Knights play three at home this week

Published on December 18, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


Omaha, NE - The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights have spent a majority of the 2006-07 season on the road. In the next month and a half, the door will swing the other way. Beginning last Saturday, the Knights are in a stretch where they will play 16 of their next 22 games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Knights will host the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday and Saturday nights. The San Antonio Rampage will visit on Friday night. The Knights split a pair of games last week, losing in Chicago and then beating Iowa at home the next night. Omaha begins the week in second place in the West Division with a record of 17-8-2-0, good for 36 points. That puts them six points behind division-leading Chicago. 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.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
Friday, December 15: Chicago Wolves 9, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 1
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights suffered their worst ever loss in their second trip to Chicago. The Wolves opened up 1-0 lead in the first period on a powerplay goal by Corey Larose. They broke the game open in the second period with goals from Jared Ross, Brett Sterling and Alex Bourret to make it 4-0. Carsen Germyn got the Knights on the board with his seventh of the year at 8:30. The Wolves would add three more goals at the end of the second and two more in the third for the 9-1 final score. Curtis McElhinney allowed four goals on 12 shots and took the loss in goal. Brent Krahn finished up, allowing five goals on 19 shots.

Saturday, December 16: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 3, Iowa Stars 1
After a scoreless first period, the Stars forged ahead when Marius Holtet beat Curtis McElhinney for his sixth goal of the year early in the second period. The Knights responded while on a five-on-three powerplay. Dave Moss setup Dustin Boyd for his team-leading twelfth goal of the year to leave the game tied at one after two. The Knights then took their first lead of the game when David Van der Gulik beat goalie Dan Ellis for a shorthanded goal to make it 2-1. With Ellis out for an extra attacker late in the game and the Knights killing a penalty, Van der Gulik made a steal in the Iowa end and scored into the empty net for his team-leading fourth shorthanded goal of the year. The 3-1 win gave the Knights their third win in four tries against the Stars. McElhinney made 19 saves to earn his tenth win of the year.

AK-SAR-BEN KNIGHTS BASICS
RECORD: 17-8-2-0 POWERPLAY: 23/165, 13.9% VS. DIV.: 13-6-2-0
HOME: 7-4-0-0 PENALTY KILL: 154/179, 86.0%
ROAD: 10-4-2-0 LAST TEN: 5-4-1-0 STREAK: 1-0-0-0

THE WEEK AHEAD:
DAY/DATE EVENT TIME* BROADCAST
Monday, December 18 Practice @ QCO 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 19 Practice @ QCO 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 20 Morning Skate @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Game vs. Milwaukee 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 21 Practice @ QCO 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Friday, December 22 Morning Skate @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Game vs. San Antonio 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 23 Morning Skate @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Game vs. Milwaukee 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 24 Day Off

OCA - Omaha Civic Auditorium QCO - Qwest Center Omaha * - Times subject to change

BROADCAST
1420 AM-KOTK 1420 AM, flagship station for Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' hockey
Web-Free live audio broadcast of game at www.omahaaksarbenknights.com (Choose "Listen Live" link)
B2-B2 Networks live, pay-per-view webcast, available at www.omahaaksarbenknights.com for $6 per game by clicking on B2 Networks link.

OPPONENTS THIS WEEK:
Wed. & Sat., December 20 & 23 vs. Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators/Edmonton Oilers), 7:00 p.m.
Fourth and fifth of ten meetings; second and third of five meetings in Omaha
The Admirals return to Omaha for two games that will bookend the week's action. The Knights have won the first three meetings with the Admirals, winning 7-1 and 2-1 in Milwaukee and 4-1 at the Civic Auditorium in the last meeting on November 17th. The Admirals come to Omaha on a bit of a hot streak. They have earned points in eight straight games and have moved up to fourth place in the West Division with a record of 13-11-2-2, good for 30 points. That puts them just three points behind Peoria. The Admirals have been a much better road team, posting a record of 10-5-1-1 away from the Bradley Center. Rich Peverley leads the Admirals in scoring with ten goals and 20 assists for 30 points. The goal and assist totals are also team highs. Defenseman Sheldon Brookbank ranks second in team scoring with seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points. Veteran Karl Goehring has returned to form to become the Admirals' leading goaltender. In 18 appearances this year, he is 9-6-2 with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. The Admirals do not play before visiting the Knights on Wednesday. They'll visit Iowa on Friday before returning to Omaha on Saturday.

Friday, December 22 vs. San Antonio Rampage (Phoenix Coyotes), 7:00 p.m.
Fourth of ten meetings; second of five in Omaha
The Rampage make their second appearance in Omaha this season. So far, the Knights have gone 2-0-1-0 against the Phoenix Coyotes' top prospects including a 4-3 win in the first game played in Omaha on October 21st. The Rampage begin the week in seventh place in the West Division with a record of 10-18-0-0, good for 20 points. The Rampage have not fared well away from the AT&T Center where they are just 1-9-0-0. The Rampage are 3-7-0-0 in their last ten games but won their last game 4-3 in overtime against Manitoba on Sunday. Yanick Lehoux leads the Rampage in scoring with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points. The goal and assist totals also pace the team. Former UNO Maverick Bill Thomas is second in scoring with six goals and 12 assists for 18 points. David LeNeveu and Josh Tordjman share the duties in the Rampage goal. Tordjman, a call up from the ECHL in November, is 4-5-0 with a 2.53 goals-against average and .924 save percentage. The Rampage host the Chicago Wolves on Thursday before coming to Omaha.

TRANSACTIONS:
12/12/06 DELETE Tomi Maki (LW), recalled from loan by Calgary (NHL)
12/12/06 DELETE Mark Giordano (D), recalled from loan by Calgary (NHL)
12/12/06 DELETE Richie Regehr (D), recalled from loan by Calgary (NHL)
12/13/06 ADD Tomi Maki (LW), re-assigned on loan from Calgary (NHL)
12/13/06 DELETE Brandon Prust (LW), recalled from loan by Calgary (NHL)
12/15/05 ADD Brandon Prust (LW), re-assigned on loan from Calgary (NHL)
12/16/06 ADD Ryan Bonni (D), signed to a PTO

KNIGHTS NOTES:
Rookie left wing David Van der Gulik scored two shorthanded goals in the Knights' 3-1 win over Iowa on Saturday. He becomes the first player in team history to score two shorthanded goals in one game.
Van der Gulik now has four shorthanded goals this season, breaking the old team record for shorthanded goals in a season set last year by center Warren Peters.
With the win on Saturday against Iowa, goaltender Curtis McElhinney eclipsed his rookie win total in just 16 games. The second year man out of Colorado College improved to 10-5-0 on the season.
The Knights were 12-10-0-5 at this point last season. They have earned five more wins and nine more points than at this time in their inaugural season..
IN THE COMMUNITY:
Knights Tour, December 18: Knights' players Dustin Boyd, Kris Chucko, Ryan Donally, Adam Pardy, Derek Couture and Cam Cunning will visit Indigo Joe's at 7425 Dodge Street as part of the Knights Tour sponsored by Budweiser. Players will be available from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. to meet fans and sign autographs. Indigo Joe's will be offering food and drink specials.

Player Appearance, December 19: Knights' players Brent Krahn and Justin Taylor will be visiting with residents of Quality Living Incorporated at their East Campus at 3:00 p.m. to discuss the sport of hockey.

The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' Speakers Bureau provides 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.

CALGARY FLAMES UPDATE:
The Calgary Flames, the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' National Hockey League affiliate, took two of three games last week, beating the Minnesota Wild 5-2 on Tuesday for their team-record tenth consecutive home victory. Then, they began a six-game road trip with a 3-1 loss in Vancouver and a 6-3 win at Phoenix. The Flames are in second place in the Northwest Division with a record of 16-11-3, good for 35 points. That puts them just one point behind the Edmonton Oilers who lead the division. Jarome Iginla leads the Flames in scoring with 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points. His goal total leads the team. He was named one of the NHL's "Three Stars" of the week for his four goal-four assist performance last week. The Flames' captain currently ranks eighth in league scoring. Daymond Langkow is second in scoring with ten goals and 21 assists for 31 points. Alex Tanguay is third in scoring with 29 points. He, Iginla and Langkow are all tied for the team lead with 21 assists. Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff is 16-10-2 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.

For more information on the Flames, visit calgaryflames.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2006


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