Baby Flames Win First of the Season
The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights beat the Milwaukee Admirals 7-1 on Saturday night at the Bradley Center. It was the first win of the regular season for the Knights who improve to 1-0-1-0 on the season.
In the first period Tim Ramholt was whistled for a penalty just 40 seconds into the game, but it was the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights who would take advantage. Andrei Taratukhin blocked a shot at the point and raced the other way, converting the breakaway for his first North American pro goal.
The Knights followed with a PP goal (unlike the Flames) when Brad Ference sprung Dave Moss down the left wing with a sharp pass from center. Moss then slipped the puck to the slot where Dustin Boyd beat goalie Karl Goehring with a backhander for his first professional goal.
That string continued late in the period when Justin Taylor handed the puck back to the right point where Brett Palin wristed the puck through traffic and past Goehring to make it 3-0 after one.
In the second Ryan Donally scored off a rush down the right wing for his first pro goal at 9:09. Then after weathering an extended five-on-three penalty kill, the Knights converted another powerplay when Moss fed Richie Regehr for a booming slap shot that beat goalie Scott Reid who began the period in relief of Goehring.
Early in the third period, the Knights continued their barrage. David Van der Gulik notched his first pro goal, slipping the puck underneath Reid while reaching around from the side of the net. Moss then made it 7-0, converting off a netmouth scramble for his team-leading third goal of the year.
Curtis McElhinney was strong throughout, particularly when Milwaukee had the five-on-three in the second. The only goal to beat him was a powerplay tally by Alexander Radulov with less than seven minutes to go. McElhinney finished with 26 saves.
The six goal margin of victory is the largest in Ak-Sar-Ben Knights’ two-year history.
The Knights return to action next Saturday, October 14th when they visit the Grand Rapids Griffins for a 6:00 p.m, The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights host their home opener on Friday, October 20th when they welcome the Syracuse Crunch. If you complain about the NHL schedule you should see the AHL one. The Knights have a week off this week and then two weeks later play 3 games in 3 nights.