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Knights' road trip swings south to Texas

November 7, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


Omaha, NE - The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights four-game road trip heads to The Lone Star State this week. The Knights will visit the Houston Aeros for games on Wednesday, November 9th and Friday, November 11th. The Knights then return to the friendly confines of the Omaha Civic Auditorium for the first of five straight home games, a meeting with the Toronto Marlies on Sunday, November 13th at 5:00 p.m. The game will feature a post-game "Skate With The Team", and every fan in attendance will receive the official 2005-2006 team photo. The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights earned three of a possible six points last week with a shootout loss to Milwaukee and a split of two games at Peoria. Omaha begins the week in third place in the West Division with a record of 5-5-0-3, good for thirteen points. Tickets for Sunday's game are on sale all week at the Omaha 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, November 2: Milwaukee Admirals 3, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 2 SO
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights played their fourth consecutive home shootout, losing to the Milwaukee Admirals 3-2. Kris Beech had a goal and an assist and scored the only goal of the shootout to propel the Admirals to the win. The Knights scored the game's first goal. Dave Moss tipped in a shot by Brandon Rogers during a powerplay just 3:12 into the game to put the Knights up 1-0. All four of Moss' goals this year have come on the powerplay. Eric Nystrom picked up an assist. Milwaukee tied the game on their own powerplay in the second period. Beech knocked a bouncing puck past goaltender Curtis McElhinney at 11:03 for his fifth goal of the year. The game stayed tied until the late going of the third period. Justin Taylor swept out from behind the Admirals net, cut across the slot and beat goaltender Pekka Rinne with a wrist shot for his first goal of the year. Taylor was playing his first game after missing the last seven games with an injury. Nystrom earned his second assist on the goal. But the Admirals tied the game with just 27 seconds remaining in regulation. With Rinne pulled for an extra attacker, Beech set up Jordin Tootoo who jammed the puck past McElhinney to tie the game at two. The Knights survived a penalty kill in overtime to reach the shootout. The goalies ruled there until the fifth and final round when Beech beat McElhinney with a wrist shot to the blocker side. Rinne then stopped fellow Fin Tomi Maki to cement the 3-2 win.

Friday, November 4: Peoria Rivermen 2, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 0
The Peoria Rivermen earned their third straight shutout at the expense of the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. Peoria broke open a tight game with two third-period goals to win 2-0 in the first meeting of ten between the two teams. Omaha and Peoria played a scoreless first period although each team had good chances turned aside. Brent Krahn made 12 saves for the Knights while Curtis Sanford stopped eight for the Rivermen. Peoria came into the game with the sixth-ranked powerplay in the American Hockey League and enjoyed four man advantages in the second period. Still, they were held at bay by the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights who actually posted an 11-8 shot edge in the period. The tie was broken early in the third period. Just after killing off a penalty, the Rivermen struck. Colin Hemingway beat Krahn with a wrist shot from the left wing at 1:51. Just 1:14 later, Mike Glumac tipped in a point shot by Hemingway for his team-leading sixth goal of the season. It was more than enough for Sanford who stopped all 28 shots he faced for his second and his team's fourth shutout of the year.

Saturday, November 5, 2005: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 3, Peoria Rivermen 2
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights kept a high-powered offense in check and got a third-period powerplay goal from Dave Moss to beat the Peoria Rivermen 3-2 in the rematch. The Knights grabbed their first lead of the weekend. With two Rivermen in the penalty box, Richie Regehr found Tomi Maki alone in the slot. Maki redirected Regehr's hard pass past Jason Bacashihua for his fourth goal of the year. The goal ended Peoria's team shutout streak at 204:43. They hadn't allowed a goal since a 5-1 win over San Antonio on October 28. The Knights stretched their lead to 2-0 early in the second period. Justin Taylor brought the puck down the right wing and tried to drop a pass for Derek Couture. The pass slipped by Couture but found Brantt Myhres coming late. He ripped a slap shot past Bacashihua for his second goal of the season. The Rivermen responded late in the period. Brendan Brooks carried down the slot and dished the puck to Colin Hemingway who snapped a shot to the top corner over the glove hand of goaltender Curtis McElhinney to narrow the Knights lead to 2-1 after two periods. Omaha began the third period with a powerplay and they made it pay off. Regehr held the puck at the right point and threw a shot on goal that was tipped by Moss underneath Bacashihua for his fifth of the year, all of which have come on the powerplay. Peoria drew closer at 9:51 when Charles Linglet scored on a rebound during the team's tenth powerplay of the game. They could get no closer as McElhinney made several tough saves in the late going to preserve the 3-2 win.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

DAY/DATE EVENT TIME BROADCAST
Mon., Nov. 7 Practice @ TIA 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Tues., Nov. 8 Travel to Houston
Wed., Nov. 9 Morning Skate 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Game @ Houston 7:05 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Thurs., Nov. 10 Practice @ Sugarland Arena 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 11 Morning Skate 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Game @ Houston 7:35 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2
Sat., Nov. 5 Travel to Omaha
Sun., Nov. 6 Morning Skate at OCA 9 - 10 a.m.
Game vs. Toronto 5:00 p.m. 1420 AM, Web, B2

Legend
OCA--Omaha Civic Auditorium
TIA--Tranquility Ice Arena
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:

Wednesday & Friday, November 9 & 11: @ Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild), 7:05 p.m. (Wed.), 7:35 p.m. (Sat.)
Third and fourth meetings of ten; first two of five in Houston
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights make their first ever trip to Texas to face the Aeros. The two teams played a pair of games in Omaha back in October. In both cases, the Aeros squeaked out a victory in a shootout, winning 6-5 in the first meeting and prevailing 4-3 in the second. The Aeros begin the week in first place in the West Division with a record of 9-4-1-1, good for 20 points and a two-point edge on second-place Peoria. The Aeros have played more games, 15, than any team in the division. Erik Westrum leads the Aeros in scoring with seven goals and sixteen assists for 23 points in 15 games. Five of his seven goals have come on the powerplay. Kirby Law is second in scoring with nine goals and 18 points. Goaltender Josh Harding recently returned from injury. He leads the Aeros' netminding corps with a record of 6-3-0, a 3.03 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. The Aeros have gone 2-0-0-1 so far in this six-game home stand. The two games against the Knights are part of a four-game week for Houston. The Aeros play a home-and-home series with San Antonio on Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday, November 13: vs. Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs), 5:00 p.m.
First meeting of two; only meeting in Omaha
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights step outside the West Division to host fellow Western Conference rivals, the Toronto Marlies. The Marlies are the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and like the Knights, are in their first year of existence. The Marlies played the previous 14 seasons as the St. John's Maple Leafs in St. John's, Newfoundland. Toronto begins the week tied for fourth place in the North Division with the Cleveland Barons. Both teams have a record of 5-6-0-0, good for ten points. The Marlies have won two straight and are coming off a 2-1 win at Rochester on Sunday. Toronto has a logjam at the top of its scoring chart with John Pohl, Bates Battaglia, Jeremy Williams and Brett Engelhardt all tied for the team lead with nine points. Brad Leeb is right behind with eight points and leads the team with six goals. Jean-Francois Racine and Jean-Sebastien Aubin have split the time in the Marlies' net. Racine leads the pair with a 3-3-0 record, a 3.42 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage. The Marlies will gradually make their way West this week, playing in Peoria on Friday and in Iowa on Saturday before visiting the Knights.

KNIGHTS NOTES:
Rookie Dave Moss is earning a reputation as a powerplay specialist. He scored two goals in three games last week. Each tally came on the powerplay. His goal on Saturday at Peoria was also the game-winner.

Brantt Myhres scored his second goal of the season in Saturday's 3-2 win at Peoria. That doubles the goal total the rugged winger had in 29 games with Lowell last season. His two goals have come in five games this year.

Center Justin Taylor scored his first goal of the season on Wednesday against Milwaukee. It came in his first game back after missing seven games with an injury.

Goaltender Curtis McElhinney stopped 74 of 78 shots last week, earning a win at Peoria and a shootout loss to Milwaukee. For the week, he posted a 1.92 goals-against average and a 94.9% save percentage.

The Knights' 3-2 shootout loss to Milwaukee last Wednesday was their fourth consecutive shootout at home. The Knights are 1-3 in shootouts this season.

The Knights allowed just two powerplay goals in 26 shorthanded situations last week, a penalty killing success rate of 92.3%.

TRANSACTIONS:
11/3/05 ADD Adam Pardy (D), recalled from loan to Las Vegas (ECHL)
11/3/05 DELETE Thomas Bellemare (RW), returned on loan to Las Vegas (ECHL)

IN THE COMMUNITY:
Speakers Bureau, Monday, November 7: Knights' Vice President of Sales and Marketing Brad Haynes will be appearing at the meeting of the Glenwood, IA Optimists Club at 6:00 p.m. at The Oasis in Glenwood. Haynes will speak about the on-going business and community efforts being undertaken by the Knights.

Speakers Bureau, Tuesday, November 8: Knights' Vice President of Sales and Marketing Brad Haynes will be speaking to the Elkhorn and Ralston High School Sports Marketing class during their visit to the Civic Auditorium. Haynes will speak to the students about marketing a professional hockey team.

Radio Appearance, Tuesday, November 8: Knights' play-by-play man Dave Ahlers will be appearing on Pinnacle Sports Network's "Sports Nightly" program (KFAB AM 1110 in Omaha) on Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. He will speak on the Knights' season to date and look forward to the three important division games this week.

Post-Game "Skate with the Team", Sunday, November 13: Fans are invited to bring their skates to Sunday's game against the Toronto Marlies. Following the game, fans will be able to skate on the ice of the Omaha Civic Auditorium with the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. During that time, fans can get autographs, take pictures and meet the players.

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.



American Hockey League Stories from November 7, 2005


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