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Knights Face Four-Game Week

April 2, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


With a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs now secured, the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights look ahead to securing home ice advantage during the final two weeks of the regular season. The Knights will play four games in five days this week and along the way, they'll make up games in hand they hold over both the Chicago Wolves and the Milwaukee Admirals. The Knights beat Iowa 3-1 in the middle of losses to San Antonio and Manitoba last week. Omaha is now 43-24-4-1, good for 91 points. They are two points behind first-place Chicago and two points ahead of third-place Milwaukee. They have three games in hand on both teams. The Knights will make up two of those games on Chicago and all three on Milwaukee this week. Tickets are on sale for all upcoming Knights' home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium box office and all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets may be purchased by phone at (402) 422-1212. Kids 12 and under get in free with an adult admission. Restrictions apply.

OPPONENTS THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, April 3 @ Iowa Stars (Dallas Stars/Edmonton Oilers), 7:05 p.m.

Twelfth of twelve meetings; sixth of six meetings in Des Moines, IA

The Knights and Stars finish their season series on Tuesday. Following their 3-1 win on Friday, the Knights are now 7-4-0-0 against the Stars this season and 4-1-0-0 in Des Moines. All time, the Knights are 12-7-1-1 against Iowa. The Stars begin the week in fourth place in the West Division with a record of 39-31-3-1, good for 82 points. They now lead fifth place Peoria by six points for the fourth playoff spot in the division. Peoria has one game in hand. The Stars are 15-19-2-1 at home this season. Junior Lessard and Vojtech Polak are tied for the team lead in scoring with 44 points. Lessard leads the team with 23 goals while Polak is tied with defenseman Mark Ardelan for the team lead with 27 assists. Goaltender Dan Ellis leads the Stars with 27 wins in 50 games played. He's got a 2.89 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage. The Stars do not play before hosting the Knights.

Wednesday, April 4 vs. Manitoba Moose (Vancouver Canucks), 7:00 p.m.

Fourth of four meetings; second of two meetings in Omaha

The Knights conclude their series with the Moose on Wednesday. They are still looking for their first win against Manitoba this season after dropping last week's game at home. The Knights are 3-4-0-0 against the Moose all time including a mark of 1-2-0-0 at home. Manitoba is currently the top team in the North Division and the entire Western Conference with a record of 42-21-7-5, good for 96 points. The Moose are 18-12-4-3 on the road this season. Jason Jaffray leads the team in scoring with 34 goals and 43 assists for 77 points. Brad Moran is second in scoring with 66 points including a team-leading 44 assists. Drew MacIntyre leads the Moose goaltending corps with a record of 22-11-2, a 2.22 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. The Moose do not suit up until playing the Knights.

Friday, April 6 vs. San Antonio Rampage (Phoenix Coyotes), 7:00 p.m.

Ninth of ten meetings; fourth of five meetings in Omaha

The Knights host the Rampage for the fourth time this season on Friday. It's San Antonio's first visit to Omaha since February 3rd. This season, the Knights are 5-2-1-0 against the Rampage including a record of 2-1-0-0 at home. All time, the Knights hold the advantage at 11-5-1-1. San Antonio begins the week in sixth place in the West Division with a record of 31-38-2-4, good for 68 points. The Rampage are 12-21-1-2 on the road this year. The team has been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Yanick Lehoux leads the Rampage in scoring with 30 goals and 40 assists for 70 points. He is tied with Donald MacLean for the team lead in goals. MacLean is second in scoring with 58 points. Josh Tordjman and David LeNeveu share the goaltending duties. Tordjman is 15-15-2 with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. San Antonio does not play before visiting the Knights.

Saturday, April 7 vs. Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild), 7:00 p.m.

Tenth of ten meetings; fifth of five in Omaha

The Knights conclude their season series with the Aeros in the final game of the week. So far, the Knights are 8-0-0-1 against Houston this season including a record of 4-0-0-0 at home. Four of the previous nine games have been decided in a shootout. All time, the Knights are 11-3-1-4 with a 7-0-0-2 mark at home. The Aeros are in seventh place in the West Division with a record of 25-38-3-6, good for 59 points. They are 11-21-2-2 on the road this year. The Aeros have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Matt Foy leads the Aeros in scoring with 27 goals and 23 assists for 50 points. His goal total is a team best. Defenseman Curtis Murphy is second in scoring with 38 points including a team-leading 30 assists. Among current goaltenders, Dieter Kochan leads the team with six wins, but he is questionable for the weekend with an injury. The goaltending duties will fall on Miroslav Kopriva and Tony Quesada in his absence. The Aeros host Peoria on Tuesday and visit Peoria on Friday before coming to Omaha.



American Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2007


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