Knights Take Giant Steps In Year One

April 21, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


Omaha, NE - The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights brought professional hockey to the Heartland after a 30-year absence, and hockey fans were rewarded for their patience. The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, a true expansion team with nine rookies on their opening night roster, exceeded expectations in their inaugural season. They finished their first American Hockey League campaign with a record of 35-31-3-11. Under the guidance of head coach Ryan McGill and assistant coach Scott Allen, the Knights were one of the AHL's best defensive teams, finishing in the top five in both goals against and penalty killing. More importantly, the Knights ably served their role as a development team for their National Hockey League affiliate, the Calgary Flames. The Knights provided six players to the Flames at different times of the year.

"The American Hockey League is all about developing young players, and we were very happy with our results in our first season," said Doug Soetaert, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' president and assistant general manager of the Flames. "We began and ended our season with a sizeable group of rookies and second year players on our team. These players made great strides during the course of the season, helping us establish our hard-working identity and making us a team that other teams didn't want to play.

"It has been a tremendous advantage to develop such a large core group of players together," Soetaert added. "They will be the nucleus for what we think is going to be an even stronger team in season two, a team that could challenge for a Calder Cup."

The Flames have several players under contract for next season. Those players who could return to Omaha next year include goaltender Curtis McElhinney, defensemen Adam Pardy, Tim Hambly, Brett Palin, Mark Giordano, Richie Regehr and Steve Marr and forwards Cam Cunning, Dave Moss, Tomi Maki, Justin Taylor, Carsen Germyn, Eric Nystrom, Derek Couture, Warren Peters and Brandon Prust.

In addition, the Flames have several players who will be playing their first full season of professional hockey in 2006-2007. Aki Seitsonen and Adam Cracknell both made their professional debuts with the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights after the completion of their respective junior hockey seasons this spring. They could be joined by Dustin Boyd, a center currently playing for the Moose Jaw Warriors in the Western Hockey League.

"Given the new economic model in the NHL, the Calgary Flames are committed to building their team through the draft and developing those players here in Omaha," said Soetaert.

2005-2006 AK-SAR-BEN KNIGHTS REGULAR SEASON BASICS:
RECORD: 35-31-3-11
HOME: 16-13-2-9
ROAD: 19-18-1-2
VS. WEST DIV.: 24-24-3-9
VS. WESTERN CONF.: 34-30-3-11
POWERPLAY: 94/539, 17.44%, AHL Rank-14th
PENALTY KILL: 471/554, 85.02%, AHL Rank-3rd
GOALS FOR: 206, 2.58/GM AVG, AHL Rank-T-24th
GOALS AGAINST: 221, 2.76/GM AVG, AHL Rank-4th

LEADING THE WAY:
Defenseman Mark Giordano led the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights in scoring during their inaugural season. In 73 games, he had 16 goals and 42 assists for 58 points. His 42 assists were also a team best. Right wing Carsen Germyn led the team with 24 goals and was second in points with 55. He had a team high five game-winning goals. Rookie center Dave Moss was third in team scoring with 21 goals and 48 points. He also led the team with 16 powerplay goals. Defenseman Brett Palin was the team's plus/minus leader at +4. Center Warren Peters led the team with three shorthanded goals. Rookie right wing Tomi Maki was the only Knight to play in all 80 games. Rookie left wing Brandon Prust led the team with 294 penalty minutes. Goaltender Brent Krahn led the team with 57 games played, 3241 minutes played and 26 wins. He also had a team low 2.50 goals-against average. He and partner Curtis McElhinney both finished with a .912 save percentage and three shutouts.

AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS:
Goalies Brent Krahn and Curtis McElhinney both ranked in the top five in AHL goals-against average. Krahn finished in a tie for third (2.50) while McElhinney was fifth (2.52). The Knights were the only team in the league with two goaltenders in the top ten. Krahn tied for sixth in the league with 26 wins. Left wing Brandon Prust was fifth in the league in penalty minutes (294) and second among AHL rookies. Center Dave Moss tied for third among AHL rookies in powerplay goals (16). Defenseman Mark Giordano was first among all AHL defensemen with 12 powerplay goals, tied for eighth among defensemen with 42 assists and fourth overall in defensemen scoring (58). As a team, the Knights excelled defensively, ranking in the top five in both goals-against (2.58, 4th) and penalty kill (85.02%, 3rd).

2005-2006 TRANSACTIONS AND PLAYER MOVEMENT:
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights used 36 players this season, tying them with the Houston Aeros for the fewest players used by any of the 27 teams in the American Hockey League. There were 69 transactions between the start of the season on October 5, 2005 and the end on April 16, 2006. Although April was the shortest month, it featured the most player moves with 14. November was the lightest month with just five. Six Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' players appeared in action for the Knights' NHL affiliate, the Calgary Flames, totaling 45 games played. Captain Craig MacDonald led the way with 29 games played. Richie Regehr (14 GP), Mark Giordano (7 GP), Eric Nystrom (2 GP), Carsen Germyn (1 GP) and Lynn Loyns (1 GP) also suited up for the Flames.

2006 RBK HOCKEY/AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC AT WINNIPEG, MANITOBA:
Defenseman Mark Giordano was chosen to represent the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights at the 2006 Rbk Hockey/AHL All-Star Classic in Winnipeg, Manitoba on January 31st and February 1st. Giordano could not attend because he was on recall to the Calgary Flames at the time, so fellow defenseman Richie Regehr took his place. Regehr had a goal and an assist as the Canadian AHL All-Stars beat the PlanetUSA All-Stars 9-4.

2005-2006 AWARDS AND HONORS:
A sparkling month of February led to two league awards for goaltender Brent Krahn. Krahn was named the CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending February 26th. That week, he posted a record of 3-0-0, a goals-against average of 1.62 and a save percentage of .938. Later that week, Krahn was recognized as the Koho/AHL Goaltender of the Month for February. He finished the month with a record of 7-2-0, a 1.71 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage. In addition, rookie defenseman Brett Palin was named the team's winner of the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year for his community service on behalf of the Knights.

BANCROFT'S MILESTONE:
Defenseman Steve Bancroft reached a milestone few in his line of work ever do. On January 28, 2006, Bancroft played in his 1,000th North American professional game when the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights visited the Iowa Stars. Earlier in the year, Bancroft played in his 500th American Hockey League game when the Knights again played Iowa on December 17, 2005. Bancroft, who retired following the Knights' final game on April 16, was sixth on the team in games played with 75. He had three goals and 16 assists for 19 points. He finished his North American career with 1,030 games played, 138 goals, 466 assists and 604 points. He also had 1,770 penalty minutes. He played six games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks. Bancroft played in 91 playoff games, earning five goals, 35 assists and 170 penalty minutes. He won a Calder Cup Championship with Providence in 1998-99.

IN THE COMMUNITY:
The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights made more than 100 player and staff appearances in the greater Omaha community during the 2005-2006 season. Knights' players and staff lent their time to Omaha Public Schools, Millard Public Schools, Alegent's Immanuel Medical Center, Children's Hospital, the Salvation Army and the Open Door Mission. Knights' players took part in practices with children in the Omaha Metropolitan Amateur Hockey Association and Omaha Gladiators Youth Hockey.

The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights Charitable Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the team, made donations to the Omaha Police Foundation, the Omaha Fire Department's Kloewer Fund and Creighton University's Jaybacker Annual Fund totaling $15,000. The Foundation raised an equal sum through the team's "Chuck A Puck" promotion during games and through various on-line auctions.

The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights' Speakers Bureau provided speakers to local businesses, civic and church groups and other organizations for their weekly or monthly meetings and special events during the season. The Knights will continue to schedule speakers for this free program throughout the summer months. 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.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER REGULAR SEASON MILESTONES:
First professional goal
Tomi Maki, October 7, 2005 vs. Chicago Wolves
Dave Moss, October 18, 2005 vs. Houston Aeros
Brandon Prust, October 28, 2005 vs. Chicago Wolves
Eric Nystrom, November 17, 2005 vs. San Antonio
Derek Couture, December 30, 2005 vs. Milwaukee Admirals
Cam Cunning, March 23, 2006 vs. Houston Aeros
Adam Cracknell, April 16, 2006 @ San Antonio Rampage

First AHL goal
Chris Neiszner, January 27, 2006 vs. Grand Rapids Griffins
Tim Hambly, February 25, 2005 @ Toronto Marlies

First professional shutout
Curtis McElhinney, October 15, 2005 vs. San Antonio Rampage

First NHL game played
Eric Nystrom, October 10, 2005 @ Colorado Avalanche
Richie Regehr, December 29, 2005 vs. Minnesota Wild
Mark Giordano, January 30, 2006 @ St. Louis Blues
Carsen Germyn, April 1, 2006 @ Edmonton Oilers

First NHL assist/point
Richie Regehr, December 29, 2005 vs. Minnesota Wild
Mark Giordano, April 8, 2006 @ Vancouver Canucks

100th AHL point
Carsen Germyn, April 15, 2006 @ San Antonio Rampage

1,000th North American professional game played
Steve Bancroft, January 28, 2006 @ Iowa Stars

500th professional game played
Craig MacDonald, October 15, 2005 vs. San Antonio Rampage

500th AHL game played
Steve Bancroft, December 17, 2005 vs. Iowa Stars

400th AHL game played
Ajay Baines, January 13, 2006 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Zenith Komarniski, March 13, 2006 @ San Antonio Rampage

300th AHL game played
Lynn Loyns, March 31, 2006 vs. Houston Aeros

200th AHL game played
Carsen Germyn, March 13, 2006 @ San Antonio Rampage

100th AHL game played
Mark Giordano, December 23, 2005 @ Houston Aeros
Warren Peters, January 27, 2006 vs. Grand Rapids Griffins
Richie Regehr, January 29, 2006 vs. Peoria Rivermen
Brent Krahn, March 12, 2006 vs. Houston Aeros

100th AHL win
Brent Krahn, March 31, 2006 vs. Houston Aeros

AK-SAR-BEN KNIGHTS 2005-06 TEAM STATISTICS--FINAL:
Click here to view Ak-Sar-Ben Knights player stats. Click here to view Ak-Sar-Ben Knights goalie stats.

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 April 21, 2006


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