ECHL Releases 2003-04 Schedule
Published on May 9, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release
PRINCETON, N.J. - The East Coast Hockey League opens its 2003-04 season 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.
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.
The ECHL welcomes nine new markets for 2003-04 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.
Fresno will move into the new $100 million Save Mart Center on the campus of Fresno State. The Falcons are scheduled to play their first game in the 13,800-seat facility on November 16. Gwinnett will play its home games at The Arena at Gwinnett Center, a new state-of-the-art facility located minutes from downtown Atlanta. The Gladiators will play their first regular season game in the 11,300-seat facility on October 24.
The Las Vegas Wranglers will play their home games at the Orleans Arena, a $60 million final piece to a $150 million expansion of The Orleans Hotel and Casino, located just one mile from the Las Vegas Strip. The Wranglers will play their first regular season game in the 7000-plus-seat arena on October 21. Texas will play in the Southeast Texas Entertainment Complex Arena, the premier entertainment, sports and event complex of Southeast Texas. The Wildcatters will play their first regular season game in the 7,500-seat facility on Saturday, November 8.
Following games on January 18, regular season action will pause for the 2004 ECHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition. Hosted by the Peoria Rivermen at the 9,919-seat Peoria Civic Center's Carver Arena, the Skills Competition will be Tuesday, January 20 with the 12th Annual ECHL All-Star Game scheduled for Wednesday, January 21.
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.
ECHL conference and division alignments for 2003-04:
Eastern Conference
Northern Division - Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, Cincinnati Cyclones, Dayton Bombers, Johnstown Chiefs, Peoria Rivermen, Reading Royals, Toledo Storm, Trenton Titans, and Wheeling Nailers
Southern Division - Augusta Lynx, Charlotte Checkers, Columbia Inferno, Florence Pride, Florida Everblades, Greensboro Generals, Greenville Grrrowl, Gwinnett Gladiators, Roanoke Express and South Carolina Stingrays
Western Conference
Eastern Division - Arkansas RiverBlades, Columbus Cottonmouths, Louisiana IceGators, Mississippi Sea Wolves, Pensacola Ice Pilots, and Texas Wildcatters
Western Division - Anchorage Aces, Bakersfield Condors, Fresno Falcons, Idaho Steelheads, Las Vegas Wranglers, Long Beach Ice Dogs, and San Diego Gulls
The ECHL Board of Governors approved requests for voluntary suspension from the Lexington, Ky. membership and the Richmond, Va. membership for 2003-04 on April 8 while Jacksonville received an extension on its voluntary suspension at the 2002 Annual Meeting. Baton Rouge, Jackson and New Orleans have announced publicly that they will not play in 2003-04, and those teams will advise the ECHL Board of Governors of their future plans at the Annual Meeting in June.
ECHL Stories from May 9, 2003
- Bullies Extinguish Inferno in Second Straight Shutout - Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
- Bombers Announce 2003-04 Schedule - Dayton Bombers
- Idaho Steelheads Release 2003-04 Regular Season Schedule - Idaho Steelheads
- Toledo Storm Releases 2003-04 Schedule - Toledo Walleye
- Taylor Cup Finals Game 6 Preview - San Diego Gulls
- Ice Dogs Announce 2003-04 Schedule - Long Beach Ice Dogs
- Sea Wolves Announce 2003-04 Schedule - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Gulls Announce 2003-04 Schedule - San Diego Gulls
- Blades Release 2003-04 Season Schedule - Florida Everblades
- Condors 2003-04 schedule released - Bakersfield Condors
- Nailers Open 2003-04 Season at Home - Wheeling Nailers
- RiverBlades Announce 2003-2004 Schedule - Arkansas RiverBlades
- 2003-04 Schedule Announced - Trenton Devils
- IceGators' schedule announced - Louisiana IceGators
- Ice Pilots Begin 2003-2004 Season On October 18th at Mississippi - Pensacola Ice Pilots
- Chiefs Release 2003-2004 Schedule - Johnstown Chiefs
- Pride open 2003-04 season against Columbia - Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz
- ECHL Releases 2003-04 Schedule - ECHL
- Grrrowl Announce 2003-04 Schedule - Greenville Grrrowl
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