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Knights head for great white north

February 6, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


Omaha, NE - The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights will make their first trip to Canada this season when they travel to Winnipeg for a pair of games with the Manitoba Moose on Friday and Saturday, February 10th and 11th. The Knights are coming off a split of two games against the Chicago Wolves at the Civic Auditorium last weekend. The Knights begin the week in fifth place in the West Division of the AHL with a record of 19-23-2-7, good for 47 points. That puts them just two points behind the Iowa Stars and now five points ahead of the Wolves. 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:

Friday, February 3: Chicago Wolves 4, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 3 The Knights earned a 1-0 lead after one on a powerplay goal by Craig MacDonald, but Chicago then scored the next two goals to lead 2-1. Before the second period was over, Zenith Komarniski had notched his third of the year to tie the game at two. In the third, Chicago put two more on the board to lead 4-2. Mark Giordano scored a powerplay goal just 28 seconds after Chicago's fourth goal, but the Knights could draw no closer. Brent Krahn took the loss in goal with 31 saves.

Saturday, February 4: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 4, Chicago Wolves 0 In the rematch, the Knights would score first and never look back. Mark Giordano tallied at 11:22 of the first to put the Knights up 1-0 after one. Cam Severson and Eric Nystrom scored powerplay goals in the second period to boost Omaha's lead to 3-0 after two. Steve Bancroft added a powerplay tally in the third period for the final score. Brent Krahn stopped 37 shots for his third shutout of the year.

OPPONENTS THIS WEEK:

Friday & Saturday, February 10 & 11 @ Manitoba Moose (Vancouver Canucks), 7:30 p.m. both nights Second and third meetings of four; only two meetings in Winnipeg, Manitoba The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights renew acquaintances with the Moose after a nearly four-month break. The Moose beat the Knights 2-1 back on October 12th at the Civic in the only game played between these two Western Conference teams. The Moose earned their first win of the season against the Knights in that game, and they have gone on to be one of the top teams in the conference. Manitoba is 31-14-3-3, good for 68 points. That puts them in second place in the North Division and third overall in the conference. The Moose have been hot lately, posting a record of 8-1-0-1 in their last ten games. Jesse Schultz leads the Moose in scoring with 24 goals and 15 assists for 39 points. His goal total is also a team best and has him tied for eighth in the AHL. Craig Darby and Jason Jaffray are second and third in scoring with 33 and 32 points respectively. They lead the team with 24 assists each. AHL All-Star goaltender Wade Flaherty has posted a record of 18-11-2 this season with a 2.22 goals-against average. That puts him second in the league in goals against. He also has an AHL-best six shutouts. The Moose do not play before hosting the Knights.

KNIGHTS NOTES:

Defenseman Steve Bancroft had a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win over Chicago on February 4th, the same night he was honored by the team for playing in his 1000th North American pro game.

Knights' captain Craig MacDonald returned to action after missing nine games with an injury to score a goal and two assists in a 4-3 loss to Chicago on February 3rd.

With two goals and an assist over the weekend, defenseman Mark Giordano took over the team lead in scoring with 38 points. He is the only defenseman in the AHL to lead his team in scoring.

Since allowing five powerplay goals at Chicago on January 18th, the Knights have allowed only five powerplay goals in 42 chances, a success rate of 88.1%.

TRANSACTIONS:

2/2/06 ADD Mark Giordano (D), returned on loan by Calgary (NHL) 2/2/06 DELETE Richie Regehr (D), recalled from loan by Calgary (NHL)

IN THE COMMUNITY:

Speakers Bureau, Monday, February 6: Knights' Vice President of Sales and Marketing Brad Haynes will be speaking at the Meet the Pros event sponsored by the Omaha Federation of Advertising at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Player Appearance, Tuesday, February 7: Knights' forward Tomi Maki and defenseman Brandon Rogers will be appearing at the Runza Restaurant at 90th and Fort Streets in Omaha at 5:00 p.m. as part of the restaurant's school fundraising program.

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

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.

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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