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The Ak-Sar-Ben Knights walk such a fine line in their American Hockey League existence that it doesn't take much to knock their game off kilter. Such was the case Friday night against the Iowa Stars. The surging Stars got better goaltending and scored two key power-play goals en route to a 3-2 victory over the Knights in front of an announced crowd of 2,684 at the Civic Auditorium. Omaha will finish its three-games-in-three-nights stretch when it travels tonight to Chicago for a 7 o'clock game at Allstate Arena, and coach Ryan McGill hopes there is more gas in the tank for the Knights. "We didn't move our feet in the first period, and we didn't move our feet in the second period," McGill said. "We looked like a tired hockey team for no reason."
Iowa's Dan Ellis, a tough-luck goalie with little offensive support early in the season against the Knights, finally got some as his Stars took advantage of a rare off night by Brent Krahn. Ellis, a former UNO goalie, faced 30 shots, including 16 in the second period, and he came through with a few timely saves in the third when he kept the Knights off the board. The Stars, who had been off since Tuesday when they knocked off Grand Rapids 3-2 in Des Moines, came back from an early 1-0 deficit against the Knights and got stronger as the game went on. "I thought we were soft on pucks in the first period, and you can't play soft, especially against Omaha," Iowa coach Dave Allison said. "They came at us with a lot of weight in the third . . . our guys bent, but we didn't break, and Danny Ellis was there to take away their opportunities." The Knights hurt themselves with a couple of undisciplined penalties, and an off-night by referee Jamie Koharski - son of long-time NHL referee Don Koharski - frustrated both clubs. Along with a handful of puzzling calls, Iowa's Toby Petersen was awarded a penalty shot near the end of the second period after he was hooked by Omaha defenseman Steve Bancroft on a one-on-one situation. Fortunately for the Knights, Petersen didn't convert. But the diminutive forward did have an impact on the contest, and turned a 1-0 deficit into a tie game with 3:30 left in the first period. Eight minutes after Omaha's Eric Nystrom beat Ellis with a perfect shot from the slot, Petersen took a pass from Vojtech Polak on a 2-on-1 and beat Brent Krahn with a high shot to the stick side for Iowa's first of two power-play goals. The Knights, who have been among the AHL's best penalty-killing teams over the last 15 games, gave up another halfway through the second. Just seconds after a 5-on-3 turned into a 5-on-4, Kyle Brodziak sniped Krahn with a shot over his glove from the left faceoff dot. Seven minutes later, Bancroft was stripped of the puck at his own blue line by Jan Stastny. The former Omaha Lancer, while being angled off by Bancroft, let a harmless shot go from the right wing and beat Krahn to the glove side. Krahn was eventually replaced by Curtis McElhinney at the start of the third period. The Knights, who have now scored a power-play goal in nine straight games, got to within a goal with just under a minute to go in the second when David Moss jammed home a rebound. Iowa (10-10).........................1 2 0-3 Contact the Omaha World-Herald newsroom Copyright ©2005 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or distributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald. 
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