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January 18, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Texas Wildcatters (27-4-6) at Columbia Inferno (15-15-8) 7:05 ET
- Wildcatters lead the ECHL with 30 points on the road (15-2-1).
- Columbia is 3-1-1 in their last five games.
- Texas rookie Brandon Benedict has two game-winning goals and 10 points (5g-5a) in his last six games.
- Inferno's Jeff Miles has scored in four of his last five games (2g-4a).



Gwinnett Gladiators (22-9-4) at South Carolina Stingrays (23-12-2) 7:05 ET
- South Carolina won 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 30 to improve to 1-2-0 this season against Gwinnett.
- Gwinnett is 15-8-2 when they outshoot their opponents.
- All-Star Travis Morin leads the Stingrays against Gwinnett with three assists and four points.
- Lou Dickenson leads the Gladiators against South Carolina with four assists and five points.



Dayton Bombers (17-12-7) at Johnstown Chiefs (14-19-1) 7:05 ET
- Dayton is 3-0-0 this season against Johnstown and 72-43-18 all-time against the Chiefs.
- Johnstown is 11-4-1 when leading after the second period.
- All-Star Yannick Tifu leads the Bombers against Johnstown with seven assists.
- All-Star Ryan Garlock leads the Chiefs against Dayton with three goals and six points.



Reading Royals (20-15-3) at Trenton Devils (15-19-3) 7:30 ET
- Trenton is 5-2-0 this season against Reading and 40-22-8 all-time against the Royals.
- Reading is 21.4 percent (6-for-28) on the power play in their last five games.
- All-Star defenseman Ryan Gunderson leads the Devils against Reading with eight assists and nine points.
- Dany Roussin leads the Royals against Trenton with four goals and eight points.



Augusta Lynx (21-15-3) at Charlotte Checkers (15-15-4) 7:35 ET
- Augusta won 6-4 at home on Jan. 8 to improve to 3-3-0 this season against the Checkers.
- Charlotte is 12-4-3 when scoring first.
- Lynx's Louis Goulet has seven points (2g-5a) in his last five games.
- Chris Capraro leads the Checkers against Augusta with seven goals and eight points.



Wheeling Nailers (13-21-4) at Elmira Jackals (25-9-3) 7:35 ET
- Elmira is 4-0-0 against Wheeling.
- Wheeling is 4-1-0 in their last five games.
- Benoit Doucet leads the Jackals against Wheeling with three goals and seven points.
- Sean Collins leads the Nailers against Elmira with three assists and four points.



Florida Everblades (21-13-3) at Mississippi Sea Wolves (15-20-3) 7:05 CT
- Mississippi won 5-2 at home on Jan. 1 to improve to 1-2-1 this season against the Everblades.
- Florida is out scoring their opponents 10-3 in the first period in their last five games.
- Jason Tejchma leads the Sea Wolves against Florida with three goals and five points.
- Derek Damon leads the Everblades against Mississippi with five assists and seven points.



Phoenix RoadRunners (13-19-6) at Utah Grizzlies (18-16-3) 7:05 MT
- Utah won 6-3 at home on Jan. 16 to improve to 2-3-1 this season against the RoadRunners.
- Phoenix is 10-4-5 when scoring first.
- Ryan Kinasewich leads the Grizzlies against Phoenix with six assists and eight points.
- Daniel Sisca leads the RoadRunners against Utah with four goals and eight points.



Alaska Aces (19-11-5) at Idaho Steelheads (19-12-7) 7:10 MT
- Alaska is 2-1-0 this season against Idaho and 19-13-3 all-time against the Steelheads.
- Idaho ranks third in the ECHL on the power play at home with 23.9 percent (28-for-117).
- Kimbi Daniels (2g-2a) and All-Star Josh Soares (2g-2a) lead the Aces against Idaho with four points.
- All-Star Greg Rallo leads the Steelheads against Alaska with four assists and five points.



Fresno Falcons (20-10-4) at Victoria Salmon Kings (23-10-4) 7:00 PT
- Fresno is 2-1-1 this season against Victoria and 16-6-4 all-time against the Salmon Kings.
- Victoria is 12-0-2 when leading after the second period.
- All-Star Oren Eizenman leads the Falcons against Victoria with five goals and eight points.
- Ryan Wade leads the Salmon Kings against Fresno with five assists and six points.



Las Vegas Wranglers (23-6-7) at Bakersfield Condors (10-20-7) 7:00 PT
- Bakersfield won 3-2 at home on Dec. 30 to improve to 1-3-1 this season against the Wranglers.
- Las Vegas ranks second in the ECHL on the power play on the road with 24.3 percent (26-for-107).
- Sean Venedam leads the Condors against Las Vegas with three assists and four points.
- All-Star Peter Ferraro leads the Wranglers against Bakersfield with four goals and six points.



Most Career Coaching Wins
480 - John Brophy, Hampton Roads (1989-2000) and Wheeling (2001-03)
474 - John Marks, Pensacola, Charlotte (1993-98) and Greenville (1998-2006)
332 - Jeff Pyle, Gwinnett (2003 to present) and Mobile (1998-2002)
332 - Frank Anzalone, Nashville (1991-92), Roanoke (1993-98), Pee Dee (1999-2001) and Johnstown (2005-07)

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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.

- 342 former ECHL players have played in NHL.

- 13 former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Kevin Doell (Atlanta on Jan. 4), former Roanoke Express and 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 Gwinnett Gladiators and Louisiana IceGators left wing Pascal Pelletier (Boston on Jan. 17), former Reading Royals goaltender Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles on Dec. 6), former Stockton Thunder left wing Liam Reddox (Edmonton on Dec. 7), former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Colin Stuart (Atlanta on Dec. 29), former San Diego goaltender Tyler Weiman (Colorado on Oct. 4), former Charlotte Checkers 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 197 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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ECHL Stories from January 18, 2008


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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