ECHL ECHL

ECHL Southern Conference Notebook

February 6, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Southeast Division ==================

AUGUSTA LYNX (Coyotes) -- The Lynx went 6-6-2 in the month of January but remain last in the division with a record of 16-28-3. Augusta owns just a 6-21-2 road record despite going a respectable 3-3-1 on a seven-game trip that concluded on February 2. ... RW Andrew Williamson scored 12 of Augusta's 46 tallies in January, accounting for 26 percent of the club's offense. Williamson, who posted a season-high five points (two goals, three assists) in a 9-5 win against Florida on January 12, has strung together eight straight games with a point, January 17-February 2. Featuring a six-game goal-scoring streak and seven games multiple-point games, the streak has produced 17 total points (eight goals, nine assists). Williamson leads the club with 38 points despite playing only 25 games for the Lynx. Overall, he has 49 points between Augusta and Dayton. ... LW Mike Legg recorded five assists in the win against the Everblades on January 12. He is currently riding a six-game point-scoring streak (three goals, five assists) through February 2.

COLUMBIA INFERNO (Canucks) -- The Inferno went 10-6-0 in January and, with a 29-19-1 record worth 59 points, are locked up in a tie for first in the division with Pee Dee. They won seven consecutive games from January 10-23 but followed with four straight defeats from January 24-29. ... Columbia leads the league with an 87.36 penalty-killing percentage and have tallied 10 times while shorthanded. ... C Rejean Stringer posted 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in January and began February with a goal and three assists in a 6-4 win over Greenville on the first. It was the third four-point performance of the season for the 28-year-old Stringer, who is tied for third in the league with 66 points. ... D Corey Hessler, who hadn't scored in his previous 19 games, tallied his 13th goal of the season during a four-goal first period in the win over the Grrrowl on February 1. The goal was Hessler's 10th on the power play, which is tops among all league rookies and second among league defenders.

COLUMBUS COTTONMOUTHS (Oilers) -- The Cottonmouths managed only two wins in January (2-9-2) and have fallen to sixth in the division with a record of 17-23-7. Columbus suffered through an 11-game winless drought (0-9-2), which included a seven-game losing skid, from January 3-25. During the month, no player had more than three goals and only one player, C Mike Nelson had a plus rating, with a plus-1 in four games. ... RW Brent Cullaton managed only six points (two goals, four assists) in 13 games in January but still leads the team with 45 points in 47 games. ... The Cottonmouths were last in the league with a penalty-killing percentage of 77.70 through February 2.

FLORIDA EVERBLADES (Hurricanes) -- After going undefeated in December (9-0-3), the Everblades went a disappointing 4-7-1 in January. Still, without a loss in their first three games in February (2-0-1), they were only one point behind divisional front-runners Columbia and Pee Dee with 58 points (24-13-10) through February 5. ... F Marty Johnston, who led Florida with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) during January, tallied the game-winning goal in a 5-2 win over South Carolina on February 4. With the victory, the Everblades improved to 23-8-5 all-time against the Stingrays, including a 5-2-1 record against them this season. Johnston leads the team with 50 points (20 goals, 30 assists) in 43 games. ... RW Kevin Brown has recorded three or more points in four of his last 12 games, including a five-point effort in a 10-5 win over Pensacola on January 7. Brown, who joined the club from Augusta at the end of November, has 40 points in 28 games with Florida.

GREENVILLE GRRROWL (Thrashers) -- The Grrrowl have won just four times in their last 18 games (4-12-2) and are fifth in the division with a record of 19-24-4 worth 42 points. Greenville lost nine games out of 10 during one stretch, being outscored 41-19. ... Greenville dealt D Chris Gustafson to Augusta for D Jonathan Gauthier on February 4. Gustafson had two goals, nine assists and a minus-11 rating in 40 games with the club. ... The Grrrowl have gone 5-for-66 on the power play over their last 15 games and rank in the lower third in the league with a success rate of only 15.05 percent with a man advantage. .... The Grrrowl lead the league with 14 shorthanded goals, including five by LW Matt Demarski. Demarski leads the club with 44 points in 47 games.

PEE DEE PRIDE (Unaffiliated) -- The Pride went 10-4-0 in January and are tied for first in the division with 59 points (27-15-5). Pee Dee is tied for second in the league with 17 home wins (17-4-3), outscoring its opponents, 93-53, on home ice. ... The Pride have converted on just one of their last 27 power-play opportunities and sport a 15.64 success rate with a man advantage for the season. ... C Matt Reid leads the Pride with 56 points (20 goals, 36 assists) in 41 games. He has 15 of his 20 goals, including four game-winners, and 39 points at home. When Reid scores, the team has gone 13-0-2. ... G Ron Vogel has gone 12-2-3 with a 2.20 goals-against average at home. Overall, he is seventh in the league with a 2.65 GAA. Teammate Matt Underhill ranks third in the circuit with a 2.50 goals-against average.

SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS (Unaffiliated) -- The Stingrays have gone 4-2-1 over their last seven games and rank fourth in the division with 54 points (25-17-4). ... LW Rod Taylor became the league's all-time points leader with an assist against Greensboro on January 29. Taylor's 686 points are one more than the career total of Darryl Noren, who had 685 with Charlotte and Greensboro from 1990-2000. Taylor has recorded a league-record eight 30-goal seasons, including six in a row from 1992-1998. ... C Dave Seitz put together a seven-game point-scoring streak from January 11-February 1, accumulating 11 points (two goals, nine assists) over that span. Through February 5, he leads the team with 51 points in 44 games. ... G Kirk Daubenspeck leads the league with 23 wins.

Southwest Division ==================

ARKANSAS RIVERBLADES (Unaffiliated) -- The RiverBlades rocketed up the standings in the Southwest Conference after going 9-0-2 in 11 games since January 3. Since the beginning of the new year, Arkansas has moved from fifth place in the conference to second, just four points behind the Louisiana IceGators. Overall, the team went a month without a regulation loss for the first time in its four-year history. ... The club has averaged 4.36 goals over its last 11 games, tying a season high for most goals in a 7-3 triumph over Baton Rouge on January 24. ... The RiverBlades have won their last six home games, limiting opponents to just 2.17 goals and killing off 25 of their 27 power-play opportunities (92.6 percent). ... LW Jason Bermingham scored a goal in six consecutive games, January 3-18. The 26-year-old had 14 points, including four power-play markers over that span. ... G Jason Saal is 6-0-1 over his last seven starts, posting a 2.67 goals-against average and a ..919 save percentage.

BATON ROUGE KINGFISH (Unaffiliated) -- Hampered by a six-game losing and an eight-game winless streak, the Kingfish won just four of their last 13 games (4-8-1) and stand last in the Southwest Division with just 37 standings points. .... The team has managed just two wins over its last nine home games (2-6-1) and is last in the ECHL with just six home wins overall. Baton Rouge has been outscored by a 82-59 margin in its 22 games at the Riverside Centroplex this season. ... The team has had its troubles starting off games, being outscored, 65-29, in the first period. ... Between January 17 and February 1, the Kingfish failed to score on 38 straight power plays, surrendering four shorthanded goals over that span. ... C Bryan Richardson has notched a point in his last five games (three goals and six assists). Overall, he leads the team in points (48), goals (23), power-play markers (8) and shorthanded tallies.

JACKSON BANDITS (Blackhawks) -- After going 1-7-0 in the month of October, Jackson has crawled back into contention by averaging nearly eight wins over the last three months. After going 6-4-2 in 12 games between January 4 and February 2, the Bandits have moved into ninth in the Southwest Conference, trailing eighth-place South Carolina by just one point. Jackson is tied for second in the ECHL with 17 home wins. ... The team ranks last in the league with a 10.1 success rate on the power play on the road and 26th overall in man-advantage situations (12.0). .... RW Brent Gauvreau recorded 13 points (five goals, eight assists) over a seven-game span, January 8-24. Since joining the team at the beginning of December, he has notched 17 assists and 27 points in 25 games. ... RW Dave Stewart has 36 penalty minutes over his last 10 games and stands second in the ECHL with 253.

LOUISIANA ICEGATORS (Wild) -- The IceGators have gone 6-4-2 since January 3 and sit atop the Southern Conference with 64 points. The team has gone past regulation in four of its last seven games, winning and losing twice in overtime. .... Rookie G Kyle Kettles tied a franchise mark on February 2 with his 11th consecutive start. The 21-year-old has a 3.15 goals-against average, a .906 save percentage and a pair of shutouts over that span. He also recorded a franchise-record 51 saves in a 3-1 victory over Florida on January 31. ... LW Shawn McNeil has recorded a point in 11 of his last 12 games (eight goals, 14 assists). He leads the team and is tied for sixth in the league with 65 points. Since the beginning of the 2000-01 season, no player has scored more goals in the ECHL than McNeil. He has 96 goals, 12 more than former teammate Jay Murphy, who is currently on the 30-day IR with Greensboro, and Augusta's Andrew Williamson.

MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES (Unaffiliated) -- After going 5-6-1 between January 3 and February 4, Mississippi is tied for fifth in the Southern Conference with the Florida Everblades at 58 points. Currently on a seven-game road trip, the Sea Wolves have lost four of their first five. Their overall record away from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum is 11-10-1. ... Since being acquired from Baton Rouge on January 13, D Sean Peach has collected a pair of assists and a plus-six rating in seven contests. .... F Mike Scott has finished with a point in each of his last eight games (three goals, seven assists). The former University of Alaska-Anchorage player has recorded 21 assists and 34 points in 40 games with Mississippi this season. ... D Jim Baxter, who has three goals and eight points over his last 10 games, ranks second among ECHL defensemen with 52 points.

PENSACOLA ICE PILOTS (Lightning) -- With eight wins over its last 10 games, Pensacola has moved one point behind third-place Mississippi in the Southwest Division. The team has averaged 4.50 goals over that span and rank 14th in the league with 3.33 goals per contest. ... The Ice Pilots successfully killed off 31 of their opponents 37 power-play opportunities between January 19 and February 1, and rank fourth in the league with a 83.9 penalty killing rate. ... RW Greg Pankewicz has notched a point in 12 of his last 13 games. The team leader in goals, assists and points, he has nine goals and 10 assists over his recent point streak. Overall, the 32-year-old is tied for second in the league in goals (29) and fourth in penalty minutes with 241. ... C Louis Dumont scored a goal in four consecutive games, January 24-31. Overall, he collected 14 assists and 21 points over 14 games during the month of January.

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