Omaha netminder takes top AHL honors

Hockey Betting Lines

02/27/2007 - Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - 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 Omahas 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 months 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.

(Courtesy of American Hockey League)

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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