AHL: Knights Chase First Place

By Mike Patterson, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Jan. 19–The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights will seek to extend their winning streak to five tonight against the visiting Iowa Stars.

The Knights, in the midst of an eight-game homestand, haven’t lost since Jan. 5. Omaha (25-13-3) has climbed within two points of first-place Chicago in the American Hockey League’s West Division.

The struggling Wolves, who play tonight at Peoria, have lost five in a row.

"It’s not a bad thing for our guys to be thinking about first place," Omaha coach Ryan McGill said. "It’s a short-term goal but one that we can really focus on."

After tonight’s game, the Knights will play host to the Rochester Americans on Saturday night. Both games this weekend begin at 7 p.m. at the Civic Auditorium.

Omaha is coming off a 3-1 win Tuesday night against Hamilton. The Knights’ Curtis McElhinney outdueled the Bulldogs’ Jaroslav Halak, the two goalies with the lowest goal-against averages in the 27-team league.

The victory also avenged two previous losses against the Bulldogs, who had outscored the Knights 11-1.

Saturday night’s game will be the midway point of the current homestand, Omaha’s longest of the season. Continued success on home ice is something that has the Knights’ attention.

"It’s no secret that our home record hadn’t been that good," forward Warren Peters said. "We knew we needed to pick it up and make sure playing in this building is a big advantage for us."

Omaha was just 8-8 at the Civic Auditorium before winning its past three home games. The Knights have been much better — 14-5-3 — on the road.

The Stars are 21-17-2-1 and trail the Knights by eight points. Omaha has won four of seven previous games against Iowa, including a 5-1 road victory in their most recent game Dec. 31.

This will be the first time the Knights have seen Rochester this season. The Americans lead the North Division with a 28-11-1 mark.

"These are two more big games for us," McGill said. "We need to get as many points as we can at home because we’ve got a long road trip ahead of us."

Tonight’s game is Speedway night

Tonight’s game against the Iowa Stars will be Kansas Speedway night, with giveaways tied into the racetrack in Kansas City, Kan.

Fans will be able to see the track’s official pace car, pace truck and a car driven by Jeff Simmons in the Indy Car series. Two season tickets to the speedway will be given away to one fan, and other racing merchandise will be given out.

—–

Copyright (c) 2007, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.