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December 29, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Wheeling Nailers (11-15-1) at Reading Royals (13-12-4) 1:05 p.m. ET
- Royals' Chris Bala has 10 points (5g-5a) in five games against Wheeling.
- Wheeling leads series 3-2 with the visiting team taking the first three games.
- Reading's Greg Hogeboom leads ECHL with five shorthand goals.
- Nailers' Sean Collins has 41 points and 29 assists, which are both third in ECHL.



Johnstown Chiefs (12-12-2) at Trenton Titans (12-9-2) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Trenton is 3-1-1 against Johnstown this season making their all time record 40-19-5.
- Chiefs' Radek Smolenak has 12 points (7g-5a) in 10 games on the road.
- Titans' Mike Pandolfo has eight goals against Johnstown in five games.
- Johnstown has a 2.74 goals-against average in December lowering their team average each month.



Dayton Bombers (13-6-2) at Toledo Storm (14-11-1) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Storm's Logan Koopmans has a 1.92 goals-against average in two games against Dayton.
- Dayton is 12-5-1 when it outshoot its opponents.
- Toledo is 10-3-0 when it scoring first.
- Since joining the Bombers Mike Berry has three goals and three assists in five games.



Gwinnett Gladiators (16-9-4) at Pensacola Ice Pilots (7-18-2) 7:05 p.m. CT
- Gwinnett leads ECHL with 4.24 goals per game.
- Ice Pilots' Greg Watson has three assists in one game against Gwinnett.
- Gladiators' Colton Fretter leads ECHL rookies with 34 points (19g-15a).
- Since coming from Utah, Pensacola's Mike Wirll has 27 points (14g-13a).



Florida Everblades (19-9-0) at Texas Wildcatters (19-6-2) 7:30 p.m. CT
- Miroslav Kopriva stopped 28 of 29 shots Thursday, lowering his goals-against to 0.76 against Florida.
- On the road Florida has a goals-against average of 2.72.
- Texas is second in ECHL in power-play with 20.8 percent (47-for-226).
- Everblades' rookie Mike Angelidis has four game-winning goals, which ties him for second in the ECHL.



Bakersfield Condors (16-9-2) at Idaho Steelheads (14-11-2) 7:10 p.m. MT
- Idaho's D'Arcy McConvey had two goals Thursday against Bakersfield to extend his goal streak to three.
- Bakersfield has increased their goal production in each period every month, and has 51 goals in Dec.
- In their last 10 games the Steelheads are out-shooting their opponents 314 to 228.
- Condors' Brett Lutes had a three points Thursday, extending his point streak to five.



Utah Grizzlies (7-18-3) at Las Vegas Wranglers (15-4-7) 7:05 p.m. PT
- Las Vegas ranks eighth in ECHL in goals per game with 3.42 and goals against with 3.08.
- Grizzlies' Ryan Kinasewich has 18 points on the road, and currently has a four-game point streak.
- Wranglers' Shawn Limpright had a goal and assist on Thursday to extend his point streak to three games.
- In December Utah has raised their team plus-minus rating by 14.



Alaska Aces (17-8-1) at Victoria Salmon Kings (9-17-1) 7:05 p.m. PT
- Alaska is 5-0 against Victoria this season bringing their overall record to 20-2-3.
- Salmon Kings' Kiel McLeod has five goals against Alaska and is second on the team with 11 goals.
- Aces' Matt Shasby leads ECHL in plus-minus rating with a +19.
- Victoria is fifth in ECHL in power-play record with 18.3 percent (36-for-197).



Stockton Thunder (15-5-5) at Fresno Falcons (16-9-1) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Fresno's Ryan MacDonald is 2-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average this season against Stockton.
- Stockton is first in ECHL in shots per game with 37.04.
- Falcons are first in ECHL in goals-against per game with 2.46.
- Thunder's Mike Lalonde leads team in points with 23 (10g-13a).

Premier 'AA' Hockey League Fast Facts
* Affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League marking 10th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.
* 310 former ECHL players have played in NHL.
* 165 have made NHL debut in the last five seasons, including goaltenders Barry Brust, Martin Houle, Joey MacDonald, Mike Smith and Mike Wall, center Drew Larman and right wing Jesse Schultz this season, and a record 47 in 2005-06.
* ECHL has been represented on last six Stanley Cup champions.
* Two NHL head coaches (Peter Laviolette & Jim Playfair) and 9 assistant coaches have ECHL experience.
* Affiliations with 24 of the 27 teams in the American Hockey League.
* ECHL has been represented on last 17 Calder Cup champions.
* For each of the past four seasons, ECHL has had more players called up to AHL than all other professional leagues combined. From 2002-06 the ECHL had 1,646 call ups, involving almost 1,000 players, including 416 call ups involving 263 players last season.
* Idaho Steelheads and City of Boise will host the 15th Annual ECHL All-Star Game presented by Rbk Hockey on Jan. 17 and the 10th Annual ECHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Rbk Hockey on Jan. 16 at Qwest Arena.
* ECHL and its member teams contributed more than $2.3 million for charity and relief funds in 2005-06.

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