McElhinney named AHL Player of the Week

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights goaltender Curtis McElhinney has been named the CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending February 25, 2007.

McElhinney won three road games last week, stopping 94 of 97 shots and posting two shutouts to help the Knights move closer to the West Division lead.

McElhinney kicked off Omaha’s four-game road trip by making 32 saves and stopping five of six shootout attempts in a 4-3 win at Peoria on Wednesday night. He followed that performance up by stopping all 33 shots he faced in a 1-0 victory in Milwaukee on Friday, and then blanked first-place Chicago with 29 saves in a 2-0 decision on Saturday.

For the week, McElhinney was 3-0-0 with a 0.97 goals-against average and a .969 save percentage.

In recognition of his achievement, McElhinney will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Ak-Sar-Ben Knights’ home game.

A 23-year-old native of London, Ont., McElhinney has a record of 24-13-1 in 41 appearances for Omaha this season. He ranks third in the American Hockey League in wins, fifth in goals-against average (2.21), tied for second in shutouts (6) and fourth in minutes played (2,259), and represented the Knights at last month’s 2007 Rbk Hockey AHL All-Star Classic. The second-year pro was selected by Calgary in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and spent four seasons at Colorado College.

Other nominees for CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week include Albany center Keith Aucoin, Binghamton right wing Jeff Heerema, Chicago center Steve Martins, Grand Rapids goaltender Stefan Liv, Hamilton goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris, Hartford center Jarkko Immonen, Hershey goaltender Maxime Daigneault, Houston center Jason Morgan, Iowa goaltender Dan Ellis, Manchester center Marty Murray, Manitoba right wing Lee Goren, Milwaukee goaltender Pekka Rinne, Peoria center Ryan Ramsay, Portland right wing Joe Motzko, Providence right wing Dennis Packard, Rochester right wing Greg Jacina, Syracuse left wing Alexandre Picard, Toronto right wing Ben Ondrus and Worcester goaltender Thomas Greiss.

Also see: Previous winners, CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week