Knights face three-in-three this week

Published on January 3, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


Omaha, NE - The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights finished off 2005 with two straight wins, snapping a host of winless streaks in the process, and now look forward to three games in three days this week. After struggling through much of December, the Knights finished with wins over Milwaukee and Iowa to move back above the .500 mark. With the win over Milwaukee last Friday, the Knights snapped a seven-game home winless streak and a five-game winless stretch overall. The next night, the Knights won in Iowa to break up a four-game road winless streak and a four-game winless streak against the Stars. The two wins followed a loss at Grand Rapids to begin the week. The Knights are in third place in the West Division of the American Hockey League with a record of 15-14-1-7, good for 38 points. They have played more games than any team in the division (37). The Knights will host the Chicago Wolves on Friday before traveling to Milwaukee on Saturday and visiting Chicago on Sunday. 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 28: Grand Rapids Griffins 5, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 4
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights and Griffins sprinted from the blocks by combining for five goals in the first 6:52. Dave Moss and Tomi Maki sandwiched goals around a pair of powerplay tallies by Grand Rapids, but Tomas Kopecky scored 53 seconds after Maki's goal to put the Griffins up 3-2 after one. Grand Rapids got two more goals in the second period to lead 5-2 after two. The Knights replied with a pair of powerplay tallies, one each from Warren Peters and Mark Giordano. The Knights would run out of time while trying to score the game-tying goal and dropped their third game in as many outings against the Griffins. Curtis McElhinney suffered the loss in a relief role, although he stopped 27 of 28 shots.

Friday, December 30: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 3, Milwaukee Admirals 2
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights again scored first getting a powerplay goal from Mark Giordano just 2:28 into the game. The Admirals got a powerplay goal from Kevin Klein and an even-strength goal from Kris Beech to lead 2-1 after one. The Knights' Derek Couture scored his first professional goal in the second to tie the game, setting the stage for more heroics by Giordano in the third. He scored off a slap shot from the point with 4:34 remaining in the game, and the Knights held on for their second straight win against the Admirals. Curtis McElhinney stopped 27 shots to earn the win.

Saturday, December 31: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 4, Iowa Stars 2
The Knights surrendered the first two goals of the game and trailed 2-0 after one. Lynn Loyns began the Knights' comeback with his third goal of the year at 11:08 of the second period. Mark Giordano remained hot, scoring a powerplay tally 63 seconds into the third period to tie the game at two. Carsen Germyn scored the game-winning goal at 11:49 of the period, converting a feed from Brandon Prust. Germyn added an unassisted empty-net goal with 20 seconds remaining to complete the scoring. Brent Krahn earned the win in relief, stopping all 20 shots he faced.

CCM VECTOR/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE:
The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights nominated defenseman Mark Giordano as the CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week for the week ending January 1, 2006. In three games last week, Giordano had four goals and one assist for five points. On Wednesday, Giordano had a powerplay goal and an assist as the Knights lost to the Grand Rapids Griffins 5-4. On Friday, he had two goals including the game winner in a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals. The native of Toronto, Ontario finished the week with a goal in a 4-2 win over the Iowa Stars on Saturday. Giordano has now tallied points in five of his last six games.

THE WEEK AHEAD:
DAY/DATE EVENT TIME BROADCAST
Mon., Jan. 2 Day Off
Tues., Jan. 3 Practice @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 4 Practice @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Thurs., Jan. 5 Practice @ OCA 10:00 a.m. -- 12:00 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 6 Morning Skate @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Game vs. Chicago 7:00 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Sat., Jan. 7 Game @ Milwaukee 7:30 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Sun., Jan. 8 Game @ Chicago 5:00 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2

Legend
OCA--Omaha Civic Auditorium
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:
Friday, January 6: vs. Chicago Wolves (Atlanta Thrashers), 7:00 p.m.; Sunday, January 8 @ Chicago, 5:00 p.m.
Fifth meeting of ten; third of five in Omaha
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights welcome the Chicago Wolves for the third time this season. So far, the Knights have won three of the first four meetings between the two teams. The two teams will finish the weekend in Chicago on Sunday afternoon. The Knights have won in both trips to Chicago. The Wolves begin the week in sixth place in the West Division with a record of 13-12-2-5, good for 33 points. They have won three straight, matching their season high, and are above the .500 mark for the first time since beating the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights on opening night. Ramzi Abid leads the Wolves in scoring with 17 goals and 17 assists for 34 points. The goal and assist totals are also team highs. The Wolves have a trio of goaltenders on their roster. Adam Berkhoel, Tuomas Tarkki and Jani Hurme have taken turns in the Wolves net in the last few weeks. Tarkki has appeared in 14 games, earning six of the Wolves' wins. He's posted a goals-against average of 3.11 and a save percentage of .890. The Wolves have used six goalies this season. The Wolves do not play before visiting Omaha.

Saturday, January 7: @ Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators), 7:30 p.m.
Sixth meeting of ten; third of five meetings in Milwaukee
The middle game of the three-in-three weekend brings the Knights to Milwaukee. It is the sixth of ten meetings between the two teams. The Knights are 2-1-0-2 against the Admirals and have won the last two meetings. Milwaukee begins the week in second place in the West Division with a record of 21-10-2-1, good for 45 points. The Admirals are winless in their last two games (0-1-1-0). Darren Haydar leads the Admirals in goals and points with 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points. Libor Pivko paces the Admirals in assists with 26 and is second in scoring with 32 points. Brian Finley and Pekka Rinne share time in the Milwaukee net. Rinne has appeared in 22 games, posting a record of 13-8-1 and a goals-against average of 2.51. The Admirals host Iowa on Thursday and visit Cleveland on Friday before hosting the Knights.

KNIGHTS NOTES:
The Knights snapped a seven-game home winless streak with a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Admirals last Friday. They hadn't won at home since a 3-1 victory over Iowa on November 25th.

The Knights scored powerplay goals in all three games last week (5/12) and have clicked at a 21.2% clip over the last seven games.

Left wing Brandon Prust earned two assists in each of the Knights' three games last week, his most productive stretch as a pro.

Right wing Derek Couture scored his first professional goal in the Knights' win over Milwaukee.

Rookie defenseman Tim Hambly had an auspicious debut with the Knights, assisting on the game-winning goal, in their 3-2 win over Milwaukee. It was his first career AHL point.

TRANSACTIONS:
12/26/05 DELETE Richie Regehr (D), recalled from loan by Calgary (NHL)

12/29/05 ADD Tim Hambly (D), recalled from Las Vegas (ECHL) and signed to PTO

12/30/05 ADD Jan Vodrazka (D), recalled from Greenville (ECHL) and signed to PTO

1/1/06 DELETE Tim Hambly (D), released from PTO and re-assigned to Las Vegas (ECHL)

1/1/06 DELETE Jan Vodrazka (D), released from PTO and re-assigned to Greenville (ECHL)

1/2/06 ADD Zenith Komarniski (D), returned from Team Canada (Spengler Cup)

IN THE COMMUNITY:
Radio Appearance, Thursday, January 5: 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 6:40 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.

AK-SAR-BEN KNIGHTS TEAM STATISTICS (As of 1.3.06):
Click here to view Ak-Sar-Ben Knights player stats. Click here to view Ak-Sar-Ben Knights goalie stats.

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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American Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2006


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