Houston Has Been Stubborn Vs. Knights
By Mike Patterson, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Feb. 6–Following an eight-game homestand, the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights hit the road tonight to begin a six-game road swing.
The Knights, who travel to Houston, will play 10 of their next 11 away from the Civic Auditorium. The lone exception is a Feb. 17 home game against the Peoria Rivermen.
“I hope it’ll be a good thing to play some games on the road,” Omaha coach Ryan McGill said. “We had a pretty good homestand but you always wish it could have been a little better.”
The Knights ended their string of home games Saturday night with a 2-1 loss against San Antonio. Still, Omaha won six of the eight games on the homestand to remain in second place in the American Hockey League’s West Division.
Omaha (29-15-3) will play Houston (19-22-3-5) tonight and Thursday night at 7:05. The Knights then move on to play at Rochester (33-13-1) on Saturday at 8:05 p.m.
McGill said the recent loss against the last-place Rampage was not the way he wanted to start this road trip, the longest of the season.
“We had hoped to go out on a high note,” he said. “Now we need to refocus and make sure we’re mentally ready to compete.”
The Knights trail the first-place Chicago Wolves by eight points. Omaha is four points ahead of third-place Milwaukee and eight better than fourth-place Iowa.
Houston is in sixth place in the seven-team division with 46 points. The Knights are 5-0 against the Aeros this season, but that’s only part of the story.
Three of those victories have come in shootouts, including the last two games Omaha played at the Four Houston Center. The Knights won 1-0 on Dec. 7 and 4-3 two nights later.
Omaha hasn’t seen Saturday’s opponent nearly as much. The Knights have played Rochester just once, winning 2-1 at the Civic Auditorium on Jan. 20.
McGill will be looking for another solid effort tonight from goalie Curtis McElhinney, who was named the league’s player of the week in early December after his performance in Houston. He has made 14 consecutive starts and is fourth in the league in goals-against average at 2.24.
While the Knights are one of the top defensive teams in the league, they’ll be looking to bolster their offensive numbers. Only Peoria and Springfield have scored fewer goals than Omaha, which is 25th in the league in scoring.
The power play also has been a cause for concern. The Knights have dropped to 23rd in the league in that category after going 0 for 13 against San Antonio over the weekend.
“Our guys didn’t play with enough desperation (Saturday night),” McGill said. “That needs to change.”
Lancers to host Waterloo tonight
Sole possession of first place in the USHL and a seven-game win streak will be on the line for Omaha tonight when the Lancers host Waterloo at 7 at the Mid-America Center.
Omaha is tied with Tri-City at 48 points apiece atop the West Division, while Waterloo leads the East Division and league with 49 points. The Lancers, who play four of their next five on the road, have defeated the Black Hawks in their past two meetings after falling in the opener between the two. The 4-0 loss on Oct. 21 remains Omaha’s only defeat in 14 games against the East Division.
Lancers coach Mike Hastings has gotten strong play from forward Mark Olver, who has 12 points in his past 10 games. But Olver’s linemates, Patrick Schafer and Andrew Conboy, have done their fair share.
“When they’re going, we’re going,” Hastings said. – Joshua Buechler
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Copyright (c) 2007, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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