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December 29, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Wheeling Nailers (9-18-3) at Dayton Bombers (12-8-7) 7:00 ET
- Dayton won 6-5 in a shootout on Dec. 16 at Wheeling and is 3-2-1 against the Nailers.
- Sean Collins leads the Nailers against Dayton with five assists and seven points.
- Matt Beaudoin leads the Bombers against Wheeling with five goals and nine points.
- Ned Havern leads Wheeling with 12 goals and is tied for the lead with 21 points.



Columbia Inferno (12-13-6) at Augusta Lynx (16-11-3) 7:05 ET
- Columbia is 4-1-1 this season against Augusta and 28-18-8 all-time against the Lynx.
- Augusta is 11-3 -0 at home this season.
- Inferno's Tyler Doig had a goal and two assists in a 4-2 win against Charlotte on Friday.
- Lynx's John Laliberte had two goals in a 4-3 win against Gwinnett on Friday.



Trenton Devils (11-15-2) at Reading Royals (17-10-2) 7:05 ET
- Trenton is 4-2-0 this season against Reading and 39-22-8 all-time against the Royals.
- Reading has 15 points (7-2-1) in their last 10 games.
- Devils' Eric Castonguay has six points (3g-3a) in his last three games.
- Dany Roussin leads the Royals against Trenton with four goals and seven points.



Cincinnati Cyclones (22-6-2) at Elmira Jackals (21-6-3) 7:35 ET
- Elmira won 5-4 in a shootout at Cincinnati on Dec. 8 to improve to 2-2-1 against the Cyclones.
- Cincinnati is on a six-game winning streak and is 12-2-1 in their last 15 games.
- Jackals' Benoit Doucet is on a four-game goal streak (4g).
- Cyclones' Dov Grumet-Morris is 3-0-1 with a 1.68 goals-against average in four games against Elmira.



South Carolina Stingrays (16-9-1) at Charlotte Checkers (12-10-4) 7:35 ET
- Charlotte is 2-1-1 this season against South Carolina and 57-45-10 all-time against the Stingrays.
- South Carolina is on a nine-game winning streak.
- Chris Capraro leads the Checkers with five assists and five points in four games against South Carolina.
- Matt W. Reid leads the Stingrays against Charlotte with three assists and five points.



Florida Everblades (16-10-2) at Pensacola Ice Pilots (6-19-3) 7:05 CT
- Pensacola won 3-1 at Florida on Nov. 24 to improve to 1-2-0 this season against the Everblades.
- Florida is 10-4-2 when they are out shot by their opponents.
- Luke Erickson (3g-1a) and Mike Sgroi (4a) lead the Ice Pilots against Florida with four points.
- Ernie Hartlieb had two goals for the Everblades in a 5-4 shootout win at Mississippi on Friday.



Texas Wildcatters (23-2-5) at Mississippi Sea Wolves (9-18-3) 7:05 CT
- Texas is 4-0-1 this season against Mississippi to improve to 8-20-3 all-time against the Sea Wolves.
- Mississippi is 6-1-0 when leading after the second period.
- Wildcatters' John McNabb had two goals in a 4-1 win at Pensacola on Friday.
- Jason Tejchma had two goals and an assist for the Sea Wolves in a 5-4 shootout loss to Florida on Friday.



Idaho Steelheads (13-10-7) at Phoenix RoadRunners (10-13-5) 7:11 MT
- Idaho is 3-0-0 this season against Phoenix and 15-5-0 all-time against the RoadRunners.
- Daniel Sisca leads Phoenix with 23 assists and 29 points.
- Mark Bomersback leads the Steelheads against Phoenix with eight points (4g-4a).
- Thatcher Bell had two points (1g-1a) for the RoadRunners in a 3-2 win against Bakersfield on Thursday.



Stockton Thunder (12-15-2) at Bakersfield Condors (7-16-5) 7:00 PT
- Bakersfield is 3-0-0 this season against Stockton and 13-5-1 all-time against the Thunder.
- Stockton is out scoring their opponents 6-3 in the third period in their last five away games.
- Andrew Ianiero (1g-4a) and Brett Lutes (1g-4a) lead the Condors against Stockton with five points.
- Thunder's Andy Contois is on a four-game point streak (1g-4a).



Victoria Salmon Kings (19-7-2) at Fresno Falcons (14-9-3) 7:30 PT
- Victoria won 7-3 at Fresno on Dec. 16 to tie the season series 1-1-0 and improve to 9-14-1 all-time.
- Fresno is 7-1-3 in one-goal games this season.
- Salmon Kings' Ryan Wade is on a five-game point streak (3g-6a).
- Falcons' Brady Leisenring has 10 points (5g-5a) in his last 10 games.



Utah Grizzlies (13-12-3) at Alaska Aces (16-9-3) 7:15 AT
- Utah won 5-4 in a shootout at Alaska on Friday to lead the season series 1-0-0.
- Alaska is out scoring their opponents 17-6 in the first period in December.
- Defenseman James Sanford had three assists for the Grizzlies on Friday against Alaska.
- Cam Keith had a goal and an assist for the Aces on Friday against Utah.

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Premier 'AA' Hockey League Fast Facts

- Celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08, the ECHL is the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.

- ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league with 25 teams playing 900 games in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08.

- The league officially changed its name to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

- 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.

- 339 former ECHL players have played in NHL.

- Ten former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Roanoke Express and former Wheeling Nailers left wing Jason Jaffray (Vancouver on Dec. 12), former Toledo Storm goaltender Drew MacIntyre (Vancouver on Dec. 13), former San Diego Gulls left wing Cody McLeod (Colorado on Dec. 19), former Columbia Inferno center Brandon Nolan (Carolina on Dec. 22), former Johnstown Chiefs and Fresno Falcons goaltender Dmitri Patzold (San Jose on Oct. 7), former Reading Royals goaltender Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles on Dec. 6), former Stockton left wing Liam Reddox (Edmonton on Dec. 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).

- There were 69 former ECHL players on NHL opening-day rosters and there have been 192 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.

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

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

- There are 15 coaches in the NHL who have ECHL experience including former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and former Mississippi coach Bruce Boudreau, who is head coach of the Washington Capitals.

- 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.

Check out the ECHL Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 29, 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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