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Alaska, Atlantic City, Columbia, Peoria Qualify For Kelly Cup Playoffs

March 22, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Going 4-0-0 with wins over Northern Division foes Peoria, Reading and Atlantic City, Trenton moved into the fifth and final playoff spot in the Northern Division. Trenton is 35-24-7 with 77 points, two points ahead of Reading at 33-24-9 and nine points behind Johnstown at 40-20-6. The fourth place and the fifth place finishers in the Northern Division will play a Wild Card Game on April 5 with the winner advancing to meet the first place finisher in the best-of-five Northern Division Semifinals.

Trenton has not missed the Kelly Cup Playoffs in each of its first four seasons in the ECHL, advancing to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2001 and the Northern Conference Finals in 2000. Trenton hosts Greensboro on March 25 and 26 before traveling to Johnstown on March 27. The Titans are 6-1-0 in their last seven games and have won seven consecutive home games to improve to 22-6-3 at home.

Reading is looking to qualify for the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time in its three-year history. The Royals host Wheeling on March 23 and Atlantic City on March 28 while traveling to Cincinnati on March 26 and Wheeling on March 27. Reading is 2-9-1 in its last 12 games and 1-5-1 in its last seven home games after going 21-1-3 in its first 25 home games. The Royals are 8-27-4 all time in the month of March.

Johnstown needs only one point to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2001-02 and for the 10th time in its 16-year history in the ECHL. The Chiefs play at Atlantic City on March 24 and at Wheeling on March 26 before returning home to host Trenton on March 27 and Cincinnati on March 28.

Peoria qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 win at Atlantic City on March 19 while Atlantic City qualified for the postseason when Trenton beat Reading 5-0 on March 20. Peoria has not missed the postseason in its eight seasons in the ECHL and it won the Kelly Cup Championship in 2000. Atlantic City has qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs in each of its first two seasons, winning the ECHL Championship in 2003 and advancing to the Northern Conference Finals in 2002.

Columbia, which advanced to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2003, secured the third Kelly Cup Playoffs berth of its three-year history with a 4-2 win at Greenville on March 20. Looking for its second consecutive division title, the Inferno leads the Southern Division with 86 points and a 39-20-8 record. Florida is in second place with 76 points and a 33-24-10 record, one point ahead of South Carolina (36-25-3) and three points ahead of Greensboro (36-27-1). Roanoke (32-26-8) is one point behind Greensboro for the final playoff spot and two points ahead of Charlotte (31-27-8). South Carolina and Greensboro each have three games in hand on Columbia and Florida and two games in hand on Roanoke and Charlotte.

Florida plays at Charlotte on March 24, at Roanoke on March 26 and at Greensboro on March 28. South Carolina hosts Florence on March 23 and Columbia on March 26 while playing at Columbia on March 25 and at Columbus on March 27. Greensboro hosts Charlotte on March 22, Greenville on March 23 and Florida on March 28 while traveling to Trenton on March 25 and 26. Charlotte plays at Greensboro on March 22 before hosting Florida on March 24, Florence on March 26 and Columbia on March 27. Advancing to the postseason for the ninth time in its nine-year history, Louisiana became the first team from the Central Division to qualify for the Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 1-0 shootout win against Columbus on March 17. Mississippi is 40-19-7 and in second place with 87 points while Pensacola is 36-20-9 and in third place with 81 points. Gwinnett is 36-21-7 and holds the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division with 79 points, two points ahead of Columbus (35-23-7). Gwinnett has a game in hand on both Columbus and Pensacola and two games in hand on Mississippi. Columbus is looking for its first playoff berth in three ECHL seasons while the Gladiators are looking to qualify for the postseason in their first season in Gwinnett. Mississippi and Pensacola are both looking to make their third straight Kelly Cup Playoff appearance.

Mississippi hosts Louisiana on March 26 and Columbus on March 28. Pensacola hosts Columbus on March 26 and Texas on March 27 before playing at Texas on March 28. Gwinnett will host Alaska on March 23 before traveling to Texas on March 26 and Louisiana on March 27 and 28. Columbus will play at Pensacola on March 26 and at Mississippi on March 28 while hosting South Carolina on March 27.

Alaska secured the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division with a 2-1 shootout win at Roanoke on March 17.

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs


WILD CARD GAME
(One-Game Playoff)
(April 5)

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northern Division Wild Card Game
No. 5 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed
(Winner becomes No. 4 Seed in Northern Division Semifinals)

DIVISION SEMIFINALS
(Best-of-Five Series)
(April 6-15)

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northern Division Semifinals
 No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 4 Seed
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Southern Division Semifinals
 No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 4 Seed
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Central Division Semifinals
 No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 4 Seed
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Pacific Division Semifinals
 No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 4 Seed
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed

DIVISION FINALS
(Best-of-Five Series)
(April 16-25)

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northern Division Finals
 Winner of No. 1 Seed/No. 4 Seed vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Southern Division Finals
 Winner of No. 1 Seed/No. 4 Seed vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Central Division Finals
 Winner of No. 1 Seed/No. 4 Seed vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Pacific Division Finals
 Winner of No. 1 Seed/No. 4 Seed vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed

CONFERENCE FINALS
(Best-of-Five Series)
(April 27-May 8)

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Championship
 Northern Division Champion vs. Southern Division Champion

2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs Western Conference Championship
 Central Division Champion vs. Pacific Division Champion

2004 KELLY CUP FINALS
(Best-of-Seven Series)
(May 10-23)

Eastern Conference Champion vs. Western Conference Champion



Dumont Becomes ECHL Career Assist Leader
Louis Dumont of Mississippi became the ECHL all-time career assist leader on Sunday. Dumont tied the record with an assist on a goal by Brent Gauvreau at 6:46 of the second, and broke the record with an assist on the game-winning goal by Sergei Kuznetsov at 9:31 of the third period of Sunday's 3-2 win at Texas.

Dumont, who is tied for fifth in the ECHL with 77 points (30g-47a) in 66 games, has 461 assists in 628 games breaking the record of Chris Valicevic, who had 460 assists in 590 career games from 1993-2002.

In his 10th season in the ECHL, Dumont is the all-time leading scorer in league history with 747 points. He ranks third all-time with 628 games, 14 games behind Cam Brown of Gwinnett who has 642 career games and 50 games behind the all-time leader Rod Taylor, who played 678 games from 1991-2003. Dumont ranks seventh with 286 career goals, nine goals behind Darryl Noren, who scored 295 goals in 549 games from 1990-2000.

ECHL Career Regular Season Assist Leaders
1. 461 - Louis Dumont, Mississippi, 1994-present (628 games)
2. 460 - Chris Valicevic, 1993-2002 (590 games)

ECHL Career Regular Season Games Played Leaders
 1. 678 - Rod Taylor, 1991-2003
2. 642 - Cam Brown, 1991-93, 1994-2002, 2003-present
3. 628 - Louis Dumont, 1994-present


Nailers Reach Century Mark, Lead Brabham Cup Race
Entering the final two weeks of the regular season, Wheeling has 100 points and a six-point lead over both Louisiana and San Diego in the race for the Henry Brabham Cup, the trophy awarded each season to the regular season points champion in the ECHL.

Wheeling has a game in hand on Louisiana (46-19-2) while San Diego (42-13-10) has a game in hand on Wheeling. Wheeling plays at Reading on March 23 and at Dayton on March 28 while hosting Johnstown on March 26 and Reading on March 27. Louisiana plays at Mississippi on March 26 before hosting Gwinnett on March 27 and 28. San Diego hosts Long Beach on March 23 before traveling to Idaho on March 26 and 27 and Fresno on March 29.

Qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 1997-98, Wheeling is looking for its fourth Brabham Cup, having won the trophy as the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds in 1989-90 and as the Wheeling Thunderbirds in 1992-93 and 1994-95. The Nailers have set team records with 48 wins, 100 points and 21 road wins while tying the team record for home wins with 27.



Louisiana is looking for its third Brabham Cup, having won the trophy in 1997-98 with 96 points and a 43-17-10 record and 2001-02 when the IceGators set ECHL records for points (116), winning percentage (.806), wins (56), home wins (30) and road wins (26).

Wheeling had 59 points in 2002-03 and its 41-point increase is the fourth-highest point increase from one season to the next, and only two points from tying Arkansas for the third-highest point increase (39 points in 1999-2000 to 82 points in 2000-01). The greatest single season point increase is 50 points by Knoxville (44 points in 1992-93 to 94 points in 1993-94) which broke Knoxville's record of 49 points (48 points in 1989-90 to 97 points in 1990-91).

The Brabham Cup is named in recognition of Henry Brabham, who was a founding member of the ECHL and the first owner of the Erie Panthers. A former mayor and businessman who was a major force in professional hockey in Virginia for more than 15 years, Brabham worked tirelessly to establish the fledgling ECHL.



Falcons Draw Third Crowd Over 11,000
Fresno had a crowd of 11,094 for its game on March 20, its third crowd of the season over 11,000, and Las Vegas drew a season-high of 7,242 on March 20 as the ECHL saw its attendance grow for the 12th straight week. The ECHL is averaging 3,866, over five percent above its average of 3,672 for the first 23 weeks of 2002-03, and three percent ahead of its season-ending average of 3,750.

It was the third crowd over 11,000 for Fresno, which had 12,462 for its season opener on November 16 and 11,224 on January 17, as the Falcons raised their average attendance to 4,764. It marked the sixth time that the ECHL has drawn a crowd of over 10,000 in 2003-04. Combined with a crowd of 6,986 on Friday, Las Vegas raised its attendance to 4,917.

Trenton drew 25,601 for four games against Northern Division rivals Peoria, Reading and Atlantic City to raise its attendance to 4,931. Augusta drew 12,515 for three games, including a season-high crowd of 5,383 on March 20, to raise its attendance to 2,930. Florida raised its league-leading average attendance to 6,170 and its league-high total attendance to 209,804, marking the sixth time in its six-year history that it has drawn over 200,000.

There have been 36 sellout crowds in the ECHL in 2003-04 and 14 different teams have had a sellout led by Idaho which has a league-high nine sellouts. The ECHL has drawn over 3.9 million for the sixth time in its history and at its current average attendance will draw 4,314,456 for its 1,116 regular season games.



Northern Division
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
 * Luke Curtin is tied for fifth in the ECHL with 33 goals and ranks fourth with 78 points.
* Scott Stirling leads the ECHL with six shootout wins and a 1.86 goals against average.
* Atlantic City hosts Johnstown on Wednesday before traveling to Toledo on Friday and Saturday and Reading on Sunday.

Cincinnati Cyclones
 * Evan Cheverie has eight assists and 10 points in nine games in March.
* Cyclones are 12-3-0 when leading after the first period and 11-13-3 in one-goal games.
* Cincinnati hosts Peoria on Wednesday and Reading on Friday while traveling to Johnstown on Sunday.

Dayton Bombers
 *Bombers have a season-high four-game win streak dating back to March 17.
* Janne Jokila and Olivier Proulx each have 14 points (5g-9a) in 10 games in March.
* Dayton travels to Peoria on Friday and Saturday before hosting Wheeling on Sunday.

Johnstown Chiefs
 * David Currie is 5-3-0 with a 2.72 goals against average and a shutout in eight games in March.
* Johnstown ranks second in the ECHL on the penalty kill with 88.4 percent (259-for-293).
* Chiefs travel to Atlantic City on Wednesday and Wheeling on Friday before hosting Trenton on Saturday and Cincinnati on Sunday.

Peoria Rivermen
 * Jason Christie has posted 40+ wins in each of his first four seasons behind the Rivermen bench.
* Rivermen have clinched a playoff spot for the eighth straight season in the ECHL
* Peoria travels to Cincinnati on Wednesday before hosting Dayton on Friday and Saturday and Toledo on Sunday.

Reading Royals
 * Reading ended a season-high eight-game winless streak (0-7-1) with Tuesday's 4-3 win against Peoria.
* Royals' power play ranks fourth in the ECHL with 20.5 percent (70-for-342).
* Reading hosts Wheeling on Tuesday and Atlantic City on Sunday while traveling to Cincinnati on Friday and Wheeling on Saturday.

Toledo Storm
 * Rookie Jim Abbott leads the team with 26 goals and 54 points.
* Kris Waltze has four goals, three assists and is +3 in his last five games.
* Toledo hosts Atlantic City on Friday and Saturday before traveling to Peoria on Sunday.

Trenton Titans
 * Bryce Cockburn tallied his first career hat trick in Saturday's 5-0 win against Reading.
* Andrew Allen is 15-3-2 with a 1.98 goals against average and three shutouts in 21 home games.
* Trenton hosts Greensboro on Thursday and Friday before traveling to Johnstown on Saturday

Wheeling Nailers
 * Nailers rank second in the ECHL in scoring with 3.64 goals per game.
* Joe Exter is 7-1-0 with a 2.20 goals against average and two shutouts in 12 games with Wheeling.
* Wheeling travels to Reading on Tuesday and Dayton on Sunday while hosting Johnstown on Friday and Reading on Saturday.


Southern Division
Charlotte Checkers
 * Charlotte and Pensacola are tied for the ECHL lead with 14 shorthand goals.
* Checkers' road penalty kill leads the ECHL with 89.9 percent (151-for-168).
* Charlotte travels to Greensboro on Monday before hosting Florida on Wednesday, Florence on Friday and Columbia on Saturday.

Columbia Inferno
 * Tim Smith is tied for the ECHL lead with 56 assists and leads the league with 87 points.
* Inferno leads the ECHL in scoring with 3.82 goals per game.
* Columbia hosts South Carolina on Thursday before traveling to South Carolina on Friday and Charlotte on Saturday.

Florence Pride
 * Sebastien LaPlante is 3-1-1 with a 2.76 goals against average and a shutout in his last five games.
* Wes Goldie ranks third in the ECHL with 36 goals and is tied for third with 14 power-play goals.
* Florence travels to South Carolina on Tuesday and Charlotte on Friday while hosting Augusta on Saturday.

Florida Everblades
 * Tom Buckley has 10 points (3g-7a) and is +6 in seven games in March.
* Brian McCullough ranks second in the ECHL with 38 goals and ranks third with 79 points.
* Florida travels to Charlotte on Wednesday, Roanoke on Friday and Greensboro on Sunday.

Greensboro Generals
 * Jamie Hodson ranks second in the ECHL with a .931 save percentage.
* Among ECHL defensemen, Geno Parrish ranks second with 51 assists and ranks third with 59 points.
* Greensboro hosts Charlotte on Monday, Greenville on Tuesday and Florida on Sunday while traveling to Trenton on Thursday and Friday.

Greenville Grrrowl
 * Daniel Boisclair set an ECHL record with 65 saves in a 2-1 win at Greensboro on March 17.
* Mike Nelson has seven points (2g-5a) and is +3 in his last five games.
* Greenville travels to Greensboro on Tuesday and Roanoke on Wednesday while hosting Augusta on Friday and Roanoke on Saturday.

Roanoke Express
 * Rookie Carl Mallette has a 14-game point streak (10g-10a) dating back to February 7.
* David Belitski is 6-0-1 with a 2.09 goals against average in his last seven games.
* Roanoke hosts Greenville on Wednesday, Florida on Friday and Augusta on Sunday while traveling to Greenville on Saturday.

South Carolina Stingrays
 * South Carolina's road power play leads the ECHL with 23.9 percent (38-for-159).
* Kirk Daubenspeck is 13-6-1 with a 2.45 goals against average and two shutouts in 20 home games.
* Stingrays host Florence on Tuesday and Columbia on Friday while traveling to Columbia on Thursday and Columbus on Saturday.


Central Division
Augusta Lynx
 * Jason Saal is 6-2-1 with a 2.40 goals against average and two shutouts in his last nine games.
* Louis Goulet has two shorthand goals and 14 points (7g-7a) in 10 games in March.
* Augusta travels to Greenville on Friday, Florence on Saturday and Roanoke on Sunday.

Columbus Cottonmouths
 * Jason Tapp is tied for the ECHL lead with five shutouts and ranks third with a 2.20 goals against average.
* Cottonmouths lead the ECHL on the penalty kill with 88.8 percent (271-for-305).
* Columbus travels to Pensacola on Friday and Mississippi on Sunday while hosting South Carolina on Saturday.

Gwinnett Gladiators
 * Trevor Prior earned his second career shutout in Sunday's 5-0 win against Columbia.
* Kevin Doell ranks third among ECHL rookies with 64 points (27g-37a).
* Gwinnett hosts Alaska on Tuesday before traveling to Texas on Friday and Louisiana on Saturday and Sunday.

Louisiana IceGators
 * Louisiana leads the ECHL on the power play with 22.4 percent (77-for-344).
* IceGators rank second in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.33 goals per game.
* Louisiana travels to Mississippi on Friday before hosting Gwinnett on Saturday and Sunday.

Mississippi Sea Wolves
 * Louis Dumont became the ECHL's career assist leader (461a) with two assists in Sunday's 3-2 win at Texas.
* Sea Wolves rank third in the ECHL in scoring with 3.56 goals per game.
* Mississippi hosts Louisiana on Friday and Columbus on Sunday.

Pensacola Ice Pilots
 *Corey Neilson ranks third in the ECHL with 54 assists and leads ECHL defensmen with 72 points.
* Brian Eklund leads the ECHL with 34 wins, 3,421 minutes and 2,036 saves.
* Pensacola hosts Columbus on Friday and Texas on Saturday while traveling to Texas on Sunday.

Texas Wildcatters
 * Rookie John Snowden leads the team with 12 goals and 24 points in 31 home games.
* Wildcatters are 10-3-2 when leading after the first and 10-9-5 in one-goal games.
* Texas hosts Gwinnett on Friday and Pensacola on Sunday while traveling to Pensacola on Saturday.


Pacific Division
Alaska Aces
 * Mark Smith tallied his first hat trick of the season in Saturday's 4-1 win at Charlotte.
* Aces rank third in the ECHL on the penalty kill with 87.8 percent (302-for-344).
* Alaska travels to Gwinnett on Tuesday and Long Beach on Sunday.

Bakersfield Condors
 * Andrew Ianiero has a seven-game assist streak (11a) dating back to March 7.
* Paul Rosebush has six goals and four assists in his last five games.
* Bakersfield travels to Long Beach on Friday and Las Vegas on Saturday.

Fresno Falcons
 * Mike Brusseau is 4-2-0 with a 2.04 goals against average and a shutout in six games in March.
* Falcons rank second in the ECHL in penalty minutes with 26.4 penalty minutes per game.
* Fresno travels to Idaho on Tuesday and Wednesday, Las Vegas on Friday and Long Beach on Saturday.

Idaho Steelheads
 * Blair Allison is 11-2-3 with a 2.09 goals against average and a shutout in 17 home games.
* Steelheads are 20-3-8 in one-goal games and 21-8-5 when out-shooting their opponent.
* Idaho hosts Fresno on Tuesday and Wednesday and San Diego on Friday and Saturday.

Las Vegas Wranglers
 * Marc Magliarditi is 18-4-1 with a 2.13 goals against average and two shutouts in 24 home games.
* Dave Cousineau is tied for the ECHL rookie lead with 11 power-play goals and is tied for second among defensemen with four game-winning goals.
* Las Vegas hosts Fresno on Friday and Bakersfield on Saturday.

Long Beach Ice Dogs
 * Alex Kim has 14 points (4g-10a) in nine games in March and leads the team with 48 points (23g-25a).
* T.J.Aceti is 3-2-1 with a 3.09 goals against average in his last seven games.
* Long Beach travels to San Diego on Tuesday before hosting Bakersfield on Friday, Fresno on Saturday and Alaska on Sunday.

San Diego Gulls
 * Sylvain Deschatelets has a 19-game point streak (11g-18a) dating back to February 10.
* Mark Pederson has 10 points (6g-4a) in his last six games and leads the ECHL with 43 goals.
* San Diego hosts Long Beach on Tuesday and travels to Idaho on Friday and Saturday.

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ECHL Stories from March 22, 2004


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