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January 26, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Reading Royals (22-16-3) at Trenton Devils (17-21-3) 7:00 ET
- Trenton is 5-3-0 this season against Reading and 40-23-8 all-time against the Royals.
- Reading is 9-3-3 in one-goal games.
- All-Star Ryan Gunderson leads the Devils with eight assists and nine points against Reading.
- Dany Roussin leads the Royals against Trenton with five assists and nine points.



Charlotte Checkers (17-16-4) at Columbia Inferno (16-15-10) 7:05 ET
- Columbia won 5-0 at Charlotte on Jan. 11 to improve to 3-3-2 this season against the Checkers.
- Charlotte ranks fifth in the ECHL on the penalty kill on the road with 85.6 percent (77-for-90).
- Brad Ralph leads the Inferno against Charlotte with seven assists and nine points.
- Blake Bellefeuille leads the Checkers with four assists and seven points against Columbia.



Dayton Bombers (19-14-7) at Johnstown Chiefs (16-20-2) 7:05 ET
- Dayton won 3-0 on Friday to lead the season series 4-1-0 and is all-time 73-44-18 against Johnstown.
- Johnstown is 13-4-2 when leading after the second period.
- All-Star Yannick Tifu scored a goal on Friday for the Bombers to extend his goal streak to three games (3g).
- Chiefs' Randy Rowe has 13 points (7g-6a) in his last 10 games.



South Carolina Stingrays (26-12-2) at Florida Everblades (23-14-4) 7:30 ET
- South Carolina won 3-2 in overtime at Florida on Friday to improve to 1-3-0 this season against the Everblades.
- Florida ranks sixth in the ECHL on the power play at home with 21.1 percent (23-for-109).
- Marty Guerin had two assists for the Stingrays on Friday against Florida.
- Preston Callander and Ryan Van Buskirk each scored a goal for the Everblades on Friday against South Carolina.



Cincinnati Cyclones (27-8-3) at Wheeling Nailers (13-23-5) 8:00 ET
- Cincinnati won 4-3 in a shootout against Wheeling on Friday to lead the season series 5-1-0.
- Wheeling ranks fifth in the ECHL on the penalty kill at home with 87.2 percent (123-for-141).
- Matt Syroczynski scored two goals for the Cyclones against Wheeling on Friday.
- Sean Collins scored two goals for the Nailers against Cincinnati on Friday.



Gwinnett Gladiators (23-11-4) at Pensacola Ice Pilots (8-27-4) 7:05 CT
- Pensacola won 3-2 at Gwinnett on Jan. 12 to improve to 2-3-1 this season against the Gladiators.
- Gwinnett leads the ECHL with 53 power-play goals.
- All-Star Jean-Claude Sawyer leads Ice Pilots defenseman with 20 points (3g-17a).
- Gladiators' Matt Anderson is on a six-game point streak (4g-4a).



Mississippi Sea Wolves (17-22-3) at Texas Wildcatters (30-4-7) 7:05 CT
- Texas won 4-1 against Mississippi on Friday to lead the season series 6-1-1 against the Sea Wolves.
- Mississippi is 3-2-0 in their last five games and 7-3-0 in their last 10 games.
- Brandon Benedict had two goals for the Wildcatters against Mississippi on Friday.
- All-Star Ryan Menei scored a goal for the Sea Wolves on Friday against Texas.



Idaho Steelheads (21-13-7) at Bakersfield Condors (12-20-7) 7:00 PT
- Idaho is 2-0-0 this season against Bakersfield and is 19-10-2 all-time against the Condors.
- Bakersfield is 4-0-1 in their last five games.
- Lance Galbraith leads the Steelheads with 10 power-play goals, 23 assists and 37 points.
- Condors' Tim Konsorada is on a five-game point streak (4g-3a).



Utah Grizzlies (19-18-3) at Las Vegas Wranglers (25-8-7) 7:05 PT
- Las Vegas won 1-0 at Utah on Friday to lead the season series 5-1-0 against the Grizzlies.
- Utah ranks fourth in the ECHL on the power play on the road with 20.8 percent (22-for-106).
- Adam Cracknell scored a goal for the Wranglers against Utah on Friday.
- Scott Burt leads the Grizzlies with 19 assists and 35 points.



Phoenix RoadRunners (14-21-6) at Stockton Thunder (18-18-2) 7:30 PT
- Stockton is 4-1-0 this season against Phoenix and 13-3-1 all-time against the RoadRunners.
- Phoenix ranks fifth in the ECHL on the power play on the road with 20.2 percent (25-for-124).
- All-Star Ryan MacMurchy leads the Thunder against Phoenix with five assists and seven points.
- Daniel Sisca leads the RoadRunners against Stockton with eight assists and eight points.



Victoria Salmon Kings (25-11-5) at Alaska Aces (20-13-5) 7:15 AT
- Alaska won 2-0 against Victoria on Friday to lead the season series 3-1-0.
- Victoria is 12-4-3 when out shooting their opponents.
- Aces' Derek Gustafson stopped all 33 shots he faced on Friday to record his first shutout of the season.
- All-Star MVP Ash Goldie leads the Salmon Kings with 22 goals, 12 power-play goals and 42 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)
333 - 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.

- 345 former ECHL players have played in NHL.

- 16 former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Idaho Steelheads right wing B.J. Crombeen (Dallas on Jan. 19), former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Kevin Doell (Atlanta on Jan. 4), former Fresno goaltender Thomas Greiss (San Jose on Jan. 14), 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 Alaska Aces and Pensacola Ice Pilots center Chris Minard (Pittsburgh on Jan. 21), 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 200 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.

- 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 26, 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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