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January 2, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Gwinnett Gladiators (19-7-3) at Columbia Inferno (12-14-7) 1:05 ET
- Gwinnett is 2-0-0 this season against Columbia and 22-8-3 all-time against the Inferno.
- Columbia is 8-3-3 at home this season.
- Tomas Pospisil has three game-winning goals for the Gladiators in his last eight games.
- Patrick Wellar leads the Inferno against Gwinnett with two assists and two points.



Elmira Jackals (22-7-3) at Reading Royals (17-10-3) 6:35 ET
- Reading won 4-3 in overtime on Dec. 26 to improve to 2-1-1 against Elmira.
- Elmira is 3-1-1 in their last five games and 9-1-2 in their last 12 games.
- Royals' Brock Hooton is on a six-game point streak (5g-4a).
- Kevin Ulanski has four points (2g-2a) for the Jackals against Reading.



Trenton Devils (12-16-2) at Pensacola Ice Pilots (7-20-3) 7:05 CT
- Pensacola is 21.7 percent (5-for-23) on the power play in their last five games.
- Trenton is 6-0-0 when leading after the first period.
- Since being acquired on Dec. 4, Pensacola's Bryan Esner has 13 points (5g-8a) in 13 games.
- Devils rookie Ryan Gunderson had 13 points (2g-11a) in December.



Idaho Steelheads (15-10-7) at Phoenix RoadRunners (10-15-5) 7:11 MT
- Idaho is 5-0-0 this season against Phoenix and 17-5-0 all-time against the RoadRunners.
- Phoenix is 6-0-3 when leading after the second period.
- Mark Bomersback leads the Steelheads against Phoenix with eight points (4g-4a).
- Sean O'Connor leads the RoadRunners with 14 goals and is tied for second with 25 points.

Watch Games Live on B2 Networks, the "Official Broadband Broadcast Provider" of the ECHL



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.

- 340 former ECHL players have played in NHL.

- 11 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 Gwinnett left wing Colin Stuart (Atlanta on Dec. 29), 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 195 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.

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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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