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ECHL Board of Governors Preseason Meeting

September 29, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL Board of Governors held its Preseason Meeting on Thursday, Sept. 28 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Sale Of Trenton Titans To New Jersey Devils Unanimously Approved

The Board unanimously approved a Transfer of Controlling Interest for the Trenton Titans Membership from Trenton Hockey Club, LLC to Trenton Devils, LLC, controlled by the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League.

"The ECHL is delighted to welcome the New Jersey Devils to the league," said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna. "The Devils organization is one of the most respected in all of professional sports and we look forward to their contribution for years to come."

Ron Berman and Geoff Berman brought Trenton into the ECHL as an expansion team in 1999 and advanced to the postseason in six of their seven seasons, winning the Kelly Cup in 2005 while advancing to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2001 and the conference finals in 2000.

Division, Conference Alignments Finalized

The following division and conference alignments were approved for 2006-07:

American Conference (15 teams)

North Division (7 teams) - Cincinnati, Dayton, Johnstown, Reading, Toledo, Trenton and Wheeling

South Division (8 teams) - Augusta, Charlotte, Columbia, Florida, Gwinnett, Pensacola, South Carolina and Texas

National Conference (10 teams)

West Division (5 teams) - Alaska, Idaho, Phoenix, Utah and Victoria

Pacific Division (5 teams) - Bakersfield, Fresno, Las Vegas, Long Beach and Stockton

2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs Format Approved

The Board unanimously approved the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs format as follows.

In the National Conference, playoff berths will be awarded to the first-place team in each division as well as to the next six-best teams, based on regular-season point totals, and all playoff series will be best-of-seven games. In the Conference Quarterfinals, which will be best-of-seven game series, the division winners will be seeded first and second in order of points and the next six-best teams will be seeded third through eighth in order of points. In the Conference Semifinals and the Conference Finals, teams will be re-seeded according to the same criteria as the Conference Quarterfinals with division leaders seeded first and second while the remaining teams will be seeded in order of regular-season points.

In the South Division, playoff berths will be awarded to the first-place team as well as to the next four-best teams, based on regular-season point totals. The fourth seed and the fifth seed will play a best-of-three game series in the Division Quarterfinals with the winner advancing to meet the division leader in the Division Semifinals, a best-of-five series that also had the second seed playing the third seed. The winners will advance to the best-of-seven Division Finals with the winner advancing to the American Conference Finals to meet the winner of the North Division.

In the North Division, playoff berths will be awarded to the first-place team as well as to the next four-best teams, based on regular-season point totals. The fourth seed and the fifth seed will play a best-of-three series in the Division Quarterfinals with the winner advancing to meet the division leader in the Division Semifinals, a best-of-five series that also had the second seed playing the third seed. The winners will advance to the best-of-seven Division Finals with the winner advancing to the American Conference Finals to meet the winner of the South Division.

The winner of the American Conference and the winner of the National Conference will meet in the Kelly Cup Finals, a best-of-seven game series. Home-ice advantage in the Kelly Cup Finals will be determined by points.

Gulf Coast Membership Terminated

The ECHL announced that the membership of the Gulf Coast Swords has been terminated, effective immediately. The termination of the membership comes as a result of the board not approving the extension of the Gulf Coast Swords Voluntary Suspension for the 2006-07 season. The Board was not convinced that progress was being made toward a facility.

Rules Changes Approved

Upon the recommendation of the Rules Committee, the Board approved the adoption of the following new rules for 2006-07:

* Any player who shoots the puck over the glass in his defending zone will not be penalized for delay of game, but the team of the player will not be permitted a line change on the ensuing faceoff in the defensive zone. * The maximum curvature of a player's stick was increased to three-quarters of an inch. Previously, the maximum curvature had been one-half inch. This change is reflective of and in line with the new change adopted by the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.

2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs Format

American Conference

South Division

Quarterfinals (Best-of-Three Series)
No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed

Semifinals (Best-of-Five Series)
No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. Winner of No. 4 Seed/No. 5 Seed
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed

Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)
Winner of No. 1 Seed/No. 4 Seed vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed

American Conference Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)
North Division Winner vs. South Division Winner

American Conference

North Division

Quarterfinals (Best-of-Three Series)
No. 5 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed

Semifinals (Best-of-Five Series)
No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. Winner of No. 4 Seed/No. 5 Seed
No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed

Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)
Winner of No. 1 Seed/Quarterfinals Winner vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed

American Conference Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)
North Division Winner vs. South Division Winner

National Conference

Quarterfinals (Best-of-Seven Series)
No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 8 Seed
No. 2 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 7 Seed
No. 3 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 6 Seed
No. 4 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 5 Seed

Semifinals (Best-of-Seven Series)
Teams will be re-seeded according to the same criteria as Conference Quarterfinals with division leaders seeded first and remaining teams seeded in order of regular-season points

Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)
Teams will be re-seeded according to the same criteria as Conference Semifinals

2007 Kelly Cup Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)
National Conference Champion vs. American Conference Champion

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