Atlantic City Wins 2003 Kelly Cup Title
Published on May 15, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release
Atlantic City won its' first-ever East Coast Hockey League Championship on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Columbia in Game 5 of the Kelly Cup Finals. The deciding game was played in front of 5,129 fans at Historic Boardwalk Hall as the Boardwalk Bullies become the seventh team in 15 years to win the Kelly Cup at home.
Making its first-ever Finals appearance, Atlantic City becomes the first Northern Conference team to win the Kelly Cup since Peoria in 2000. The Boardwalk Bullies are only the third Northern Conference team in seven years to win the Kelly Cup, joining Peoria in 2000 and Hampton Roads in 1998.
The Kelly Cup is named for Patrick J. Kelly who presented the trophy to Atlantic City Captain Stefan Rivard on Wednesday. The Kelly Cup was first awarded to the playoff champion in 1997, replacing the Jack Riley Cup which was the ECHL championship trophy from 1989 until its retirement in 1996. Pat Kelly celebrated his 50th season in hockey in 2002-03 and is one of the founding fathers of the ECHL. Kelly was named Commissioner Emeritus of the ECHL in 1996 and is the only commissioner in league history, serving the first eight seasons.
Atlantic City has qualified for the postseason in each of its two seasons since moving from Birmingham in 2001. The Boardwalk Bullies swept Trenton in three games and beat Greensboro in four games to win their second consecutive Northeast Division title. Atlantic City beat Cincinnati in the Northern Conference Finals, four games to three.
Atlantic City's J.F. Caudron led the Kelly Cup Playoffs with 22 points and five game-winning goals, including two in the Finals. Caudron had 13 goals tying him for the Kelly Cup Playoffs lead with teammate Kevin Colley, who was named Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player. Colley led the postseason with eight power-play goals, including three in the Finals, and had 20 points tying him for second in scoring with teammate Luke Curtin. Curtin led the postseason with 14 assists, including four in the Finals.
Scott Stirling, who returned from the American Hockey League prior to the Northern Conference Finals, was 8-4 with a 2.07 goals against average and a .920 save percentage in 12 games. Stirling led the Kelly Cup Playoffs with three shutouts, including two in the Finals which ties the record set by Maxime Gingras of Richmond in 1999. Stirling had a 1.20 goals against average and a .949 save percentage in the Finals, breaking the records set by Greenville's Tyrone Garner in 2002. Stirling opened the Finals with back-to-back shutouts and extended his shutout streak to 150:13 in Game 3, breaking the Finals record of 138:59 set by Hampton Roads' Mark Bernard in 1992.
Columbia's Patrick Couture was 9-5 with a 2.08 goals against average and a .923 save percentage in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Couture led the postseason with nine wins and 893 minutes while ranking second with 373 saves.
Columbia's Tim Smith led all rookies in the Kelly Cup Playoffs with 16 points and ranked second with 11 assists and third with five goals. Atlantic City's Jim Henkel led all rookies with 12 assists, including four in the Finals, and ranked second in scoring with 15 points. Columbia's Robin Carruthers led all rookies with nine goals, including three in the Finals, and ranked third in scoring with 14 points.
Atlantic City's Peter Metcalf led defensemen in the Kelly Cup Playoffs with four goals and three power-play goals. Columbia's Trevor Demmans led defensemen in the postseason with 13 points and tied for the lead with 10 assists. Atlantic City defenseman Kirk Furey tied for the lead with 10 assists, including three in the Finals, and tied for second in scoring with Columbia's Darrell Hay with 11 points.
Columbia has qualified for the postseason in each of its first two seasons since joining the ECHL in 2001. The Inferno swept Greenville in the semifinals and Pee Dee in the finals to win its first Southeast Division title. Columbia beat Mississippi in six games in the Southern Conference Finals for its' first-ever Kelly Cup Finals appearance.
2003 Kelly Cup Finals Results
Game 1 - May 7
Atlantic City 1, Columbia 0
Stirling makes 18 saves, Matzka scores game winner
Game 2 - May 9
Atlantic City 3, Columbia 0
Stirling records second straight shutout, Caudron scores game-winning goal
Game 3 - May 10
Columbia 5, Atlantic City 3
Moore scores two shorthand goals in 48 seconds, including game winner
Game 4 - May 12
Atlantic City 3, Columbia 1
Colley tallies two first period goals, Stirling makes 23 saves
Game 5 - May 14
Atlantic City 3, Columbia 1
Caudron scores two goals, including game winner, Stirling records 29 saves
Kelly Cup Finals Records Broken
* Atlantic City's Kevin Colley scored three power-play goals, tying the record for second-most power play goals in the Finals.
* Columbia's Barrie Moore scores two shorthand goals in 48 seconds in Game 3, the second fastest two goals by one player in the Finals.
* Atlantic City's Scott Stirling had two shutouts tying the record for shutouts in the Finals (Maxime Gingras of Richmond in 1999).
* Columbia's Barrie Moore had two shorthand goals, tying the Finals record for third most shorthand goals.
* Atlantic City's Scott Stirling had a 1.20 goals against average, breaking the Finals record of 1.75 set by Greenville's Tyrone Garner in 2002.
* Atlantic City's Scott Stirling had a .949 save percentage, breaking the Finals record of .945 set by Greenville's Tyrone Garner in 2002.
* Atlantic City's Scott Stirling had a shutout streak of 150:13, breaking the Finals record of 138:59 set by Hampton Roads' Mark Bernard in 1992.
* Columbia set the record for fewest shots on goal with 18 in Game 1 and tied the Finals record for fewest shots on goal with 19 in Game 2.
* Atlantic City (13) and Columbia (7) combined for 20 goals breaking the Finals record for fewest goals scored by two teams combined in a five-game series, 28 by Greensboro Monarchs and Richmond Renegades in 1995.
* Columbia scored seven goals breaking the Finals record for fewest goals in a five-game series, 10 by the Greensboro Monarchs in 1995.
ECHL Opens 2003-04 Season October 17
The East Coast Hockey League will open 2003-04 on Friday, October 17 with 32 teams in 18 states playing a record 1,152 games, making it the largest league in professional hockey.
The 1,152 games will exceed the 1,044 games played in 2001-02 when the ECHL competed with 29 teams in 14 states. Each team will play a 72-game schedule comprised of 36 home games and 36 road games.
The ECHL welcomes nine new markets with the addition of the Anchorage Aces, the Bakersfield Condors, the Fresno Falcons, the Gwinnett (Georgia) Gladiators, the Idaho (Boise) Steelheads, the Las Vegas Wranglers, the Long Beach Ice Dogs, the San Diego Gulls, and the Texas (Beaumont) Wildcatters.
The ECHL will have new alignments for 2003-04 with 19 teams playing in two divisions in the Eastern Conference and 13 teams playing in two divisions in the Western Conference. The playoff format will be determined and voted upon by the Board of Governors at a later date.
2003-04 ECHL Divisional Alignment
Eastern Conference
Northern Division
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
Cincinnati Cyclones
Dayton Bombers
Johnstown Chiefs
Peoria Rivermen
Reading Royals
Toledo Storm
Trenton Titans
Wheeling Nailers
Southern Division
Augusta Lynx
Charlotte Checkers
Columbia Inferno
Florence Pride
Florida Everblades
Greensboro Generals
Greenville Grrrowl
Gwinnett Gladiators
Roanoke Express
South Carolina Stingrays
Western Conference
Eastern Division
Arkansas RiverBlades
Columbus Cottonmouths
Louisiana IceGators
Mississippi Sea Wolves
Pensacola Ice Pilots
Texas Wildcatters
Western Division
Anchorage Aces
Bakersfield Condors
Fresno Falcons
Idaho Steelheads
Las Vegas Wranglers
Long Beach Ice Dogs
San Diego Gulls
In 2002-03, the 27 members of the ECHL had affiliations with 24 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League and 22 of the 28 teams in the American Hockey League. There were 90 former ECHL players that played in the NHL in 2002-03, including 20 who made their NHL debut, and there have been 215 former ECHL players that have gone on to play in the NHL. There were more than 80 players in the ECHL on AHL contracts in 2002-03 and the ECHL had 450 call ups to the AHL in 2002-03, more than any other professional league.
ECHL Still Well Represented In Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eleven former East Coast Hockey League players are on the rosters of teams still playing in the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and each of the four remaining teams has an ECHL representative. A former ECHL player has been part of the Stanley Cup Championship team in each of the past three years.
Anaheim has four former ECHL players on its roster with Dan Bylsma, Todd Reirden, Cam Severson and Lance Ward although only Bylsma and Severson have played. Bylsma played two seasons with the Greensboro Monarchs, scoring 60 points (25g-35a) in 60 games in 1992-93 and 30 points (14g-16a) in 25 games in 1993-94. Reirden played for the Raleigh IceCaps, the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks and the Jacksonville Lizard Kings in the ECHL. In 1994-95, Reirden scored 15 points (2g-13a) in 26 regular season games with Raleigh and 30 points (5g-25a) in 43 regular season games and seven points (2g-5a) in seven postseason games with Tallahassee. In 1995-96, Reirden scored four points (1g-3a) in seven regular season games with Tallahassee and 11 points (1g-10a) in 15 regular season games with Jacksonville. Severson played in the ECHL in 1999-2000 scoring two points (0g-2a) in seven regular season games with Louisiana and 27 points (19g-8a) in 56 regular season games and seven points (3g-4a) in 18 postseason games while helping Peoria win the ECHL title. Ward scored one goal and had 12 PIMs in six regular season games with the Miami Matadors in 1998-99.
Minnesota, whose ECHL affiliate is the Louisiana IceGators, has three former ECHL players with Andrew Brunette, Antti Laaksonen and Jeremy Stevenson. Brunette has 12 points (6g-6a) in 17 games while Stevenson has five points (0g-5a) in 13 games and Laaksonen has four points (1g-3a) in 15 games. Brunette began his professional career in 1993-94 with Hampton Roads in the ECHL scorings 30 points (12g-18a) in 20 regular season games and 13 points (7g-6a) in seven postseason games. Laaksonen scored seven points (4g-3a) in 15 regular season games and three points (0g-3a) in six postseason games with Charlotte in 1997-98. Stevenson scored 27 points (14g-13a) in 43 regular season games and 17 points (6g-11a) in 17 postseason games with the Greensboro Monarchs.
Ottawa also has three former ECHL players with Patrick Lalime, Chris Neil and Shane Hnidy. Lalime is 9-4-0 with a 1.71 goals against average and a .929 save percentage while Neil has scored one point (1g-0a) in 13 games and Hnidy has played one game for the Senators. Lalime played his first professional season in the ECHL and was 15-7-3 with a 3.35 goals against average and a .894 save percentage in 26 regular season games for Hampton Roads in 1994-95. Hnidy scored 13 points (3g-10a) in 21 regular season games with Baton Rouge in 1996-97 while Neil scored two points (0g-2a) in four regular season games with Mobile in 1999-2000.
New Jersey has former ECHL player Corey Schwab, who was 6-0-1 with a 4.13 goals against average and a .873 save percentage in eight games with Cincinnati in 1991-92.
There were 36 former ECHL players on the rosters and five former coaches behind the benches when the Stanley Cup Playoffs began, and 15 of the 16 teams had an ECHL representative.
There have been 215 former ECHL players that have advanced to the NHL and 24 of the 30 teams in the NHL had affiliations with teams in the ECHL in 2002-03. There were 90 former ECHL players who played in the NHL in 2002-03 and 20 former ECHL players made their NHL debuts in 2002-03.
ECHL Stories from May 15, 2003
- Several ex-Bombers in AHL Calder Cup Playoffs - Dayton Bombers
- Lynx Announce 2003-2004 Schedule - Augusta Lynx
- Pro Hockey Returns To Vegas October 21 - Las Vegas Wranglers
- K-Wings Karavan Rolls into Camp Meijer - Kalamazoo Wings
- Atlantic City Wins 2003 Kelly Cup Title - ECHL
- Grrrowl Announce Three Mini-Plan Options for 2003-04 Season - Greenville Grrrowl
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.
