Two wins at home keep Knights in first

Published on November 20, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


Omaha, NE - Thanksgiving hasn't arrived yet, but the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights used a little home cooking to keep themselves in a tie with the Chicago Wolves for the top spot in the West Division. The Knights won back-to-back home games last weekend after finishing a four-game road trip with a loss. The Knights beat Milwaukee and Houston to improve their record to 12-4-1-0 on the season. The wins came on the heels of a loss in Hamilton on Tuesday. The Knights finish off a three-game home stand on Wednesday when they host the Wolves. They'll travel to Peoria to face the Rivermen on Friday before returning home to host Peoria on Saturday. On Wednesday, the Knights and Bag 'N Save host the first ever "Turkey Toss" as fans will bowl frozen turkeys on the ice for a chance to win a holiday dinner from Bag 'N Save. 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:
Tuesday, November 14: Hamilton Bulldogs 5, Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 0
The Knights struggles with the Bulldogs continued in the final game of the four-game road trip. Kyle Chipchura and Jonathan Ferland scored seven seconds apart late in the first period to put the Bulldogs in front. Mathieu Aubin scored a powerplay goal at 18:53 to make it 3-0 after one. Michael Lambert and Mikhail Grabovski scored goals in the second and third periods for the final score. The Knights were outscored 11-1 in two games against the Bulldogs during the trip. Brent Krahn took the loss in net with 20 saves.

Friday, November 17: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 4, Milwaukee Admirals 1
The Knights surrendered the first goal for the third straight game when rookie Alexander Radulov scored just 1:44 into the game. It would be the last goal the Knights and goalie Brent Krahn would allow on the weekend. Dustin Boyd answered back at 4:55 of the second to tie the game at one after two. The Knights got the game winner at 7:22 of the third when Richie Regehr scored a powerplay goal off an assist from Mark Giordano who was playing his first game with Omaha after being re-assigned by the Calgary Flames. David Van der Gulik and Boyd added goals in the late-going to seal the victory. Boyd finished with two goals and an assist, and Regehr and Van der Gulik each had a goal and an assists. Krahn finished with 18 saves.

Saturday, November 18: Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 3, Houston Aeros 0
In the first meeting of the year between the two division rivals, the Knights started quickly. Dave Moss tapped home a feed from Dustin Boyd at 2:04 of the first period for the only goal the Knights would need. Eric Nystrom converted a pass from Warren Peters at 7:41 to make it 2-0 Omaha after one. Eric Godard added an empty-net goal off an assist from Carsen Germyn to conclude the scoring late in the third. Brent Krahn made 14 saves to earn the Knights' second shutout of the season.


THE WEEK AHEAD:
DAY/DATE EVENT TIME*
Monday, November 20 Practice @ TIA 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, November 21 Practice @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday, November 22 Morning Skate @ OCA 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Game vs. Chicago 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, November 23 Practice @ OCA 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Friday, November 24 Morning Skate @ CA 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Game @ Peoria 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 25 Game vs. Peoria 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 26 Day Off

OCA - Omaha Civic Auditorium TIA - Tranquility Ice Arena CA - Carver 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: 12-4-1-0 POWERPLAY: 15/97, 15.5% VS. DIV.: 8-2-1-0
HOME: 5-2-0-0 PENALTY KILL: 104/118, 88.1%
ROAD: 7-2-1-0 LAST TEN: 6-4-0-0 STREAK: 2-0-0-0

OPPONENTS THIS WEEK:
Wednesday, November 22 vs. Chicago Wolves (Atlanta Thrashers), 7:00 p.m.
Third of ten meetings; second of five meetings in Omaha
The Knights kick off the week with a battle for sole possession of first place in the West Division. The Knights and Wolves will come into the game with identical 12-4-1-0 records, good for 25 points. The Wolves have been one of the AHL's hottest teams. They are winners of three straight and are 8-1-1-0 in their last ten. So far this season, the two teams have split a pair of games with each team winning on the road. That's not surprising. The Wolves are an AHL-best 9-1-0-0 away from home this year while the Knights are 7-2-1-0. The Wolves are led by the dynamic duo of Jason Krog and Darren Haydar who are one-two in AHL scoring. Krog has 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points while Haydar has 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points. The third member of their line, rookie Brett Sterling, has tallied 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points to rank second among all AHL rookies. The trio has accounted for nearly 49% of the Wolves' goals this season. Only one other player has reached double digits in points. Michael Garnett has earned eight of the Wolves' 12 wins this season in goal. He's posted a 2.81 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. Chicago does not play before visiting the Knights.

Fri. Nov. 24 @ Peoria Rivermen; Sat. Nov. 25 vs. Peoria Rivermen (St. Louis Blues); Fri. 7:30 p.m., Sat. 7:00 p.m.
Second and third of ten meetings; second of five in Peoria, IL; first of five meetings in Omaha
The Knights play the first of three home-and-home series with the Rivermen beginning Friday. The game will be a rematch of Opening Night when the Rivermen beat the Knights in overtime 4-3. Since January 13th of last season, the Rivermen have had the Knights' number. Omaha is 0-5-2-1 against the Blues' top prospects over a span of eight games. The Knights were 0-3-1-1 against Peoria at home last year. The Rivermen begin the week in fourth place in the West Division with a record of 8-6-1-2, good for 19 points. They have earned points in four straight games. Trent Whitfield leads the team in scoring with eight goals and ten assists for 18 points. He's tied with Charles Linglet for the team lead in goals while his assist total paces the team. Jon DiSalvatore is second in scoring with 12 points. Rookie Marek Schwarz has played a majority of the games in the Peoria net. He's got a record of 6-2-0 and a goals-against average of 2.62. The Rivermen do not play until hosting the Knights on Friday.

KNIGHTS NOTES:
Goaltender Brent Krahn earned his tenth AHL shutout with a 14-save, 3-0 win over Houston on November 18th. Krahn has not allowed a goal in 118:16, a new franchise record.
Rookie center Dustin Boyd earned two goals and two assists last week, including a two goal-one assist effort against Milwaukee on November 17th. Boyd has now posted six multiple point games this season.
The 14 shots allowed to Houston were a new season low, as were the three shots allowed in both the first and third periods.
In that same game, the Knights fired a season high 37 shots on goal. That total came one day after the Knights had a then-season high 33 shots on goal.
The Knights are nine games ahead of last year's pace in wins. The Knights didn't earn their 12th win of the season last year until December 7, their 26th game of the year.
TRANSACTIONS:
11/15/06 ADD Mark Giordano (D), assigned on loan from Calgary (NHL)
11/18/06 ADD Brandon Prust (LW), re-assigned on loan from Calgary (NHL)

IN THE COMMUNITY:
Radio Appearance, November 21: Knights' players Warren Peters, Eric Nystrom, Dave Moss and Tim Hambly will join Big Party and Degan on Channel 94 (94.1 FM) in Omaha at 8:00 a.m.

Charity Food Drive, November 25: Fans are encouraged to bring a canned food item to the Knights' game with Peoria. For doing so, they'll receive a voucher for a free ticket to any of the Knights' upcoming Wednesday home games. The food will help Operation Others, a group of local high school students collecting donations for less fortunate families in the greater Omaha area.

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, extended their winning streak to six games with wins over St. Louis and Detroit last week. The Flames are tied for fourth in the Northwest Division with a record of 9-7-2. The Flames square off with Edmonton on the road on Tuesday in the third "Battle of Alberta" this season. They'll return home to host Chicago on Wednesday and then travel to Southern California for games at Los Angeles on Saturday and Anaheim on Sunday. Jarome Iginla leads the Flames in scoring with nine goals and twelve assists for 21 points. Alex Tanguay is second with three goals and a team-best 13 assists for 16 points. Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff is 9-7-1 this season with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 20, 2006


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