Knights run win streak to four games

Published on December 11, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


Omaha, NE - After posting to a 3-11 record in shootouts during their inaugural season, the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights were looking to improve on those statistics in season two. They're off to a good start. The Knights won their first two shootouts of 2006-07, beating the Houston Aeros in back-to-back games to extend their winning streak to four games. The Knights play just two games this week, visiting the West Division-leading Chicago Wolves on Friday before returning home to host the Iowa Stars on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The home game also marks the second annual Teddy Bear Toss sponsored by Holiday Inn Central Convention Center to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska. 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:
Thursday, December 7: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 1, Houston Aeros 0 SO
In their first trip to Houston this season, the Knights and the Aeros were locked in a goaltenders duel. Curtis McElhinney and Houston's Josh Harding took turns stonewalling the opposition. McElhinney was at his best in the third period when Houston had five of its six powerplays for the game. His best save came on a partial breakaway by the Aeros' Danny Irmen in the final ten minutes of regulation. The teams played scoreless through overtime, leading to the first shootout of the season for the Knights. Houston elected to shoot first and took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Roman Voloshenko. The Knights answered on the very next shot with a tally from Carsen Germyn. Following two scoreless rounds, Andrei Taratukhin put the Knights up 2-1. McElhinney then stopped Benoit Pouliot in round five to earn the win.

Saturday, December 9: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 4, Houston Aeros 3 SO
The Aeros ended their string of frustration against the Knights when they got a powerplay goal from Ryan Hamilton just 3:03 into the game. The goal ended a scoreless drought of 188:03 against the Knights to start the season. Omaha answered with a powerplay goal from Dustin Boyd to tie the game at one after a period. Peter Ratchuk gave the Aeros the lead back with a powerplay goal in the second, and Joel Ward made it 3-1 just 1:13 into the third. The Knights began their comeback at 15:47 when Boyd set up Andrei Taratukhin for his third goal of the year. Then on the powerplay, Carsen Germyn scored from Warren Peters to tie the game and force overtime and the shootout. Boyd and Taratukhin scored back to back in rounds five and six but Roman Voloshenko answered in round six to make it 2-2. In round 13, Boyd scored his second of the shootout, and Curtis McElhinney then stopped Danny Irmen to preserve the win.

CCM VECTOR/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINATION:
The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights nominated goaltender Curtis McElhinney as the CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week for the week ending December 10, 2006. In two games last week, McElhinney posted a record of 2-0-0, allowing three goals on 60 shots while stopping 15 of 18 shots in two shootout wins. His goals-against average for the week was 0.98 and his save percentage was .950. On Thursday, McElhinney earned his second consecutive shutout and third of the season overall. He stopped 29 shots in regulation and overtime and then four of five shots in a shootout in a 1-0 win at Houston. In the process, he set a new franchise record for shutout minutes (165:57). Two nights later, the native of London, Ontario turned aside 28 of 31 Houston shots and then made 11 saves on 13 shots in the longest shootout in Knights' history, a 4-3 win against the Aeros. The win, his ninth of the season, equaled his rookie total.

THE WEEK AHEAD:
DAY/DATE EVENT TIME*
Monday, December 11 Practice @ OCA 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 12 Practice @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 13 Practice @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 14 Travel to Chicago
Practice @ AA TBD
Friday, December 15 Morning Skate @ AA 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Game @ Chicago 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 16 Game vs. Iowa 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 17 Day Off

OCA - Omaha Civic Auditorium AA - Allstate Arena * - 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.

AK-SAR-BEN KNIGHTS BASICS
RECORD: 16-7-2-0 POWERPLAY: 22/156, 14.1% VS. DIV.: 12-5-2-0
HOME: 6-4-0-0 PENALTY KILL: 142/163, 87.1%
ROAD: 10-3-2-0 LAST TEN: 6-3-1-0 STREAK: 4-0-1-0

OPPONENTS THIS WEEK:
Friday, December 15 @ Chicago Wolves (Atlanta Thrashers), 7:30 p.m.
Fourth of ten meetings; second of five meetings in Chicago, IL
The Knights make their second visit to Chicago this season looking to snap a two-game losing streak against the Wolves. After winning the first meeting 4-2 in Chicago on October 15th, the Knights have dropped 3-1 and 6-3 decisions to the Wolves in Omaha. The Wolves begin the week at the top of the West Division with a record of 18-7-1-0, good for 37 points. That puts them three ahead of the Knights. Chicago is coming off a loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday but has still gone 7-3-0-0 in its last ten games. The Wolves feature arguably the most dynamic line in the AHL with Jason Krog, Darren Haydar and Brett Sterling. They are the top three scorers in the league with 52, 50 and 38 points respectively. Sterling leads the team and the league in goals with 21. His point total is also tops among league rookies. Krog's 33 assists pace the AHL. The Wolves lead the league with 121 goals scored, an average of 4.65 per game. Goalie Michael Garnett has posted a team-best nine wins in 16 games this season. Veteran Fred Brathwaite completes the tandem. He is 8-2-0 with a team-best 2.69 goals-against average. The Wolves visit the Iowa Stars on Tuesday before hosting the Knights.

Saturday, December 16 vs. Iowa Stars (Dallas Stars/Edmonton Oilers), 7:00 p.m.
Fourth of ten meetings; second of five in Des Moines, IA
The Knights renew acquaintances with the Stars after a month and a half-long hiatus in the season series. The two teams last met on November 4th, a 3-0 Stars' win in Omaha. So far, the Knights are 2-1-0-0 against the Stars this season. Iowa begins the week in fourth place in the West Division with a record of 13-12-0-0, good for 26 points. The Stars are looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Eight of their 13 wins this year have come on the road. Three players are tied for the team lead in scoring. Junior Lessard, Marty Sertich and Joel Lundqvist all have 21 points. Lessard leads the team with nine goals while Lunqvist has a team-best 14 assists. Former UNO Maverick Dan Ellis and rookie Tobias Stephan share time in the Stars' goal. Ellis is 7-7-0 in 14 appearances with a 3.86 goals-against average. Stephan is 6-5-0 with a team-best 2.32 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Iowa has not played since a 5-2 loss at Chicago on December 5th. The Stars host Chicago on Tuesday and visit Peoria on Friday before coming to Omaha.

TRANSACTIONS:
12/5/06 DELETE Richie Regehr (D), recalled from loan by Calgary (NHL)
12/7/06 ADD Marc Magliarditi (G), signed to a PTO
12/7/06 DELETE Brandon Prust (LW), recalled from loan by Calgary (NHL)
12/10/06 DELETE Marc Magliarditi (G), released from PTO
12/10/06 ADD Richie Regehr (D), re-assigned on loan from Calgary (NHL)
12/10/06 ADD Brandon Prust (LW), re-assigned on loan from Calgary (NHL)


KNIGHTS NOTES:
Center Dustin Boyd had a goal and two assists and scored two shootout goals, including the deciding goal, in a 4-3 win at Houston on December 9th.
Center Andrei Taratukhin scored shootout goals in back to back games including the deciding goal in the Knights' 1-0 shootout win over Houston on December 7th.
Defenseman Richie Regehr was recalled by the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, December 5th, his first NHL recall of the season.
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The Knights swept a string of three straight games against the Houston Aeros and improved to 4-0-0-0 against the Aeros this season. Since losing the first five games of the all-time series, the Knights have gone 7-1-1-0 against their West Division neighbors. Eight of the 14 meetings all-time have been decided in either overtime or a shootout. With their 1-0 shootout win on December 7th, the Knights earned their first ever win in Houston. The Toyota Center was the only building in which the Knights had yet to win.
IN THE COMMUNITY:
Radio Appearance, December 12: Knights' President Ren Smith will be a guest on The Travis Justice Show on Big Sports 590 (AM) at 10:00 a.m.

Hospital Visit, December 12: Knights' players Brett Palin, Curtis McElhinney, Steve Marr and Ryan Donally are scheduled to visit patients at Children's Hospital in Omaha at 2:00 p.m.

Face-Off Luncheon, December 13: The Knights will host their first Face-Off Luncheon at The Ice House Sports Bar at 108th and Maple Streets in Omaha at 12:15 p.m. The Knights will discuss ticket and marketing initiatives, and head coach Ryan McGill will provide a glimpse inside the locker room.

Booster Club Holiday Party, December 13: Players, coaches and staff will join the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' Booster Club for their Holiday Party at The Anchor Inn in Omaha at 6:30 p.m.

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, earned five out of six points last week with two wins bookending a shootout loss. The Flames shutout Carolina 3-0 on Tuesday, lost at Minnesota 3-2 in a shootout and beat Vancouver 5-3 on Saturday. This week, the Flames host Minnesota on Tuesday before embarking on a six-game road trip. The first two stops come in Vancouver on Thursday and in Phoenix on Saturday. The win over the Canucks last Saturday moved the Flames into third place in the Northwest Division with a record of 14-10-3, good for 31 points. Jarome Iginla leads the Flames in scoring with 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points. His goal total leads the team. Alex Tanguay and Daymond Langkow are tied for second with 25 points each. Tanguay has a team-best 19 assists. Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff is 14-9-2 with a 2.04 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.

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

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American Hockey League Stories from December 11, 2006


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