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Attendance Boosted By Charlotte's Record Crowd, Steelheads Sellouts

February 23, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


The largest crowd in history in Charlotte, back-to-back sellouts in Idaho and the largest crowd of the season in Reading and Trenton helped the ECHL raise its average attendance to 4,086 per game.

It is the third sellout of the season for Charlotte which had 11,848 on Jan. 24 and 6,903 on Jan. 16. The Checkers, who broke their record of 12,257 set on Feb. 23, 2008, have had the two largest crowds in the league this year and since moving to Time Warner Cable Arena have drawn eight crowds over 10,000 and nine others in excess of 9,000.

The Steelheads, who had 5,222 on Friday and 5,158 on Saturday, have had four sellouts this year and they lead the league in regular season sellouts the last six seasons with 42 followed by Charlotte with 35, Florida with 32 and Alaska with 21. Elmira has had 18 sellouts in its first two seasons, including four this season, and the Jackals are averaging 90.7 percent capacity at First Arena.

Reading and Trenton had their largest crowds of the season on Saturday with 6,812 and 6,013, respectively, while Utah had its second-largest crowd of the year with 6,231 on Friday.

Stockton leads the league with 6,269 per game and is looking to be the first team to lead the ECHL in attendance four consecutive seasons since Florida which led the league for a record five straight years from 2000-05. Bakersfield, which had more than 9,000 for two games over the weekend, is second with 5,672 while Florida is third with 5,623 per game followed by Gwinnett at 5,450 per game and newcomer Ontario with 5,391 per game.



American Conference - North Division

Cincinnati Cyclones

* Cyclones are 83.5 percent (71-for- 85) on the penalty kill in their last 16 games.

* Ryan Nie is 12-2-0 after setting a team record by winning his first nine starts.

* Cyclones host Reading on Tuesday and Wednesday and Elmira on Friday and Saturday.

Dayton Bombers

* Bombers are 87.5 percent (21-for-24) on the penalty kill in their last three games.

* Rookie Nino Musitelli has nine points (4g-5a) in his last nine games.

* Bombers host Elmira on Wednesday and visit Wheeling on Friday and Reading on Saturday and Sunday.

Elmira Jackals

* Elmira is 17-5-5 in one-goal games including 3-1 in overtime and 3-4 in shootouts.

* Mike Sgroi has five goals and eight points in eight games since being acquired from Utah on Feb. 2.

* Elmira plays at Dayton on Wednesday and at Cincinnati on Friday and Saturday.

Johnstown Chiefs

* Chiefs are 27.5 percent (11-for-40) on the power play in the last six games.

* Petr Pohl has 11 points (5g-6a) in his last four games.

* Chiefs play at Florida on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Reading Royals

* Defenseman Tim Branham has nine assists and nine points in his last 10 games.

* Brock Hooton has 17 assists and 25 points in his last 19 games.

* Royals play at Cincinnati on Tuesday and Wednesday and host Dayton on Saturday and Sunday.

Trenton Devils

* Trenton is 13-0-2 in their last 15 home games and 19-8-3 overall at Sovereign Bank Arena.

* Brad Snetsinger scored career-high five points (3g-2a) on Saturday and has 19 points (8g-11a) in February.

* Trenton hosts Wheeling on Tuesday and plays at Wheeling on Saturday and Sunday.

Wheeling Nailers

* Nailers are second in the ECHL with 3.74 goals per game.

* href="http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/player.php?lang_id=en&id=2247">Bryan Ewing leads ECHL rookies and is second overall with 68 points (35g-33a).

* Nailers play at Trenton on Tuesday before hosting Dayton on Friday and Trenton on Saturday and Sunday.



American Conference - South Division

Charlotte Checkers

* Jeff Miles has a seven-game point streak (6g-6a).

* Jeff Jakaitis is 4-1-0 with a shutout and a goals-against average of 2.19 in his last five starts.

* Charlotte plays at South Carolina on Tuesday and at Gwinnett on Friday before hosting Mississippi on Sunday.

Florida Everblades

* Mathieu Roy has eight goals and 14 points in his last 12 games.

* Kevin Baker leads the league with 78 points, 43 goals, 20 power-play goals and eight game-winning goals.

* Everblades host Johnstown on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Gwinnett Gladiators

* Dirk Southern (5g-7a) and Jordan Fox (7g-5a) lead team with 12 points in February.

* Dan Turple is 1-0-1 with a goals-against average of 2.94 in his first three games.

* Gladiators host Charlotte on Friday and play at South Carolina on Sunday.

Mississippi Sea Wolves

* Mathieu Melanson has a three-game point streak (4g-4a) and 23 points (11g-12a) in his last 12 games.

* Ryan Munce is 4-1-2 with two shootout wins in his last seven games.

* Mississippi plays at South Carolina on Saturday and at Charlotte on Sunday.

South Carolina Stingrays

* Travis Morin (+25), Nate Kiser (+22) and Trent Campbell (+20) lead the ECHL in plus-minus rating.

* Rookie Michael Dubuc is tied for the league lead with 11 goals in 11 games in February.

* Stingrays host Charlotte on Tuesday, Mississippi on Saturday and Gwinnett on Sunday.



National Conference - West Division

Alaska Aces

* Alaska is third in the league with a goals-against average of 2.67.

* href="http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/player.php?lang_id=en&id=854">Matt Stefanishion has four points (1g-3a) in his first two games with Alaska.

* Alaska plays at Bakersfield on Tuesday and hosts Utah on Friday and Saturday.

Idaho Steelheads

* Mark Bomersback has a seven-game point streak (6g-3a).

* Rejean Beauchemin is 6-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.82 in his last seven games.

* Steelheads host Utah on Tuesday and Wednesday and play at Stockton on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Phoenix RoadRunners

* RoadRunners are 14-11-2 at home, one win shy of team record 15 wins in 2006-07.

* Rookie Kyle Jones is 3-2-0 with a goals-against average of 1.80 in his last five starts.

* Phoenix hosts Las Vegas on Monday, Ontario on Thursday and Bakersfield on Saturday and plays at Ontario on Friday.

Utah Grizzlies

* Grizzlies are 3-1-2 and have allowed two goals or less four times in their last six games

* Rob Hennigar has a six-game point streak (1g-10a).

* Grizzlies play at Idaho on Tuesday and Wednesday and at Alaska on Friday and Sunday.

Victoria Salmon Kings

* Salmon Kings are second in the ECHL on the penalty kill with 87.4 percent (228-for-261).

* Chris St. Jacques has a seven-game point streak (5g-4a).

* Salmon Kings play at Ontario on Monday.

National Conference - Pacific Division

Bakersfield Condors

* Condors are 6-0-1 in their last seven games and 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

* Mark Derlago (3g-2a), Chad Painchaud (2g-3a) and Dave Bonk (0g-4a) combined for 14 points in Sunday's 5-2 win against Victoria.

* Condors host Alaska on Tuesday and Las Vegas on Sunday and play at Phoenix on Saturday.

Las Vegas Wranglers

* Las Vegas is on 10-game road trip which is the longest in team history.

* Tyler Mosienko has 53 goals, one shy of Dan Tudin's team record of 54 goals.

* Las Vegas plays at Phoenix on Monday, at Stockton on Wednesday, at Ontario on Saturday and at Bakersfield on Sunday.

Ontario Reign

* Reign are sixth in the ECHL with a goals-against average of 2.77.

* Kellen Briggs is 3-0-0 with a shutout and a goals-against average of 1.000 in his last three starts.

* Reign host Victoria on Monday, Phoenix on Friday and Las Vegas on Saturday and play at Phoenix on Thursday.

Stockton Thunder

* Stockton is second in the National Conference with 14 road wins.

* Ryan Huddy has 27 goals, two shy of Mike Lalonde's team record of 29 goals.

* Stockton hosts Las Vegas on Wednesday and Idaho on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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Premier 'AA' Hockey League Fast Facts

* The ECHL celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08 and is the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.

* ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league with 21 teams in 16 states and British Columbia in 2008-09.

* The league officially changed its name from East Coast Hockey League to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

* Affiliations with 24 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League marking 12th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

* 396 former ECHL players have played in NHL.

* 140 have played their first NHL game in the last four seasons.

* 41 former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Idaho Steelheads right wing Jay Beagle (Washington on Feb. 11), former Wheeling Nailers and ECHL All-Star defenseman Paul Bissonnette (Pittsburgh on Oct. 4), former Stockton Thunder and ECHL All-Star right wing Troy Bodie (Anaheim on Jan. 16), former Bakersfield Condors center Alexandre Bolduc (Vancouver on Nov. 27), former Florida Everblades defenseman Brett Carson (Carolina on Dec. 7), former South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Sean Collins (Washington on Dec. 6), former Las Vegas Wranglers and Wheeling Nailers goaltender John Curry (Pittsburgh on Nov. 26), former Greenville Grrrowl goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (Edmonton on Oct. 17), former Johnstown Chiefs center Andre Deveaux (Toronto on Nov. 27), former Dayton Bombers center Philippe Dupuis (Colorado on Dec. 12), former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Chris Durno (Colorado on Jan. 18), former Gwinnett Gladiators right wing Pat Dwyer, former Columbus Cottonmouths and Tallahassee Tiger Sharks left wing Mitch Fritz (New York Islanders on Oct. 30), former South Carolina Stingrays right wing Andrew Gordon (Washington on Dec. 23), former Augusta Lynx and Mississippi Sea Wolves goaltender Riku Helenius (Tampa Bay on Jan. 30), former Charlotte Checkers center Dwight Helminen (Carolina on Oct. 28), former Las Vegas Wranglers goaltender Brent Krahn (Dallas on Feb. 14), former Trenton Devils right wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (New Jersey on Oct. 22), former Gwinnett Gladiators defenseman Scott Lehman (Atlanta on Dec. 18), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Steve MacIntyre (Edmonton on Oct. 15), former Florida Everblades left wing Kenndal McArdle (Florida on Dec. 2), two-time All-Star and former Las Vegas Wranglers goaltender Mike McKenna (Tampa Bay on Feb. 3), former All-Star and Wheeling Nailers center Kurtis McLean (New York Islanders on Jan. 19), former South Carolina Stingrays and ECHL All-Star goaltender Michal Neuvirth (Washingtons on Feb. 14), former Phoenix RoadRunners and Wheeling Nailers center Cam Paddock (St. Louis on Nov. 14), former Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Adam Pardy (Calgary on Oct. 9), former Idaho Steelheads left wing Warren Peters (Calgary on Dec. 7), former Charlotte Checkers center Jakub Petruzalek (Carolina on Feb. 5), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Corey Potter (New York Rangers on Dec. 7), former Augusta Lynx defenseman Kevin Quick (Tampa Bay on Jan. 13), former Charlotte Checkers, Columbia Inferno and Elmira Jackals defenseman Bryan Rodney (Carolina on Dec. 11), former Gwinnett Gladiators center Jared Ross (Philadelphia on Oct. 11), former Alaska Aces goaltender Marek Schwarz (St. Louis on Oct. 25), former Greenville Grrrowl and Stockton Thunder center Tim Sestito (Edmonton on Nov. 26), former Dayton Bombers and Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Tyler Sloan (Washington on Oct. 21), former Utah Grizzlies and ECHL All-Star center Trevor Smith (New York Islanders on Dec. 31), former Johnstown Chiefs and Mississippi Sea Wolves forward Radek Smolenak (Tampa Bay on Dec. 2), former Augusta Lynx defenseman Brett Skinner (New York Islanders on Oct. 27), former Las Vegas Wranglers and ECHL All-Star defenseman Tyson Strachan (St. Louis on Dec. 18), former Wheeling Nailers right wing Tim Wallace (Pittsburgh on Dec. 10) and former Idaho Steelheads center Tom Wandell (Dallas on Dec. 10).

* There were 72 former ECHL players on NHL opening-day rosters.

* Twenty-six former ECHL players made their NHL debut in 2007-08 including six who played in both the ECHL and the NHL: Chris Beckford-Tseu (Alaska and St. Louis), Adam Berti (Pensacola and Chicago), Joe Jensen (Wheeling and Carolina), Dan LaCosta (Elmira and Columbus), Jonathan Quick (Reading and Los Angeles) and Danny Taylor (Reading and Los Angeles).

* Record 47 former ECHL players played their first NHL game in 2005-06.

* ECHL is represented for the eighth consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2008 by Aaron Downey of the Detroit Red Wings.

* Former ECHL coaches working as head coaches in the NHL are Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals and Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders while former ECHL player Dan Bylsma is the interim head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Boudreau, who coached Mississippi for three seasons winning the Kelly Cup championship in 1999, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2007-08 becoming the first former ECHL coach to receive the award. Peter Laviolette, who began his coaching career with the Wheeling Nailers, led Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006.

* There are 18 assistant coaches in the NHL who were players or coaches in the ECHL.

* There are 18 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2008-09 with referees David Banfield, Chris Ciamaga, Ghislain Hebert, Marc Joannette, Mike Leggo, Wes McCauley, Dean Morton, Dan O'Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Justin St. Pierre and Ian Walsh and linesmen Steve Barton, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers. Barton, Joannette, Leggo, McCauley, Nowak, Pollock, Rooney and Sharrers all worked the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* ECHL has affiliations with 23 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League and for the past 19 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup Champion.

* In the last six seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 2,000 call-ups involving more than 1,000 players since 2002-03.

* Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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