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December 5, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Wheeling Nailers (8-8-2) at Reading Royals (11-8-1) 6:35 ET
- Reading won 5-3 at Wheeling on Dec. 2 and is 1-1-0 in season series and 28-23-6 all-time against Nailers.
- Wheeling is 7-2-0 when leading after the first period.
- Brett Hemingway leads Royals against Nailers with two goals and is tied for team lead with three points.
- Nailers' Kevin Croxton has a goal and two assists in two games against Reading.



Johnstown Chiefs (9-8-1) at Columbia Inferno (8-9-4) 7:05 ET
- Johnstown won 4-2 on Nov. 21 and is 1-0-0 this season and 2-1-0 all-time against Columbia.
- Columbia ranks third in the ECHL on the penalty kill at home with 90.6 (58-for-64).
- Chiefs' Jean Desrochers and Ryan Garlock each have a goal against Columbia.
- Jeff Miles leads the Inferno against Johnstown with two points (1g-1a).



Trenton Devils (7-12-0) at Elmira Jackals (13-6-1) 7:05 ET
- Elmira won 4-0 on Nov. 23 to lead the series against Trenton 2-0-0.
- Trenton is 6-2-0 in one-goal games.
- Jackals' Joel Martin is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average in two games against Trenton.
- Rookie Ryan Gunderson leads Devils defensemen with nine assists and 10 points in 19 games.



Dayton Bombers (8-6-5) at Cincinnati Cyclones (13-5-1) 7:30 ET
- Dayton won 4-2 at Cincinnati on Nov. 24 and is 3-3-0 this season and 26-24-8 all-time against Cyclones.
- Cincinnati is on a three-game winning streak and is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
- Yannick Tifu leads the Bombers against Cincinnati with seven assists and seven points in six games.
- David Desharnais leads the Cyclones against Dayton with 10 assists and 13 points in six games.



Fresno Falcons (8-6-3) at Idaho Steelheads (7-6-6) 7:10 MT
- Fresno is 6-1-0 when scoring first.
- Idaho ranks second in the ECHL on the power play at home with 27.6 percent (21-for-76).
- Falcon rookie Igor Gongalsky has five points (4g-1a) in his last two games.
- Greg Rallo leads the Steelheads with 12 assists and 19 points.



Bakersfield Condors (5-10-5) at Alaska Aces (10-8-1) 7:05 AT
- Alaska won 3-2 in a shootout at Bakersfield on Oct. 24 and is 1-0-0 this season and 18-13-2 all-time.
- Bakersfield is tied for the ECHL lead with six shorthand goals.
- Aces' Kimbi Daniels and Matt Robinson each have a goal against Bakersfield.
- Mark Derlago and Eric Sonnenberg each have a goal for the Condors against Alaska.

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Premier 'AA' Hockey League Fast Facts

- Affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

- 333 former ECHL players have played in NHL.

- There were 69 former ECHL players on NHL opening-day rosters and there have been 188 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past six seasons.

- Twenty-six former ECHL players made their NHL debut in 2006-07, including two who played in both the ECHL and the NHL as goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji played for Reading and Los Angeles while defenseman Bryan Young skated for Stockton and Edmonton. Dave McKee played for Augusta and dressed for five games as the backup goaltender for Stanley Cup champion Anaheim.

- Four former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Johnstown Chiefs and Fresno Falcons goaltender Dmitri Patzold (San Jose on Oct. 7), former San Diego goaltender Tyler Weiman (Colorado on Oct. 4), former Charlotte right wing Craig Weller (Phoenix on Oct. 4) and former Phoenix RoadRunners center Daniel Winnik (Phoenix Coyotes on Oct. 4).

- Record 51 former ECHL players played their first NHL game in 2005-06.

- ECHL has been represented on last seven Stanley Cup champions.

- 14 Former ECHL coaches on NHL staffs.

- ECHL has been represented on last 18 Calder Cup champions.

- ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League and for the past 18 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup Champion.

- The Stockton Thunder and the City of Stockton will host the Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game presented by Jackson Rancheria and Bud Light at Stockton Arena on Jan. 23, 2008 and the Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Jackson Rancheria and Bud Light on Jan. 22, 2008.

- In the last five seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 2,000 call-ups involving more than 1,000 players since 2002-03.
ECHL and its member teams contributed nearly $3 million for charity and relief funds in 2006-07.

- Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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ECHL Stories from December 5, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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