ECHL ECHL

Cincinnati Remains Hot Streak With Team Record 12 Straight Wins

February 18, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Posting back-to-back road wins at Elmira and at Trenton Cincinnati extended its winning streak to a team record 12 games and increased its lead in the North Division to 13 points.

The Cyclones, who have outscored their opponents 48-18 during the current streak, are 37-8-3 with 77 points and begin the week needing only eight points to secure a berth in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Cincinnati will host Dayton on Thursday, Johnstown on Friday and Elmira on Saturday. The Cyclones have won the last three meetings with the Bombers to improve to 3-2-0 at home and 6-3-0 overall in the season series and 33-18-4 all-time against Dayton. Cincinnati is 2-0-0 at home and 5-0-0 overall against Johnstown this year and 24-11-4 all-time against the Chiefs, and is 2-0-1 at home and 5-2-1 overall against Elmira.

The 12 wins in a row ties the ECHL season high by South Carolina, which set a team record with 12 wins from Nov. 28-Dec. 31, and ties the fourth-longest winning streak in league history, a mark reached by six teams prior to 2007-08. The third-longest winning streak is 13 games by Las Vegas from Mar. 10-Apr. 7, 2007 while the longest winning streak is 14 games by Knoxville from Dec. 28, 1993-Jan. 29, 1994 and tied by Louisiana from Nov. 23-Dec. 22, 2001.

Cincinnati has eight consecutive home wins, tying the record set Dec. 22, 1996-Jan. 14, 1997 when the club played in Louisville, Ky., and six consecutive road wins, tying the record set Dec. 15, 2002-Jan. 12, 2003.

The goaltending duties have been shared equally during the Cyclones streak with Cedrick Desjardins going 6-0-0 with two shutouts, a goals-against average of 1.17 and a save percentage of .967 while Dov Grumet-Morris is 6-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.79 and a save percentage of .949. Desjardins is 15-4-2 and leads the league with five shutouts, a goals-against average of 1.91 and a save percentage of .935 while Grumet-Morris is 20-3-1 and tied for second in wins while ranking seventh in goals-against average with 2.37.

David Desharnais, who leads ECHL rookies with 46 assists and 60 points, has an assist in all 12 games during the winning streak to extend his assist streak to an ECHL season-best 15 games (22a) and his point streak to an league season-high 17 games (3g-24a). Jason Deitsch has 12 points (5g-7a) during the streak while Cory Urquhart has 16 points (9g-6a) and Scott Reynolds has 12 points (2g-10a). During the winning streak, Matt Syroczynski has three game-winning goals and 12 points (9g-3a) while rookie Thomas Beauregard has two game-winning goals and 11 points (5g-6a) and Barret Ehgoetz has 12 points (1g-11a).

Johnstown picked up five points (2-0-1) last week and is 5-0-2 in its last seven games to improve to 22-23-4 and 48 points, six points ahead of Trenton for the fifth and final playoff berth. The Chiefs play at Trenton on Monday, at Cincinnati on Friday and at Dayton on Saturday before hosting Trenton on Sunday. Johnstown has won the last two meetings with the Devils to improve to 5-1-0 in the season series, including a perfect 3-0-0 record at home. The Chiefs are 3-3-2 against Dayton and 0-5-0 against Cincinnati.

Ryan Nie of Johnstown is 4-0-2 with a goals-against average of 1.92 in his last six games while rookie Joey Olson has 10 points (5g-5a) in his last five games and rookie Rob Drummond has a five-game assist streak (6a) and a five-game point streak (1g-6a).

Reading went 2-0-1 last week and is 9-2-1 in its last 12 games to improve to 28-17-4 and 60 points, four points behind second-place Elmira. The Royals host Elmira on Wednesday and Trenton on Friday before traveling to Wheeling for games on Saturday and Sunday. Reading is 3-1-0 at home and 3-3-1 overall against the Jackals and has won the last two meetings with Trenton to improve to 4-3-2 overall against the Devils, including a 1-0-2 mark at home. The Royals are 1-1-0 at Wheeling and 3-2-0 overall against the Nailers, who won the last meeting 7-4 at Reading on Jan. 11.

Rookie goaltender Jonathan Quick has started the last 12 games for Reading and is 9-2-1 with a goals-against average of 2.47 and a save percentage of .923 while defenseman P.J. Atherton has 15 points (4g-11a) in the last 12 games, including tying his career highs with three assists and four points in a 5-4 overtime win against Johnstown on Jan. 19.



South Division Heating Up; Three Teams Five Points Apart



Winning a season-high five games in a row to improve to 6-4-0 in the last 10 games, Florida has moved within four points of third-place South Carolina (32-17-2) and within five points of second-place Gwinnett (31-14-5) in the South Division.

The Everblades will play at Charlotte on Wednesday and Saturday while visiting Augusta, which is 25-21-4 and has 54 points tying it for fifth place with Columbia (22-19-10), on Friday. Florida is 1-0-0 at Charlotte and 4-0-0 overall against the Checkers this season and has won its last two meetings with Augusta to improve to 3-3-0 overall against the Lynx, who are 2-1-0 at home and 3-3-0 overall against the Everblades.

South Carolina has won its last three games and begins the week needing seven points to clinch a berth in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Stingrays play at Columbia on Wednesday, at Charlotte on Thursday and at Augusta on Saturday before hosting Florida on Sunday. South Carolina has won its last two games with Columbia to lead the season series with the Inferno 3-1-0. The Stingrays are 4-3-0 against the Checkers, including 2-1-0 at Charlotte, and are 1-1-0 at Augusta and 3-2-0 overall against the Lynx.

Columbia has won a season-high four games to improve to 6-4-0 in the last 10 games and move into a tie with Augusta for fifth place. The Inferno host South Carolina on Wednesday before heading to Texas to face the league-leading Wildcatters on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Columbia is 1-1-1 this season and 7-6-2 all-time against Texas.

Gwinnett is 6-1-1 in its last eight games and begins the week needing six points to clinch its fifth consecutive Kelly Cup Playoff berth. The Gladiators visit Pensacola on Friday and Mississippi on Saturday before hosting Augusta on Sunday. Gwinnett has won its last two games against the Ice Pilots and is 6-2-0 overall and 3-0-0 at Pensacola. The Gladiators are 2-0-0 at Mississippi and 3-2-0 overall against the Sea Wolves and are 1-0-1 at Augusta and 3-1-1 overall against the Lynx.

Gwinnett was 3-1-0 last week and 6-1-1 in their last eight games to move into moved into second place in the South with 67 points (31-14-5), six away from clinching a playoff spot. The Gladiators play at Pensacola on Friday, at Mississippi on Saturday and host Augusta on Sunday. With a win over the Ice Pilots on Friday Gwinnett will be two points away from clinching a playoff spot.



Texas Trying To Reach 90 Points In Record 54 Games



Texas went 2-1-1 against the North Division last week to improve to 39-5-8 and continues to lead the league with 86 points, 10 points ahead of North Division leader Cincinnati (37-8-3) and 12 points in front of National Conference leader Las Vegas (34-10-7).

Texas, which clinched a berth in the Kelly Cup Playoffs in a league record 48 games, returns home to host Columbia on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If the Wildcatters can win their next two games, they will reach 90 points in 54 games, which would break the league record of 55 games set by Louisiana (44-8-3) in 2001-02 and tied by Alaska (43-8-4) in 2005-06.

Texas reached 80 points in 48 games to tie the league record set by Louisiana (39-6-3) in 2001-02 when the IceGators set ECHL records for wins (56), home wins (30), road wins (26), points (116), point percentage (.806) and fewest home losses (2). Alaska in 2005-06 tied the record for home wins (30) while finishing with the second-most points (113) and second-highest point percentage (.785). The Aces and Las Vegas each had 53 wins tying the record for second-most wins set by Florida in 1999-2000.

The Wildcatters saw their team record winning streak ended at 11 games with a 5-4 shootout loss at Johnstown on Feb. 15. The 11 wins surpasses the mark of eight games set Jan. 17-Feb. 4, 1997 when the team played in Huntington, W.Va., after setting the team record with eight consecutive road wins from Nov. 22-Dec. 29, 2007, surpassing the mark of six games set Nov. 12-Dec. 3, 1994.

Returning after missing the 2005-06 season in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, the Wildcatters set team records in 2006-07 with 41 wins, 21 home wins and 20 road wins while improving 46 points from 2004-05 which is the fifth-largest single-season point improvement in the 19-year history of the ECHL. Texas, which reached the postseason last year for the first time since relocating to Beaumont in 2003-04, is in the postseason in back-to-back seasons for the first time in its 10-year history.



Idaho, Victoria Battle For The West This Week



It will be a battle of West Division leaders when Idaho plays at Victoria on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

The Salmon Kings are 31-14-5 and lead the division with 67 points, three points ahead of the defending Kelly Cup champion Steelheads, who are 28-16-8 and play at Utah on Monday. Idaho has won the last two meetings and is 3-1-1 in the season series and 18-8-4 all-time against Victoria.

Pacific Division and National Conference leader Las Vegas hosts Bakersfield on Monday and then travels to Alaska for games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Wranglers are 34-10-7 and have a 13-point lead over Fresno in the division race and an eight-point lead over Victoria in the conference standings. It is the first meeting of the season between the Aces and Las Vegas, which has won the last eight regular season meetings to improve to 19-12-1 all-time against Alaska.

The battle for the final playoff berth in the National Conference is tight between Stockton (19-28-3) and Bakersfield (16-25-9), who begin the week with 41 points each. The two will meet on Saturday at Bakersfield where Stockton won the last meeting 5-4 on Dec. 29. The Thunder, who currently have the last playoff spot by having more wins, are 3-3-1 against the Condors. Bakersfield won the last meeting 3-2 in overtime at Stockton on Feb. 2 to improve to 4-3-0 against the Thunder. Stockton will play at Fresno on Monday and Friday while Bakersfield visits Las Vegas on Monday and hosts Fresno on Sunday.

Phoenix, which is 18-27-6 and one point ahead of Bakersfield and Stockton, will host Victoria on Monday and Utah, which is 27-21-5, on Thursday and Saturday.



ECHL Average Attendance Increases For Second Straight Week



Back-to-back standing-room-only crowds in Idaho, sellouts in Stockton and Elmira and the largest crowd of the season in Trenton helped the ECHL raise its average attendance for the second straight week to 4,054 per game.

Idaho had back-to-back sellouts against Phoenix with 5,323 on Feb. 15 and 5,329 on Feb. 16 to raise its average to 4,258 per game. The Steelheads had consecutive sold out crowds with 5,384 on Jan. 18 and a team record 5,631 on Jan. 19 and they are third in the league this season with five sellouts.

Stockton had its second sellout of the year with 9,737 on Feb. 16 and averaged 6,655 for the week to raise its league-leading average to 6,530 per game.

South Carolina had 13,369 for two games to raise its attendance to 5,289 per game, which is an increase of 5.7 percent over last season.

Drawing almost 23,000 for four games last week, Florida raised its overall attendance in February to 35,956 and increased its average to 5,885 per game.

Almost 11,000 watched the showdown in Las Vegas between the host Wranglers, who lead the Pacific Division and the National Conference, and Victoria, which is in first place in the West Division and second in the conference.

Reading has drawn almost 30,000 for its five games in February, including 16,229 for three games last week, to increase its average to 5,289 per game.

Drawing almost 9,000 for its games against Fresno on Feb. 11 and 12, Victoria increased its average to 4,665 per game. Looking to increase attendance for the third season in a row, the Salmon Kings average is up 9.8 percent from a year ago which is the third-highest increase in average attendance.

Elmira had its league-leading 11th sellout with 3,974 on Feb. 16 as the Jackals are averaging 3,596 per game, which is 95 percent of capacity at First Arena and a 4.9 percent increase over last season.

Trenton had its largest crowd of the season with 4599 on Feb. 16 against Gwinnett while Cincinnati's attendance is up a league-leading 26.9 percent from a year ago.

Mississippi's attendance is up 10.7 percent from 2004-05, which is the last time the Sea Wolves were able play before Hurricane Katrina, while Augusta has increased its attendance by 8.9 percent.

There have been 32 sellouts this season and five teams have had their largest crowd ever in 2007-08 with 8,895 in Bakersfield and 4,238 in Johnstown on Nov. 30, 4,981 in Elmira on Dec. 29, 5,631 in Idaho on Jan. 16, 10,565 in South Carolina on Jan. 19 and 11,246 in Charlotte on Feb. 9.

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