SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Manchester Monarchs goaltender Daniel Taylor and Hartford Wolf Pack goaltender Miika Wiikman have been named co-winners of the Rbk/AHL Player of the Week award for the period ending January 27, 2008. Combined, the two rookie netminders allowed just one goal on 160 shots in five starts.
Taylor went 2-0-0 and stopped all 67 shots he faced to run his personal shutout streak to 185 minutes, 36 seconds. He made 35 saves in a 2-0 victory over Worcester on Jan. 23, and denied 32 shots in a 4-0 win over Lowell on Jan. 25, his third consecutive shutout.
Wiikman was 3-0-0 with a 0.33 goals-against average, a .989 save percentage and two shutouts of his own. He recorded 26 saves in a 1-0 win at Albany on Jan. 23, turned aside 29 of 30 shots in a 3-1 victory over Lowell on Jan. 25, and posted a 37-save whitewash of league-leading Providence in a 3-0 win on Jan. 26.
In recognition of their achievements, Taylor and Wiikman will each be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming home game.
Taylor, a 21-year-old native of Plymouth, England, is now 7-2-0 with a 1.90 GAA, a .939 save percentage and three shutouts in 11 games with Manchester this season. Taylor was a 2004 draft pick by the Los Angeles Kings.
Wiikman, 23, is in his first season of North American pro hockey after playing in Finland the last three years. A native of Mariestad, Sweden, Wiikman is 12-4-1 with a 2.16 GAA, a .924 save percentage and two shutouts in 19 appearances for Hartford this season.
Other nominees for Rbk/AHL Player of the Week include Albany right wing Jakub Petruzalek, Bridgeport left wing Jeff Tambellini, Chicago center Jason Krog, Houston left wing Benoit Pouliot, Lake Erie right wing Chris Stewart, Lowell goaltender Frank Doyle, Manitoba goaltender Drew MacIntyre, Milwaukee center Mike Santorelli, Norfolk center Paul Szczechura, Peoria left wing Charles Linglet, Philadelphia left wing Kyle Greentree, Portland forward Drew Miller, Providence center Wacey Rabbit, Quad City center Grant Stevenson, Rochester left wing Stefan Meyer, Rockford center Martin St. Pierre, Syracuse defenseman Clay Wilson, Toronto forward Jeremy Williams and Worcester forward Tom Cavanagh.
