ECHL Opens Its 18th Season With 25 Games
October 17, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL will drop the puck for its 18th
season this weekend with 10 games on Friday, 12 games on Saturday and three
games on Sunday.
Welcoming new teams in Phoenix, Arizona; Stockton, California and West
Valley City, Utah, the league will play 900 games, beginning October 21 and
ending April 8, with 25 teams in 14 states and one Canadian province,
British Columbia.
The ECHL released its playing schedule in June, but was forced to make two
revisions in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which made it impossible
for the Mississippi Sea Wolves to play, and Hurricane Rita, which forced
the Texas Wildcatters to suspend operations for 2005-06. The Sea Wolves
have already begun preparations for their 10th anniversary season in
2006-07, including reopening an office in Biloxi, while the Wildcatters
have announced that they will return to the ice at Ford Arena next year.
The two newest members, the Utah Grizzlies and the Phoenix RoadRunners,
will play a home-and-home with Utah hosting Phoenix on Friday and Phoenix
hosting Utah on Saturday. The Grizzlies play at The "E" Center, a
state-of-the-art facility in West
Valley City which gained international acclaim and exposure as the host
venue for the ice hockey championships at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
The RoadRunners play at America West Arena, the home of the Phoenix Suns of
the National Basketball Association in downtown Phoenix which has recently
had a $70 million renovation.
The Trenton Titans will raise the banner to immortalize their 2005 Kelly
Cup Championship on Saturday at the Sovereign Bank Arena when they host the
Wheeling Nailers. The Pensacola Ice Pilots will commemorate their regular
season Brabham Cup championship on Friday when they host the Greenville
Grrrowl which eliminated the Ice Pilots from the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
The Alaska Aces will recognize their regular season division and
conference titles on Friday as well as their postseason division title when
they host the San Diego Gulls in the first of three games on opening
weekend. Ted Dent, who was an assistant coach with Kelly Cup winner Trenton
in 2004-05, makes his head coaching debut when the Columbia Inferno
celebrates its third consecutive regular season division title as it opens
its fifth season hosting the Johnstown Chiefs. The Gwinnett Gladiators, who
raised their average attendance more than 20 percent in their second season
in 2004-05, will host the Charlotte Checkers in a rematch of the conference
semifinals which the Checkers won in four games. For the second year in a
row, the defending American Conference Champion Florida Everblades, who
have led the league in attendance each of its six seasons, will be raising
banners for postseason division and conference titles as they host the Las
Vegas Wranglers.
The Idaho Steelheads with new coach Derek Laxdal will host the Long Beach
Ice Dogs in a division semifinals rematch which the Ice Dogs won in four
games. The first ECHL team outside the United States, the Victoria Salmon
Kings return for their second season visiting the Fresno Falcons and new
coach Matt Thomas while the South Carolina Stingrays will travel to Augusta
which will open its eighth ECHL season and has a new coach in Bob Ferguson.
Longtime Ohio rivals Dayton and Toledo will meet at the historic Toledo
Sports Arena on Friday and again on Saturday at the Nutter Center in Dayton
to rekindle this great instate rivalry.
In addition to the championship celebration in Trenton, there are 11 other
games scheduled for Saturday including the Stockton Thunder taking the ice
for the first time in history when they visit the Fresno Falcons at Save
Mart Center, which will host the 2006 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Bud
Light on January 25. Victoria continues its season-opening road trip when
it visits Bakersfield and Palmetto state rivals will get reacquainted when
the Columbia Inferno visit the South Carolina Stingrays, who will open
their 13th season at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Johnstown Chiefs
open their 18th consecutive season in the ECHL on Saturday when they host
the Reading Royals at Cambria County War Memorial where the legendary
hockey movie "Slap Shot" was filmed in 1977. The Greenville Grrrowl and
veteran ECHL coach John Marks will open their eighth season at the BI-LO
Center when they host the Charlotte Checkers. Other games on Saturday have
San Diego at Alaska, Long Beach at Idaho, Las Vegas at Florida and Gwinnett
traveling to Pensacola.
Opening weekend will conclude on Sunday with Columbia traveling to
Augusta, Long Beach wrapping up its series at Idaho and Utah playing again
at Phoenix.
Friday, October 21
San Diego at Alaska 7:15
South Carolina at Augusta 7:05
Johnstown at Columbia 7:05
Las Vegas at Florida 7:30
Victoria at Fresno 7:00
Charlotte at Gwinnett 7:35
Long Beach at Idaho 7:10
Greenville at Pensacola 7:05
Dayton at Toledo 7:05
Phoenix at Utah 7:05
Saturday, October 22
San Diego at Alaska 2:05
Victoria at Bakersfield 7:00
Toledo at Dayton 7:00
Las Vegas at Florida 7:30
Stockton at Fresno 7:00
Charlotte at Greenville 7:05
Long Beach at Idaho 7:10
Reading at Johnstown 7:00
Gwinnett at Pensacola 7:05
Utah at Phoenix 7:11
Columbia at South Carolina 7:05
Wheeling at Trenton 7:35
Sunday, October 23
Columbia at Augusta 4:05
Long Beach at Idaho 7:10
Utah at Phoenix 5:00
DID YOU KNOW? ... The ECHL and the American Hockey League are the
only two minor professional hockey leagues that are
recognized in the recently approved Collective Bargaining Agreement between
the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players'
Association.
The CBA states that any player on an NHL entry-level contract designated
for assignment to a minor league must report if assigned to a team in the
ECHL or the AHL. A player on an NHL entry-level contract assigned to a
minor professional league other than the ECHL or the AHL is not required to
report and can request reassignment to a team in the ECHL or the AHL.
Every Opening Weekend Game on B2 Networks
B2 Networks is the "Official Broadband Broadcast Provider" for the ECHL
and all 25 games on the opening weekend of the season can be viewed online.
Fans will be able to watch the action live while listening to their team's
audio, if available. Games cost $6 each and require a high-speed internet
connection and Windows Media Player 9 or higher.
Broadcasts are accessible on ECHL.com and on the home page of the 23 teams
who are providing their fans the opportunity to watch live telecasts in
2005-06. The 23 teams are Alaska, Augusta, Bakersfield, Charlotte,
Columbia, Dayton, Florida, Fresno, Greenville, Gwinnett, Idaho, Johnstown,
Las Vegas, Pensacola, Phoenix, Reading, San Diego, South Carolina,
Stockton, Toledo, Trenton, Utah and Wheeling.
B2 Networks has carried every game of the conference finals and the Kelly
Cup Finals each of the past two years. The first hockey game ever broadcast
by B2 Networks was the Las Vegas Wranglers in February 2004 and the first
hockey championship broadcast by B2 Networks was the 2004 Kelly Cup
Playoffs.
12 New Coaches Behind ECHL Benches In 2005-06
Twelve of the 25 coaches behind ECHL benches are in their first season
with their team, but six of those are not strangers to the league.
Although he is new in Johnstown, Frank Anzalone is not a stranger to the
ECHL and he ranks third all-time in the league in wins with 269 and games
coached with 493 while his eight seasons ties him for third. Taking over in
Pensacola for Dave Farrish, who accepted an assistant coaching job with the
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, is Rick Adduono, who led South Carolina to the
Kelly Cup Championship in 2001 and who ranks fourth all-time in the league
with 238 wins.
The Stockton Thunder takes the ice for their first season with Chris
Cichocki, who is 127-122-39 in four ECHL seasons. Bob Ferguson, who was
136-61-15 and led Florida to the Kelly Cup Playoffs each of its first three
seasons, takes over in Augusta as the Lynx look to return to the postseason
for the first time since 2000-01.
Matt Thomas, who was 42-22-8 and led Atlantic City to the Kelly Cup
Playoffs in his first season behind the bench in 2004-05, steps behind the
bench for Fresno. Jason Christie comes to the first-year Utah Grizzlies
from Peoria where he was 217-101-42 and advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs
four times in five seasons. The 217 wins are the most in the 23-year
history of Peoria hockey.
Coaching their first seasons in the ECHL are Ted Dent in Columbia, Derek
Laxdal in Idaho, Ron Filion in Phoenix, Karl Taylor in Reading, Doug McKay
in Trenton and Glenn Patrick in Wheeling.
Dent takes over for the Inferno after working as an assistant coach for
Trenton and helping the team win the 2005 Kelly Cup Championship. Laxdal,
who began his coaching career as a player-assistant with Roanoke of the
ECHL in 1994-95, coached Wichita of the Central Hockey League for two and a
half seasons after one and a half seasons as an assistant with Odessa of
the CHL.
The expansion Phoenix RoadRunners are coached by Filion, who was an
assistant coach with Augusta in 1999-2000 and has coached professional
hockey in both the United States and France. In Reading, Taylor replaces
Derek Clancey, who became an assistant coach with Manchester of the
American Hockey League after leading Reading to the Kelly Cup Playoffs in
2003-04 and 2004-05. Taylor rebuilt the men's ice hockey program at the
University of Waterloo, helping the team reach the postseason in both
seasons he was behind the bench.
Taking over in Trenton for Haviland, who became head coach
of the Norfolk Admirals in the AHL, is McKay, who returns to North America
after over 10 years abroad coaching in Italy, Switzerland and the
Netherlands. McKay was an assistant coach in the NHL for Toronto and New
Jersey and was head coach for three seasons in the International Hockey
League and one season with Binghamton of the AHL. Patrick takes over behind
the bench in Wheeling for Pat Bingham, who became an assistant coach with
Bridgeport of the AHL. Patrick coached Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL
from 1999-2003 leading the team to the finals in 2001.
The veteran bench boss of the league remains John Marks, who is entering
his eighth season with Greenville and his league-record 13th season as an
ECHL head coach. Marks, who coached Charlotte from 1993-98, has coached 846
regular season games and begins the season needing 32 games to tie the
league record of 878 held by John Brophy, for whom the league's Coach of
the Year award is named. Marks is 230-224-46 with Greenville and 421-344-81
overall and ranks second to Brophy in wins (480). Marks and Brophy share
the distinction of being the only coaches in history to coach a team to
both the Jack C. Riley Cup and the Patrick J. Kelly Cup while Marks and
Mike Haviland are the only coaches to lead two different teams to the ECHL
title. Marks led Charlotte to the Riley Cup Championship in 1996 and
coached Greenville to the Kelly Cup Championship in 2002.
The second-longest tenured coach in the league is Gerry Fleming, who has
led Florida to the Kelly Cup Finals each of the past two years. Fleming is
151-95-42 in the regular season and has led the Everblades to the Kelly Cup
Playoffs all four years he has been behind the bench.
Jeff Pyle returns for his third season in Gwinnett where he is 82-46-16
with back-to-back postseason appearances. In six seasons as an ECHL coach,
Pyle is 219-159-50 and has reached the Kelly Cup Playoffs in every season
but one. Glen Gulutzan is 74-55-15 in two seasons with Las Vegas while
Martin St. Amour returns for his second year in San Diego, which finished
35-29-8 in 2004-05.
In his first full season with Charlotte in 2004-05, Derek Wilkinson was
39-26-7 as the Checkers reached the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time
in three years and had their longest postseason run in nine seasons.
Nick Vitucci was named Coach of the Year in 2004-05 after Toledo returned
to the Kelly Cup Playoffs after finishing 41-26-5 in his first full season
behind the bench. Vitucci, who played for Toledo from 1993-95, has won more
ECHL titles than anyone, four as a player and one as an assistant coach. In
his fourth season as head coach and his eighth season behind the bench for
South Carolina, Jason Fitzsimmons, who is 120-74-22 with three straight
postseason appearances, won a Kelly Cup title as a player for the Stingrays
in 1997 and as an assistant coach for Adduono in 2001.
Davis Payne returns for his third season in Alaska, where he is 83-47-14
with back-to-back appearances in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. In five seasons as
an ECHL coach, Payne is 187-114-31 and has never failed to reach the
postseason.
Malcolm Cameron returns for his second season in Long Beach after leading
the Ice Dogs to a 43-20-9 record and the division finals in 2004-05. Long
Beach had 95 points which was a 44-point improvement from their expansion
season in 2003-04.
Returning for his second full season as head coach of Bakersfield is Marty
Raymond, who led the Condors to a 40-22-10 record and a berth in the Kelly
Cup Playoffs in 2004-05. Raymond was hired as an associate coach in
February 2002 and the Condors are 117-89-29 with him behind the bench.
Returning for his second season as owner and coach for Dayton is Don
MacAdam, who has a career record of 146-112-35 in six ECHL seasons, while
Bryan Maxwell and the Victoria Salmon Kings will look to improve on their
inaugural season.
New Rules For 2005-06
Upon the recommendation of the Rules Committee, the ECHL Board of
Governors approved the adoption of the following new rules for 2005-06:
* Passes from behind the defensive blue line to the attacking blue line
will be considered legal. The center red line will be ignored for purposes
of the "two-line pass".
* A team that ices the puck cannot make a line change prior to the ensuing
face-off.
* Dimensions of goaltender equipment will be reduced by approximately 11
percent, including a one-inch reduction in the width of leg pads to 11
inches as well as reducing the size of the blocking glove, catcher,
upper-body protector and pants. Goaltenders in the ECHL must be in
compliance with the new regu lations no later than December 15, the same
date mandated by the American Hockey League.
* Goaltenders may play the puck behind the goal line only in a
trapezoid-shaped area defined by lines that being six feet from either goal
post and extend diagonally to points 28 feet apart at the endboards.
Goaltenders who play the puck behind the goal line but outside the
designated puck-handling area will be penalized for delay of game.
* Any player who shoots the puck directly over the glass in his defending
zone will be penalized for delay of game.
The Rules Committee recommended the league work with the on-ice
officiating staff to tighten the standards for the three main areas of
obstruction. The league will closely monitor the new standard of
enforcement being applied in the NHL and the AHL.
The ECHL has had the "tag-up rule" for several seasons, which permits play
to continue if offensive players who preceded the puck into the zone return
to the blue line and "tag" up. The ECHL will continue to use "no-touch"
icing and will continue to use five shooters in the shootout.
2005-06 ECHL Affiliates
Alaska Aces
St. Louis Blues (NHL)
Peoria Rivermen (AHL)
Augusta Lynx
Independent
Bakersfield Condors
Independent
Charlotte Checkers
New York Rangers (NHL)
Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)
Columbia Inferno
Vancouver Canucks (NHL)
Manitoba Moose (AHL)
Dayton Bombers
Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)
Syracuse Crunch (AHL)
Florida Everblades
Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)
Florida Panthers (NHL)
Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL)
Fresno Falcons
San Jose Sharks (NHL)
Cleveland Barons (AHL)
Greenville Grrrowl
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
Edmonton Oilers (NHL)
Norfolk Admirals (AHL)
Gwinnett Gladiators
Atlanta Thrashers (NHL)
Chicago Wolves (AHL)
Idaho Steelheads
Dallas Stars (NHL)
Iowa Stars (AHL)
Johnstown Chiefs
Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)
Springfield Falcons (AHL)
Las Vegas Wranglers
Calgary Flames (NHL)
Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (AHL)
Long Beach Ice Dogs
Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
Pensacola Ice Pilots
Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
Toronto Marlies (AHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners
Independent
Reading Royals
Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
San Diego Gulls
Colorado Avalanche (NHL)
South Carolina Stingrays
Washington Capitals (NHL)
Hershey Bears (AHL)
Stockton Thunder
Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)
San Antonio Rampage (AHL)
Toledo Storm
Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
San Jose Sharks (NHL)
Cleveland Barons (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
Trenton Titans
New York Islanders (NHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL)
Utah Grizzlies
Independent
Victoria Salmon Kings
Independent
Wheeling Nailers
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Wilkes-Barre Scranton (AHL)
2005-06 ECHL Critical Dates
OCTOBER
19 Opening-Day rosters due,3 p.m. ET
21 18th ECHL SEASON BEGINS
DECEMBER
21-27 Holiday roster freeze in effect.
For all players on an ECHL roster as of 5 p.m. ET, Dec. 21, a roster
freeze shall apply through 9 a.m. ET, Dec. 27, with respect to waivers,
trades and any other player assignments. Players may be called up or
reas signed by AHL or NHL teams.
JANUARY
24-26 ECHL All-Star break
24 ECHL Skills Competition, 7 p.m. PT (Save Mart Center, Fresno)
25 ECHL All-Star Game, 7 p.m. PT (Save Mart Center, Fresno)
27 ECHL regular season resumes
Home teams begin wearing road jerseys from first half of season
Road teams begin wearing home jerseys from first half of
season
FEBRUARY
6 Overseas deadline, 5 p.m. ET
MARCH
8 Recall/Assignment deadline
13 AHL Clear-Day List
15 Trade deadline, 3 p.m. ET
APRIL
5 Playoffs amateur deadline, 5 p.m. ET
10 Playoffs roster deadline, 3 p.m. ET
11 Kelly Cup Playoffs begin
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from October 17, 2005
- Titans hold off Royals 5-3 - Trenton Devils
- RoadRunners Add J.F Soucy From Tampa Bay - Phoenix RoadRunners
- Salmon Kings Training Camp Roster Reduced by Two - Victoria Salmon Kings
- Ice Dogs Trim Roster - Long Beach Ice Dogs
- Inaugural "Blue-White" Game Set For Wednesday - Phoenix RoadRunners
- Parrish, Campbell Agree to Terms With Thunder - Stockton Thunder
- Community Update - Bakersfield Condors
- Wranglers start season with two game in Florida this weekend - Las Vegas Wranglers
- Toledo's Roster Changes With A Bevy Of Moves - Toledo Walleye
- Omaha sends Pardy to Wranglers - Las Vegas Wranglers
- Falcons Make Roster Cuts - Fresno Falcons
- Aces trim roster - Alaska Aces
- McLeod Assigned From Lowell; Roster Trimmed To 21 - San Diego Gulls
- Team Captains Announced - San Diego Gulls
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- ECHL Opens Its 18th Season With 25 Games - ECHL
- ECHL This Week - South Division - ECHL
- ECHL This Week - Pacific Division - ECHL
- ECHL This Week - North Division - ECHL
- ECHL This Week - West Division - ECHL
- Lynx week in review - Augusta Lynx
- Stanford named president of arena and Steelheads - Idaho Steelheads
- Ferguson, Ftorek to appear on Comcast Connect Live - Augusta Lynx
- Titans launch Once in a Lifetime auction - Trenton Devils
- ECHL announces revised South Division Playoff format - Atlanta Gladiators
- Ice Dogs tickets now on sale - Long Beach Ice Dogs
- Berkhoel becomes 263rd former ECHL player to play In NHL - ECHL
- Ice Dogs finish undefeated in preseason - Long Beach Ice Dogs
- Emerson becomes a Star - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Meet Your Nailers Night at TJ's Sports Garden - Wheeling Nailers
- Nailers Week In Review - Wheeling Nailers
- Sting Rays finish preseason 2-0 - South Carolina Stingrays
- Gwinnett Gladiators weekly updates - Atlanta Gladiators
- Everblades shuffle roster - Florida Everblades
- Lynx host a meet and greet for season ticket holders - Augusta Lynx
- Lynx sign Corbeil, cut four - Augusta Lynx
- Inferno, Sticky Fingers team up to aid hurricane relief efforts - Columbia Inferno
- Condors hold off San Diego 5-4 in preseason finale - Bakersfield Condors
- Falcons complete preseason Trifecta - Fresno Falcons
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.