Sports stats



15th UHL season concludes, Kalamazoo captures Colonial Cup

May 31, 2006 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO--- The 15th season of the United Hockey League (UHL) came to a close on Saturday, May 27th as the Kalamazoo Wings won a thrilling Game Five in overtime of the Colonial Cup Finals. The K-Wings defeated the Danbury Trashers 4-1 in the best-of-seven series to earn their first UHL Colonial Cup Championship.

Kalamazoo captain Nick Bootland was named the B2 Networks Colonial Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player. The left winger led his team with 16 points (10g, 6a) and earned a plus-8 rating in 13 games played during the postseason. His ten goals tied for second among all UHL skaters in the playoffs and his 16 points tied for third.

Kalamazoo scored first in all five games during the Finals with each of the goals scored by a different skater. Throughout the playoffs, the K-Wings scored first in 11 of 13 games. The team lost just once in the playoffs and won all seven of their contests on the road. The seven road victories are a new UHL playoff season record.

Defense was a major factor in the Kalamazoo championship run. The squad allowed a league low 27.77 shots per game and 1.92 goals per game in the playoffs. No other UHL team allowed less than three goals per game during the postseason.

Joel Martin was in net for all 13 playoff contests. He led all UHL goaltenders in the playoffs with a 1.84 goals against average (GAA) and a .933 save percentage (SPCT). His GAA was the fourth best in UHL playoff history. Combined with his playoff performance from a season ago, Martin now ranks second all-time in UHL playoff history with a career 1.85 GAA and ranks second with a career .934 SPCT. The 2005-06 UHL Best Goaltender also became just the third netminder in league history to record 12 wins in a single playoff season, tying Sylvain Daigle (2005) and Mark Richards (2000).

COLONIAL CUP FINALS

Game One - Danbury 1, Kalamazoo 6

Game Two - Danbury 4, Kalamazoo 2

Game Three - Kalamazoo 3, Danbury 2

Game Four - Kalamazoo 2, Danbury 1

Gave Five - Kalamazoo 4, Danbury 3 (OT)

POSTSEASON NOTES:

Kalamazoo Wings defenseman Mark Vilneff and Muskegon Fury right wing Robin Bouchard both appeared in their 11th UHL Colonial Cup Playoffs this season. That mark is the most in league history. Bouchard has played the most games in the playoffs (128) followed by Vilneff (103).

Bouchard became the UHL career points leader in the playoffs surpassing Jason Firth. He now sits with 144 points (71g, 73a) in his playoff career. Bouchard's 71 goals rank first all-time and his 73 assists rank third. He also netted a power play goal in his final game of the 2006 postseason to claim sole possession of first place on the UHL all-time playoff power play goals list (28).

Danbury Trashers goaltender Sylvain Daigle took over sole possession of first place in UHL all-time playoff appearances for goaltenders. He has played in 75 postseason contests and extended his league leading playoff win total to 48. Daigle also eclipsed his own mark for most saves in a single playoff season by a UHL goaltender. He made 511 saves during the 2006 Playoffs to beat his mark of 465 in 2002.

• Discuss this story on the International Hockey League 2 message board...

International Hockey League 2 Stories from May 31, 2006


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central