ticketmaster.com. The box office is open through the opening face-off on game nights.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
Wednesday, December 14: Milwaukee Admirals 5, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 4 SO
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights fought back from 3-0 and 4-2 deficits to tie the game at four and force the shootout. The Admirals then edged the Knights in the shootout 2-1. Dave Moss had two powerplay goals. Matt Lombardi, on conditioning assignment from Calgary, had a goal and an assist. Eric Nystrom had a shorthanded goal that tied the game. Brent Krahn took the loss with 29 saves.

Friday, December 16: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 2, Milwaukee Admirals 0
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights earned their first win over the Admirals and in the process, stretched their road win streak to four. Tomi Maki snapped a scoreless tie with a powerplay goal at 5:08 of the second period. Carsen Germyn added an insurance goal late in the third period for his team-leading 15th goal of the year. Curtis McElhinney earned his second shutout of the year with 18 saves.

Saturday, December 17: Iowa Stars 3, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 1
The Knights opened the scoring with a powerplay tally from Justin Taylor half way through the first period. Craig MacDonald, just returned from Calgary, added an assist. The Stars then reeled off three unanswered goals. They got powerplay tallies from Mattias Tjarnqvist and Yan Stastny in the second and an empty net goal from David Oliver in the last minute of the third. McElhinney took the loss with 22 saves.

Sunday, December 18: Iowa Stars 3, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 1
The Stars earned their first win against the Knights at home, winning by the same score as the previous night. Kyle Brodziak broke the scoreless tie 4:43 into the second period. Jamie Johnson added a powerplay tally just 1:25 later to put the Stars up 2-0. The Knights countered early in the third when Moss scored a five-on-three powerplay goal. The Stars iced the game with an empty net goal from Junior Lessard at 18:03 of the third. Krahn suffered the loss with 21 saves.

THE WEEK AHEAD:
DAY/DATE EVENT TIME BROADCAST
Mon., Dec. 19 Day Off
Tues., Dec. 20 Practice @ OCA 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Wed., Dec. 21 Practice @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Thurs., Dec. 22 Morning Skate @ SBC 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Game at San Antonio 7:00 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Fri., Dec. 23 Morning Skate @ TC 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Game at Houston 7:35 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Sat., Dec. 24 Travel Day
Sun., Dec. 25 Day Off - Christmas

Legend
OCA--Omaha Civic Auditorium
SBC--SBC Center
TC--Toyota Center
Web-Free live audio broadcast of game at omahaaksarbenknights.com (Choose "Listen Live" link from home page)
B2-B2 Networks live, pay-per-view webcast, available at omahaaksarbenknights.com for $6 per game by clicking on B2 Networks link.

OPPONENTS THIS WEEK:

Thursday, December 22: @ San Antonio Rampage (Phoenix Coyotes), 7:00 p.m.
Fifth meeting of ten; first of five in San Antonio
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights make their first visit to San Antonio to play the Rampage. All four previous meetings have been in Omaha. Each team has won two games in the season series. The Rampage took 3-1 and 4-1 decisions in their last visit to Omaha on December 10th and 11th. The Rampage begin the week in seventh place in the West Division with a record of 10-18-0-1, good for 21 points. The Rampage are coming off a split of two games in Manitoba last weekend. Steve Gainey, who had a goal and five assists in the two recent games with the Knights, leads the Rampage in scoring with seven goals and 19 points, but he is currently on recall to the Phoenix Coyotes. Layne Ulmer is second in scoring with a team-leading eight goals and 16 points total. The Rampage have used six goaltenders so far this season with Karl Goehring, David LeNeveu and Scott Stirling currently handling the duties. The Rampage do not play before hosting the Knights.

Friday, December 23: @ Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild), 7:35 p.m.
Fifth meeting of ten; third of five meetings in Houston
The Knights finish the week in Houston. It's their second visit there. They dropped a pair of games to the Aeros on November 9th and 11th. So far, the Aeros have won all four meetings with the Knights. The two meetings in Omaha were both shootouts. The Aeros are the top team in the West Division at 21-8-1-1, good for 44 points. They've won their last three games. Eric Westrum leads the Aeros and the league in scoring with 42 points (13 goals, 29 assists). His 29 helpers are also a league high. Second in team and league scoring is Westrum's teammate, Kirby Law. He's got 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points. Goaltender Josh Harding has played in 22 games for the Aeros, posting a record of 16-6-0 with a 2.57 goals-against average. He has authored three of the four wins against the Knights. The Aeros do not play before hosting the Knights.

KNIGHTS NOTES:
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights ran off a four-game road winning streak from November 26 to December 16. It was their longest win streak away from home this season.

Center Dave Moss scored three powerplay goals during the week and now has nine total goals this season. All of his goals have come on the powerplay.

Rookie goaltender Curtis McElhinney earned his second shutout of the season, stopping 18 shots in a 2-0 win at Milwaukee on December 16.

TRANSACTIONS:
12/12/05 ADD Matt Lombardi (C), assigned on conditioning loan from Calgary (NHL)

12/15/05 DELETE Matt Lombardi (C), recalled from conditioning loan by Calgary (NHL)

12/16.05 ADD Craig MacDonald (C), returned on loan from Calgary (NHL)

IN THE COMMUNITY:
Player Participate in Salvation Army's "Toyland", Monday, December 19: Knights' players Justin Taylor, Curtis McElhinney, Dave Moss, Brett Palin, Brandon Rogers and Eric Nystrom will serve as escorts for the Salvation Army's annual "Toyland" event at the Army's headquarters at 36th and Cuming Streets. The Knights will be volunteering from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Knights' Staff Participates in Salvation Army's "Toyland", Tuesday, December 20: Members of the Knights' front office staff will serve as escorts for the Salvation Army's annual "Toyland" event at the Army's headquarters at 36th and Cuming Streets. Like the players, the staff will be volunteering from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Radio Appearance, Tuesday, December 20: Knights' left wing Brandon Prust will visit Hot 107.7/97.3 at 4:30 p.m. as part of the station's "Hockey 101" segment designed to give its listeners a greater appreciation of the sport of hockey.

Radio Appearance, Tuesday, December 20: Knights' play-by-play voice Dave Ahlers will be appearing on Pinnacle Sports Network's "Sports Nightly" program (KFAB AM 1110 in Omaha) on Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. He will speak on the Knights' season to date and look forward to the week ahead.

The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' Speakers Bureau is available to provide speakers to local businesses, civic and church groups and other interested organizations holding weekly or monthly meetings and special events. There is no charge for this program. For more information on the Speakers Bureau or to schedule an appearance for your group's next meeting, call Dave Ahlers at (402) 344-GOAL or contact him by e-mail at dahlers@omahaaksarbenknights.com.

HOLIDAY TICKET PROMOTIONS:
HOLIDAY SIX-PACK: The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights have a great gift for the hockey fan on your list. The Knights' Holiday Six-Game pack includes six tickets in the third balcony center to all five Knights' home games in January and one in February for a 50% savings. The Holiday Six-Game pack also includes a souvenir puck all for just $55 (normally a $108 value). Call the Knights at 344-4625 to order your Holiday Six-Game pack.

OMAHAAKSARBENKNIGHTS.COM
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' official web site, omahaaksarbenknights.com, is the comprehensive source for all information about the Knights during the season. Log on for player bios and stats, game recaps, a list of community appearances, stats, photos, great downloads and live links to listen to and watch Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' hockey all season.

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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.

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