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Knights Return To Road For Four Games

February 19, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


No strangers to the road after a two-week trip, the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights hit the pavement again for four more critical games against West Division opponents this week. The Knights will visit Peoria on Wednesday, Milwaukee on Friday and Chicago on Saturday and Sunday. All four teams are either immediately ahead, tied with or behind the Knights in the standings. The Knights are tied with Milwaukee for second place in the West Division with each team having earned 66 points. The Knights have a record of 31-19-3-1 and own four games in hand on the Admirals. The Knights are six points ahead of fourth place Peoria. The Rivermen have two games in hand. The Knights are eleven points behind the Chicago Wolves with four games in hand. 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:

Wednesday, February 21 @ Peoria Rivermen (St. Louis Blues), 7:00 p.m.

Seventh of ten meetings; fourth of five meetings in Peoria, IL

For the second time in less than a week, the Knights will square off with the Rivermen. Dating back to last season, the Knights have lost 13 straight games to Peoria. They are 0-4-2-0 against them this season and they've posted a record of 0-1-2-0 in Peoria. The Rivermen are in fourth place in the West Division with a record of 28-20-2-2, good for 60 points. They are 17-11-1-0 at home this season. Trent Whitfield leads Peoria in scoring with 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points. Rookie goaltender Marek Schwarz leads the team with 15 wins while Chris Beckford-Tseu has a team-best 2.31 goals-against average. Beckford-Tseu is 5-0-0 against the Knights this season; he has earned eight total wins. The Rivermen do not play before welcoming the Knights.

Friday, February 23 @ Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators/Edmonton Oilers), 7:00 p.m.

Eighth of ten meetings; fourth of five meetings in Milwaukee, WI

The Knights return to Milwaukee for the first time in a month and a half. They haven't faced the Admirals in Wisconsin since a 4-3 win on January 4th. The Knights have gone 6-1-0-0 against the Ads this season although this has been a close series. Five of the previous seven games have been decided by one goal. The two teams are tied for second place in the West Division. The Admirals are 28-20-4-6 including a record of 13-10-3-1 at home. The Knights have four games in hand on Milwaukee. Rich Peverley leads the Admirals in scoring with 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points. The goal and assist totals also pace the team. Goaltender Karl Goehring has appeared in a team high 39 games and has 19 wins and a 2.81 goals-against average this season. Pekka Rinne has played in only eleven games because of injury but is 5-3-2 with a 2.71 goals-against average. The Admirals do not play before hosting the Knights.

Saturday & Sunday, February 24 & 25 @ Chicago Wolves (Atlanta Thrashers), 7:00 p.m. Sat.; 3:00 p.m. Sun.

Seventh and eighth of ten meetings; third and fourth of five meetings in Chicago, IL

The Knights finish the week with a two-game set against the Wolves. The Knights are 1-5-0-0 against the Wolves this season and have lost the last five games. In those losses, the Wolves have outscored the Knights 28-6. Omaha hasn't been to Chicago since a 9-1 loss on December 15th. It was the worst loss in team history. Chicago leads the West Division and the entire Western Conference with a record of 35-16-2-5, good for 77 points. For all of their success, the Wolves are an unremarkable 11-10-1-3 on home ice. Chicago has the top two scorers in the AHL in Darren Haydar and rookie Brett Sterling. Haydar has 31 goals and 59 assists for 90 points. The assist total also leads the league. Sterling has a league high 43 goals and 75 points overall. Fred Brathwaite and Michael Garnett have shared the Wolves' goaltending duties. Brathwaite has 18 wins and team bests in goals-against average (2.54) and save percentage (.911). Chicago visits San Antonio on Friday before hosting the Knights.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Monday, February 19--Practice @ TIA, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Tuesday, February 20--Practice @ TIA, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Wednesday, February 21--Morning Skate @ CA, 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Game @ Peoria, 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, February 22--Practice @ BC, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Friday, February 23--Morning Skate @ BC,11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Game @ Milwaukee, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 24--Morning Skate @ AA, 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Game @ Chicago, 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, February 25--Game @ Chicago, 3:00 p.m.

TIA - Tranquility Ice Arena, Omaha

CA - Carver Arena

BC - Bradley Center

AA - Allstate Arena

* - Times subject to change



American Hockey League Stories from February 19, 2007


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