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ECHL season reaches midway point this week

January 7, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


The ECHL season will reach the halfway point this week, and division and playoff races are starting to materialize across the league.

In the North Division, the top three teams are separated by just two points, as Cincinnati (20-12-2) and Toledo (19-13-4) share the top spot with 42 points each while Fort Wayne (19-15-2) sits just two points back with 40. Kalamazoo, which has won the North Division title each of the last three seasons, has won four of its last five games, to move to within nine points of the division lead.

The defending South Division champion Gwinnett Gladiators once again are on top of the division at the midpoint of the season, with 49 points, while Greenville is just four points off the pace. Defending Kelly Cup champion Florida has 37 points, followed by South Carolina (36) and Orlando (34).

In the Eastern Conference playoff race, only eight points separate Elmira and Florida, who currently hold the final two playoff spots in the conference with 37 points each, and the remaining six teams in the conference. Wheeling and South Carolina are just one point out of the final spot while Orlando is two points back. Trenton and Kalamazoo have 33 points each while Evansville has 29 points.

The two-time defending Brabham Cup champion Alaska Aces are once again on top of the league with 57 points (28-8-1) and enjoy an eight-point lead over Idaho for the Mountain Division lead.

Ontario, the defending Pacific Division champion, is 24-9-2 for 50 points, and has a five-point edge on Stockton (19-11-7) for the division lead.

Three sellouts highlight first week of 2013

With two crowds over 10,000 fans last week, and two other sell-outs, the ECHL approaches the halfway point of the season with an average of 4,485 fans per game, an increase of 12.5 percent over the same point last season.

Cincinnati welcomed a team regular-season record of 12,228 fans on Saturday against Fort Wayne while the Komets, who led the ECHL with 7,438 per game, welcomed their largest crowd of the season with 10,103 for its New Year's Eve game against Toledo. It was the Fort Wayne's third crowd of over 9,000 this season.

Ontario, which has led the ECHL in attendance each of the last three seasons, had its second sell-out crowd of the season on Saturday with 9,616 for its game against Alaska, and followed that up with 6,752 on Sunday against the Aces. The Reign are second in the league with an average of 7,070 per game, which is a 10.8 percent increase over their final attendance last season.

Toledo had its third sell-out of the season on Saturday with 7,823 on Saturday against Orlando. The Walleye, who rank fourth in the league with 5,975 per game, have had nine crowds of over 6,000 fans this season and have averaged 7,275 over their last four games.

Greenville welcomed its largest crowd of the season on Saturday with 3,939 against Florida while Wheeling had its third-largest crowd of the season on Saturday with 3,148 against Trenton. Reading went over the 4,000 mark for the seventh time this season on Saturday with 4,274 fans for its game against Elmira.

Visit the Tickets Page on ECHL.com to purchase tickets for ECHL games.

This week in ECHL history

As part of the ECHL's 25th anniversary, each week the League will take a look back at important moments in ECHL history.

Jan. 13, 1999 - The Mississippi Sea Wolves host the ECHL All-Star Game, which is televised nationally for the first time on ESPN2.

Divisions

Atlantic Division

- Artem Demkov has nine goals in his last 11 games.

- The Jackals are averaging 4.4 goals over their last seven games.

- Elmira hosts Evansville on Friday and Saturday.

- Yannick Tifu has at least one point in 14 of the last 16 games.

- Reading is 17-0-0 when scoring four or more goals.

- The Royals are at Kalamazoo on Wednesday and Wheeling on Friday and Saturday.

- Stephen Schultz leads the Titans with seven power-play goals.

- The Titans are 11-3-3 when scoring first.

- Trenton hosts South Carolina on Friday and Saturday.

- Paul Crowder had his first career hat trick on Saturday against Trenton.

- The team that has scored first has won each of Wheeling's last 12 games.

- The Nailers host Reading on Friday and Saturday and South Carolina on Sunday.

North Division

- Brian Foster is tied for third with 13 wins.

- The Cyclones are 12-7-2 in one-goal games.

- Cincinnati hosts Orlando on Wednesday and Fort Wayne on Friday before visiting the Komets on Saturday and Sunday.

- Wade MacLeod has six goals in five games with the IceMen.

- Evansville has played a league low three overtime/shootout games.

- The IceMen host Fort Wayne on Wednesday and are at Elmira on Friday and Saturday.

- Scott Kishel scored his first pro goal on Monday against Toledo.

- The Komets are 17-2-0 when scoring three or more goals.

- Fort Wayne travels to Evansville on Wednesday and Cincinnati on Friday and hosts the Cyclones on Saturday and Sunday.

- Goaltender Joel Martin has started 18 consecutive games since Nov. 23.

- Kalamazoo has won four of its last five games.

- The K-Wings host Reading on Wednesday and travel to Gwinnett on Saturday and Sunday.

- Jordan Pearce is the Walleye career leader with five shutouts.

- The Walleye are first with 33.06 shots per game.

- Toledo is at Florida on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

South Division

- David Rutherford leads Florida with 14 goals.

- The Everblades are fourth with 3.54 goals per game.

- Florida hosts Toledo on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

- Mike Marcou is third among rookies in plus-minus at +14.

- Greenville is 9-1-1 when leading after one period.

- The Road Warriors host Orlando on Friday and Saturday.

- Doug Jones leads rookies with 129 shots on goal.

- The Gladiators are 21-1-1 when scoring first.

- Gwinnett hosts Kalamazoo on Saturday and Sunday.

- Michael Wilson is second among defensemen with 21 assists.

- Orlando is 10-0-1 when leading after two periods.

- The Solar Bears visit Cincinnati on Wednesday and Greenville on Friday and Saturday.

- Chris Langkow scored four goals in three games last week.

- The Stingrays are the fourth-least penalized team with 14.63 penalty minutes per game.

- South Carolina is at Trenton on Friday and Saturday and Wheeling on Sunday.

Mountain Division

- Gerald Coleman is second in both goals-against average (2.05) and save percentage (.922).

- The Aces are on a season-high 11 game point streak (10-0-1).

- Alaska hosts Ontario on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

- Adam Brown is fourth with a .920 save percentage.

- Colorado's 82 goals at home lead the league.

- The Eagles host Stockton on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

- Austin Smith leads rookies with 19 goals.

- The Steelheads are tied for the league lead with nine shorthanded goals.

- Idaho is at San Francisco on Thursday and Bakersfield on Friday and Saturday.

- Mitch Wahl leads the Grizzlies with 39 points (11g-28a).

- Utah is seventh with 31.58 shots per game.

- The Grizzlies host Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday.

Pacific Division

- Peter Boyd leads the league with five shootout goals.

- The Condors are 6-0-1 when leading after two periods.

- Bakersfield hosts Idaho on Friday and Saturday and is at San Francisco on Sunday.

- Joe Fallon is fourth with a 2.27 goals-against average.

- Las Vegas is fourth with 31.97 shots per game.

- The Wranglers are at Utah on Friday and Saturday.

- Mario Lamoureux is fifth among rookies with a 23.0 percent shooting percentage (14-for-61).

- The Reign are 16-4-0 against Pacific Division opponents.

- Ontario is at Alaska on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

- Taylor Nelson recorded his first victory since Oct. 13 on Friday against Colorado.

- San Francisco is first on the power play on the road at 22.6 percent (19-for-84).

- The Bulls host Idaho on Thursday and Bakersfield on Sunday.

- Justin Maylan leads rookies with 32 points (14g-18a).

- The Thunder are second in the league on the power play at 22.7 percent (41-for-181).

- Stockton visits Colorado on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

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