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15th Anniversary Season Opens Friday

October 7, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


The East Coast Hockey League opens its 15th Anniversary Season on Friday with 11 games, including Charlotte hosting Kelly Cup Champion Greenville and Dayton hosting Johnstown in a rematch of the 2002 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northwest Division Finals.

The league's newest member Lexington plays its first ECHL game in the 7,500-seat Rupp Arena, hosting Greensboro on Friday. Augusta hosts Florida on Friday in their first meeting since the Everblades' 2-1 shootout win at Augusta on the final day of the regular season. The win clinched the final playoff spot for Florida and caused the Lynx to miss the postseason for the first time since moving to Augusta in 1998. In other action Friday, Pee Dee will host South Carolina in the first of nine meetings between the Southeast Division rivals.

Highlighting the 12-game schedule on Saturday will be a match-up of the last two Kelly Cup Champions when 2002 Champion Greenville hosts 2001 Champion South Carolina. Prior to the game, the Grrrowl will raise the 2002 Kelly Cup Championship banner in the BI-LO Center.

There are six games scheduled for Sunday, including Jackson traveling to Mississippi for a rematch of the Kelly Cup Southwest Division Finals.

The 972-game schedule will conclude March 30 and will be followed by the 2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Friday, October 11
Roanoke at Atlantic City, 7:05
Florida at Augusta, 7:35
Jackson at Baton Rouge, 7:05
Greenville at Charlotte, 7:35
Columbus at Columbia, 7:05
Johnstown at Dayton, 7:30
Greensboro at Lexington, 7:30
South Carolina at Pee Dee, 7:30
Wheeling at Reading, 7:05
Peoria at Toledo, 7:30
Richmond at Trenton, 7:00

Saturday, October 12
Louisiana at Arkansas, 7:00
Richmond at Atlantic City, 7:05
Florida at Augusta, 7:35
Mississippi at Baton Rouge, 7:05
Peoria at Cincinnati, 7:05
Wheeling at Dayton, 7:30
South Carolina at Greenville, 7:05
Toledo at Johnstown, 7:30
Greensboro at Lexington, 7:30
Columbia at Pee Dee, 7:30
Jackson at Pensacola, 7:05
Roanoke at Trenton, 7:00

Sunday, October 13
Florida at Columbus, 4:00
Jackson at Mississippi, 5:05
Baton Rouge at Pensacola, 5:05
Trenton at Reading, 2:05
Cincinnati at Wheeling, 6:00

Greenville Is 2002 Kelly Cup Champion The Greenville Grrrowl won their first-ever East Coast Hockey League Championship with a four-game sweep of Dayton in the 2002 Kelly Cup Finals. Making its first finals appearance, the Grrrowl became only the third team in history to record a sweep in the ECHL Finals, joining Charlotte and Hampton Roads.

Greenville's John Marks becomes the first coach in history to lead two different teams to the ECHL Championship, having led Charlotte to the 1996 title.. It is the fifth ECHL title for Grrrowl assistant coach Nick Vitucci, who won championships with Carolina (1989), Greensboro (1990), Toledo (1994) and Charlotte (1996), and was twice named the postseason MVP (1989 and 1996) in 13 seasons as an ECHL player.

Greenville¹s Simon Gamache and Tyrone Garner shared the Most Valuable Player honors for the 2002 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Gamache led the playoffs with 15 goals, six power-play goals and 24 points. Garner was 4-0 with a 1.75 goals against average and a .945 save percentage in the Kelly Cup Finals, and led the postseason with 12 wins and 417 saves.

Brophy, Marks Head 2002-03 Coaching Class

The East Coast Hockey League welcomes back its two winningest coaches as John Brophy returns for his second season in Wheeling and John Marks returns for his fifth season in Greenville.

Brophy, who coached Hampton Roads for 11 seasons, is the all-time ECHL leader in games coached (810), wins (452) and championships (3). Marks, who coached five seasons in Charlotte, ranks second in wins (340) and is tied for second in championships (2). Marks and Brophy are the only coaches in ECHL history to win both the Riley Cup, the original ECHL Championship trophy retired following the 1996 season, and the Kelly Cup. Brophy won back-to-back Riley Cup titles with Hampton Roads in 1991 and 1992 and won the Kelly Cup in 1998 with Hampton Roads. Marks, who is the only coach in ECHL history to win titles with two different teams, won the 1996 Riley Cup with Charlotte and the 2002 Kelly Cup with Greenville.

Rick Adduono is the new head coach in Greensboro after four seasons in South Carolina. Adduono advanced to the postseason all four years with the Stingrays, including winning the 2001 Kelly Cup. Cam Brown, who retired after 10 seasons as a player in the ECHL, is the new head coach of Baton Rouge.

Malcolm Cameron is the new head coach of Cincinnati after spending the 2001-02 season as an assistant coach with Columbia. Toby O'Brien replaces Scott Allen, who became an assistant coach with San Antonio in the American Hockey League, behind the bench in Johnstown. O'Brien, who was the first goaltender in Chiefs' history, had been general manager of Johnstown for the past six seasons.

Jim Wiley is the head coach of Lexington, who relocated from Macon following last season. Wiley has spent the last 11 seasons with the NHL¹s San Jose Sharks including two seasons as coach of the Sharks¹ AHL affiliate in Lexington. David Lohrei, who coached Baton Rouge the past two years, replaces Al Sims in Reading. Gord Dineen, who coached Macon in 2001-02, replaces Mark Kauffman behind the bench for Richmond.

Jason Fitzsimmons was named the third head coach of South Carolina after four seasons as an assistant coach. Fitzsimmons spent three seasons as a goaltender for the Stingrays and in 1996-97 helped South Carolina become the only team in ECHL history to win both the regular season and postseason, earning Most Valuable Player honors in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Bill Armstrong is the fourth coach in Trenton Titans history replacing Peter Horachek. Armstrong coached Providence in the AHL for the past four seasons helping the Bruins win the Calder Cup in 1999.

Claude Noel is the new head coach for the Toledo Storm replacing Dennis Holland. Noel has amassed an ECHL coaching record of 92-81-19 with Roanoke Valley in 1990-91 and Dayton in 1991-93.

Record Setting Performances From 2001-02

Louisiana set ECHL records for most points (116), highest winning percentage (.806), most wins (56), most home wins (30), most road wins (26), fewest home losses (2), most shutouts (10), fewest goals against (156), and lowest goals against average (2.17).

Johnstown's Frederic Deschenes won 25 games, marking the fourth consecutive season he won 20 or more games, tying the ECHL record for consecutive 20-win seasons by a goaltender.

Rod Taylor, who played for Richmond and Roanoke, played in his 600th career game breaking Bob Woods' ECHL record of 599 games. Taylor, who has 643 career games, is the all-time leader with 360 goals and ranks second with 670 points.

Louisiana tied the ECHL record with a 14-game winning streak from Nov. 23-Dec. 22.

Mobile set the ECHL record for most ties with 18.

Arkansas tied the ECHL record for fewest overtime/shootout losses with four..

Reading set the ECHL records for fewest goals scored (182) and lowest goals-per-game average (2.53).

Trenton won its first eight games of the season tying the ECHL record set by Dayton in 1994.

Louisiana's Frederic Cloutier set the ECHL record for lowest goals against average (1.84) and highest save percentage (.945) and tied the ECHL record for most shutouts (7).

Jackson's Andrew Allen set an ECHL playoff record with 78 saves in Jackson's 5-4 triple overtime win at Louisiana on April 5. Mobile's Greg Hewitt set the ECHL record for most ties by a goaltender with 15.

Greensboro set the ECHL record for fewest home wins with nine.

Dayton qualified for the postseason for the 11th consecutive season tying the ECHL record held by Hampton Roads.

Louisiana set an ECHL playoff record with 82 shots on goal in a 5-4 triple overtime loss to Jackson on April 5.

Louisiana (82) and Jackson (57) combined for an ECHL playoff record 139 shots in Jackson's 5-4 triple overtime win at Louisiana on April 5.

Jackson won 5-4 at 15:19 of the third overtime on April 5 at Louisiana, ending the second-longest game in ECHL history at 115:19.

NHL Officials Staff Has 14 With ECHL Background

For the past 12 years, the East Coast Hockey League has worked in conjunction with the National Hockey League to develop on-ice officials. There are 10 referees and three linesmen with ECHL experience currently on the NHL officiating staff and former ECHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Andy Van Hellemond is the Director of Officiating for the NHL. The referees are Harry Dumas, Bob Langdon, Wes McCauley, Dan O'Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Chris Rooney, Jay Sharrers, Jeff Smith, and Ian Walsh while the linesmen are Steve Barton, Brian Mach, and Tim Nowak. McCauley, Pochmara and Smith worked in the ECHL the past two seasons. Nowak has worked 589 games in the NHL beginning in 1993. There are also several ECHL officials currently working as both referees and linesmen in the American Hockey League.

Five Former ECHL Coaches in NHL

When the National Hockey League season opens, there will be five former East Coast Hockey League coaches behind the bench for NHL teams.

Peter Laviolette and Bruce Cassidy are the second and third East Coast Hockey League coaches that have advanced to the National Hockey League. Laviolette, who is in his second season behind the bench with the New York Islanders, coached Wheeling in 1997-98. Cassidy, who is in his first season as head coach of the Washington Capitals, coached Jacksonville from 1996-98 and Trenton in 1999-2000. Dave Allison, who coached Richmond from 1990-92, became the first ECHL coach in the NHL when he coached Ottawa for 25 games in 1995-96.

Brian McCutcheon, who was named ECHL Coach of the Year with Columbus (Ohio) in 1996-97, is an assistant coach with Buffalo. Wayne Cashman, who coached Pensacola in 1999-2000, is an assistant coach with Boston, and Charlie Huddy, who coached Huntington in 1996-97, is an assistant coach with Edmonton.

There have been 192 former ECHL players that have advanced to the National Hockey League along with coaches, on-ice officials and front office personnel. In 2001-02 there were 83 ECHL alumni that played in the NHL, including 18 that made their NHL debut. A total of 24 teams in the NHL will develop players with ECHL affiliates in 2002-03.

Five AHL Head Coaches, Five Assistants Have ECHL Ties

When the American Hockey League season opens, there will be 10 former East Coast Hockey League head coaches behind the bench for AHL teams.

Peter Horachek, who coached in the ECHL with Nashville in 1990-91 and Trenton in 2001-02, is in his first season with Milwaukee. Jim Playfair, who coached Dayton from 1993-96 and was named ECHL Coach of the Year in 1995, is in his third season as the head coach of St. John. In his rookie season with St. John in 2000-01, Playfair led the Flames to their first-ever Calder Cup Championship and was named Minor League Coach of the Year by The Hockey News.

Cleveland head coach Roy Sommer, who coached Roanoke Valley in 1991-92 and Richmond from 1992-96, is in his fifth season as the head coach of San Jose's top development affiliate. In his final ECHL season in 1995-96, Sommer was named ECHL Coach of the Year after leading Richmond to the Brabham Cup with a league-best 46-11-13 record and a league-record 105 points. He led Richmond to a 41-20-7 record and the Riley Cup Championship in 1994-95. He was named head coach of the East Team for the 1995 ECHL All-Star Game and was named head coach of the North Team for the 1996 ECHL All-Star Game.

Bruce Boudreau, who coached Mississippi from 1996-99, is in his second season as the head coach of Manchester. Boudreau, who coached Lowell in the AHL from 1999-2001, led Mississippi to the 1999 Kelly Cup Championship. Don Granato, who coached in the ECHL with Columbus (Ohio) from 1997-99 and Peoria in 1999-2000, is in his third season with Worcester. Granato, who led Peoria to the 2000 Kelly Cup Championship, was named the AHL Coach of the Year following his rookie season in 2000-01, a season that saw Worcester win a team record 48 games and the AHL regular-season title with 108 points.

Scott Gordon, the first ECHL player to play in the NHL and later the coach for Roanoke, is an assistant coach with Providence. Geoff Ward, who coached Arkansas in its inaugural season, is an assistant coach with Hamilton while Nick Fotiu, who coached Nashville and Johnstown in the ECHL, is an assistant coach with Hartford.

Mark Kumpel, who coached Nashville and Dayton in the ECHL, is an assistant coach with Portland. Scott Allen, who coached the past five seasons with Johnstown, is an assistant with San Antonio.

The ECHL had 400 call ups to the 27 members of the American Hockey League in 2001-02. The 400 call ups were the most since a record 453 call ups to the 19 members of the AHL and the 13 members of the International Hockey League in 1999-2000. A total of 22 teams in the AHL will develop players with ECHL affiliates in 2002-03.

2003 Kelly Cup Playoff Format

Wild Card Games (One-Game Playoff)

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Southeast Division Wild Card Game
No. 5 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed
(Winner becomes No. 4 Seed in Southeast Division Semifinals)

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Southwest Division Wild Card Game
No. 5 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed
(Winner becomes No. 4 Seed in Southwest Division Semifinals)

Division Semifinals (Best-of-Five Series)

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northeast Division Semifinals
No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 4 Seed
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northwest Division Semifinals
No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 4 Seed
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Southeast Division Semifinals
No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 4 Seed
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Southwest Division Semifinals
No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 4 Seed
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed

Division Finals (Best-of-Five Series)

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northeast Division Finals
Winner of No. 1 Seed/No. 4 Seed vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northwest Division Finals
Winner of No. 1 Seed/No. 4 Seed vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Southeast Division Finals
Winner of No. 1 Seed/No. 4 Seed vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Southwest Division Finals
Winner of No. 1 Seed/No. 4 Seed vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed

Conference Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northern Conference Championship
Winner of Northeast Division vs. Winner of Northwest Division
2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Southern Conference Championship
Winner of Southeast Division vs. Winner of Southwest Division

Kelly Cup Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)

2003 Kelly Cup Finals
Winner of Northern Conference vs. Winner of Southern Conference 2002-03 Division Alignment

Northeast Division

Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
Charlotte Checkers
Greensboro Generals
Reading Royals
Richmond Renegades
Roanoke Express
Trenton Titans

Northwest Division

Cincinnati Cyclones
Dayton Bombers
Johnstown Chiefs
Lexington Men O¹ War
Peoria Rivermen
Toledo Storm
Wheeling Nailers

Southeast Division

Augusta Lynx
Columbia Inferno
Columbus Cottonmouths
Florida Everblades
Greenville Grrrowl
Pee Dee Pride
South Carolina Stingrays

Southwest Division

Arkansas RiverBlades
Baton Rouge Kingfish
Jackson Bandits
Louisiana IceGators
Mississippi Sea Wolves
Pensacola Ice Pilots

2003 Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game

Monday, January 20, 2003
2003 Compuware/ECHL Skills Competition
TECO Arena, Estero, Florida
6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, January 21, 2003
2003 Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game
TECO Arena, Estero, Florida
7:30 p.m.

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