Knights Ready For Series Vs. Iowa

Published on April 16, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights enter new territory this week as they embark on their first Calder Cup Playoff campaign. The Knights will play the Iowa Stars in the West Division Quarterfinal Series beginning Friday, April 20th in Omaha. The Knights finished the 2006-07 season with the John D. Chick Trophy as the West Division Regular Season Champions and the Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy as the Western Conference Regular Season Champions following three wins in four games during the final week of the regular season. The Knights secured both pieces of hardware with a win at Chicago in the final game of the regular season. Prior to that, the Knights beat San Antonio and split a pair of games with Peoria. The Knights finished the regular season with a record of 49-25-5-1, good for 104 points. The win and point totals are franchise records. Tickets are on sale for all upcoming Knights' home playoff games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium box office and all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets may be purchased by phone at (402) 422-1212.

2007 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS:

West Division Semifinal-Series "G", W1 Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights vs. W4 Iowa Stars

Game 1 - Fri., April 20 - Iowa at Omaha, 7:00 p.m.

Game 2 - Sat., April 21 - Iowa at Omaha, 7:00 p.m.

Game 3 - Mon., April 23 - Omaha at Iowa, 7:05 p.m.

Game 4 - Wed., April 25 - Omaha at Iowa, 7:05 p.m.

*Game 5 - Fri., April 27 - Iowa at Omaha, 7:00 p.m.

*Game 6 - Sat., April 28 - Omaha at Iowa, 7:05 p.m.

*Game 7 - Tue., May 1 - Iowa at Omaha, 7:00 p.m.

Season Series vs. Iowa: 8-4-0-0 Home: 3-3-0-0 Road: 5-1-0-0

The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights will make their first foray into the Calder Cup Playoffs against their nearest rivals, the Iowa Stars, in a best-of-seven series starting Friday, April 20th in Omaha. The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights played the Stars 12 times during the 2006-07 season, the most they faced any opponent. Including the pre-season, the two teams have squared off 14 times this year. The Knights were 8-4-0-0 against the Stars this season. Five of the eight wins came at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA. All time, the Knights are 13-7-1-1 against the Stars including a record of 9-2-0-0 on the road. Carsen Germyn led the Knights in scoring against the Stars this season with five goals and five assists for ten points in twelve games. Both Knights' goalies earned four wins against the Stars this season. Curtis McElhinney was 4-1-0 in five appearances with a 1.20 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage in head-to-head play. Brent Krahn was 4-3-0 in seven appearances with a 2.28 goals-against and a .917 save percentage. Krahnis 7-1-0-0 lifetime at Wells Fargo Arena. He has posted a 1.27 goals-against average, a .954 save percentage and two shutouts.

The Stars finished in fourth place in the West Division with a record of 42-34-3-1, good for 88 points. The Stars posted a record of 16-21-2-1 at home and a mark of 26-13-1-0 on the road. Theirs was the third highest road win total in the league behind the Knights and Chicago who finished with 27. Junior Lessard led the Stars in scoring this season with 27 goals and 25 assists for 52 points. His goal total also paced the team. Vojtech Polak ranked second with 17 goals and 28 assists for 45 points. Defenseman Mark Ardelan led the team with 30 assists. He finished fourth overall in scoring with 38 points. Dan Ellis led the Stars' goaltending corps with a record of 30-21-1, a 2.78 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage in 55 appearances. Lessard was the Stars' leading scorer against the Knights this season. He had four goals and three assists for seven points in eight games. Ellis appeared in eight games against the Knights, posting a record of 2-4-1, a 2.39 goals-against and a .903 save percentage. Rookie Tobias Stephan was 2-3-0 in six games against the Knights. He had a 1.88 goals-against and a .927 save percentage in head-to-head play. This is the Stars' second appearance in the Calder Cup Finals. In their inaugural season of 2005-06, they lost a first round series to eventual Western Conference Playoff Champion Milwaukee in seven games.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Monday, April 16 - Day Off

Tuesday, April 17 - Practice @ OCA, 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 18 - Practice @ OCA, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 19 - Practice @ OCA, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Friday, April 20 - Morning Skate @ OCA, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Game vs. Iowa, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 21 - Morning Skate @ OCA, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Game vs. Iowa, 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 22 - Day Off

OCA - Omaha Civic Auditorium

* - Times subject to change

IN THE COMMUNITY:

Radio Appearance, April 18: Knights' players Brandon Prust and Eric Nystrom will be guests of The Tom Becka Show on 1110 KFAB at 5:30 p.m.

Radio Appearance, April 19: Knights' goaltender Brent Krahn will begin a series of regular appearances on 96.1 The Brew Morning Show to update fans on the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs. He will appear at 7:45 a.m.

Radio Appearance, April 20: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' President Ren Smith will be a guest of the 1110 KFAB Morning Show on Friday at 8:20 a.m. to speak about the franchise as it prepares for its first Calder Cup Playoff appearance.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 16, 2007


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