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January 5, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


August Lynx (16-17-0) at South Carolina Stingrays (17-14-2) 7:05 p.m. ET
- South Carolina ranks second in ECHL with 10 shorthand goals.
- Augusta is tied for fifth in ECHL with 18 points (9-8-0) on the road.
- Stingrays' Davis Parley is 3-1-1 with a goals-against average of 2.17 against Augusta.
- Lynx defenseman Sean Blanchard had two assists in 3-2 win against Gwinnett on Jan. 4.

Dayton Bombers (15-7-2) at Wheeling Nailers (12-16-2) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Vin Hellemeyer leads Nailers against Dayton with two assists and is tied for lead with two points.
- Dayton has won last two meetings by identical 3-2 scores at Wheeling on Dec. 16 and Oct. 28.
- Wheeling is 7-5-2 at home.
- Bombers' Paul Kelly has team-leading two goals in two games against Wheelers.

Charlotte Checkers (17-13-1) at Florida Everblades (20-10-0) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Checkers rank fourth in ECHL on the penalty kill with 85.9 percent (31-for-220).
- Florida ranks third in ECHL with nine shorthand goals.
- Charlotte's Mike Ouellette tied career highs with two assists and three points on Jan. 2 against Columbia.
- Everblades' Jonathan Lehun has two goals in two games against Charlotte.

Reading Royals (14-14-4) at Cincinnati Cyclones (15-12-2) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Cyclones lead ECHL on the penalty kill with 86.8 percent (28-for-213).
- Reading ranks fourth in ECHL in shots against with 28.94 per game.
- Cincinnati's Cory Urquhart leads team with 18 goals and 31 points.
- Royals' Shawn Collymore has 27 points and is tied for second on the team with 19 assists.

Trenton Titans (14-10-2) at Toledo Storm (15-13-1) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Toledo's Jamie Tardif ranks fifth among ECHL rookies with 25 points (9g-16a).
- Titans rank third in ECHL scoring with 3.85 goals per game.
- Storm rank second in ECHL with 24 points (12-3-0) at home.
- Trenton's Mike Pandolfo had his second hat trick of season on Dec. 31 and leads ECHL with 23 goals.

Johnstown Chiefs (14-13-3) at Gwinnett (17-11-4) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Johnstown's Radek Smolenak has 14 points (7g-7a) on the road.
- Gladiators are 13-1-2 when leading after the second period while Johnstown is 9-1-0.
- Chiefs rank seventh in ECHL on the power play with 18.6 percent (44-for-236).
- Gwinnett defenseman Jamie Milam has goals in back-to-back games giving him nine goals.

Columbia Inferno (10-16-4) at Texas Wildcatters (20-6-3) 7:30 p.m. CT
- Columbia ranks fifth in ECHL in shots per game with 34.10.
- Wildcatters rank second in ECHL on the power play with 19.9 percent (47-for-236).
- Inferno's Todd Ford is tied for third in the ECHL in save percentage of .925.
- Texas's Kevin Baker ranks second in power-play goals with 11.

Stockton Thunder (15-7-5) at Idaho Steelheads (17-12-2) 7:10 p.m. MT
- Thunder's Beau Geisler has team-leading seven points (3g-4a) in five games against Idaho.
- Steelheads are 12-5-2 in one-goal games.
- Stockton leads ECHL in shots per game with 36.56.
- Idaho's Marty Flichel has team-leading four goals and eight points in five games against Stockton.

Bakersfield Condors (16-10-3) at Las Vegas Wranglers (17-5-7) 7:05 p.m. PT
- Bakersfield ranks fourth in ECHL in scoring with 3.83 goals per game.
- Las Vegas ranks fourth in ECHL on the power play with 18.8 percent (39-for-207).
- Condors' Todd Griffith is second among rookies with 16 goals and fourth in scoring with 27 points.
- Wrangler defenseman Ryan Bonni had two assists on Jan. 1 to extend assist streak to five games (6a).

Phoenix RoadRunners (17-13-2) at Long Beach Ice Dogs (9-18-2) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Phoenix ranks third in ECHL in shots per game with 34.41.
- Long Beach is 5-1-0 when leading after the second period.
- Phoenix rookie defenseman Dave Pszenyczny had his third two-assist game against Idaho on Jan. 4.
- Ash Goldie leads the Ice Dogs against Phoenix with five assists and eight points.

Victoria Salmon Kings (12-18-1) at Fresno Falcons (19-9-1) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Fresno leads ECHL in goals against with 2.38 per game.
- Victoria is 7-2-0 when leading after the first period while Fresno is 10-3-1.
- Luke Curtin leads Fresno against Victoria with six assists and seven points.
- Salmon Kings' Milan Gajic has team-leading four assists and five points in three games against Fresno.

Utah Grizzlies (8-20-3) at Alaska Aces (19-9-2) 7:15 p.m. AT
- Utah has scored 41 goals on the road and 30 goals at home.
- Alaska is 17-0-1 when leading after the second period while Utah is 4-0-0.
- Rookie defenseman Gordon Burnett leads the Grizzlies in plus-minus rating with +6.
- Matt Robinson leads the Aces against Utah with four goals in five games.



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.
* 311 former ECHL players have played in NHL.
* 166 have made NHL debut in the last five seasons, including goaltenders Barry Brust, Martin Houle, Joey MacDonald, Mike Smith and Mike Wall, centers Drew Larman and Kris Newbury, 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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