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February 9, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Texas Wildcatters (36-4-7) at South Carolina Stingrays (29-16-2) 5 p.m. ET
- Stingrays won the last meeting and are 2-2-0 in season series and 9-5-0 all-time against Texas.
- Texas is 9-0-1 in their last 10 games.
- Rookie Travis Morin leads South Carolina against Texas with five goals and seven points in four games.
- Wildcatters' John McNabb ranks second in the ECHL with 56 points (20g-36a) in 47 games.



Trenton Devils (18-23-5) at Dayton Bombers (19-18-8) 7 p.m. ET
- Bombers are 2-0-0 at home and 3-2-1 overall in season series against the Devils.
- Jim Henkel (5g-4a) and Ryan Gunderson (1g-7a) lead the Trenton offense against the Bombers.
- Dayton's Rejean Beauchemin is 3-1-1 with goals-against average of 2.78 in five games against the Devils.
- Devils' Dave Caruso is 3-1-0 with goals-against average of 2.75 in four games against Dayton.

Elmira Jackals (30-11-4) at Reading Royals (25-17-3) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Reading is 2-1-1 at home and 2-3-1 overall in season series against Elmira.
- Elmira is 11-1-4 in one-goal games.
- Royals' defenseman P.J. Atherton has 11 points (4g-7a) in his last 10 games.
- Brett Pilkington leads the Jackals against Reading with five assists and seven points.



Augusta Lynx (25-19-4) at Florida Everblades (24-19-4) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Augusta won 5-2 at Florida on Friday to lead the season series 3-1-0 against the Everblades.
- Florida is tied for eighth in the ECHL with 31 points at home (14-5-3).
- Bobby Bolt had two goals for the Lynx on Friday against Florida.
- Mathieu Melanson had two assists for the Everblades on Friday against Augusta.



Mississippi Sea Wolves (21-25-3) at Cincinnati Cyclones (33-8-3) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Cincinnati won 8-3 against Mississippi on Wednesday to lead the season series 1-0-0.
- Mississippi is 4-1-0 in their last five games.
- David Desharnais (1g-2a) and Barret Ehgoetz (3a) lead the Cyclones against Mississippi with three points.
- Chris Cava leads the Sea Wolves against Cincinnati with two assists and two points.



Pensacola Ice Pilots (11-30-5) at Charlotte Checkers (21-18-5) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Checkers are 2-0-0 at home and 2-0-0 overall in season series and 15-11-1 all-time against Pensacola.
- Ice Pilots' Bryan Esner has four points (3g-1a) in his last two games and nine points (6g-3a) in his last six games.
- Dusty Jamieson leads Charlotte against the Ice Pilots with three goals and five points in two games.
- Pensacola rookie Michael Cohen has eight points (2g-6a) in his last six games.



Wheeling Nailers (14-28-5) at Gwinnett Gladiators (27-13-4) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Gwinnett won 3-2 against Wheeling on Friday to lead the season series 1-0-0 against the Nailers.
- Wheeling's Joe Guenther has seven points (3g-4a) in his last five games.
- Brad Schell scored two goals and had an assist for the Gladiators on Friday against Wheeling.
- Kelly Miller and Vadim Slivchenko each scored a goal for the Nailers on Friday against Gwinnett.



Utah Grizzlies (25-20-4) at Bakersfield Condors (14-22-9) 7 p.m. PT
- Utah is 1-0-0 against Bakersfield this season and improves to 4-8-2 all-time the Condors.
- Bakersfield is 31.8 percent (7-for-22) on the power play in their last five games.
- Ryan Kinasewich leads the Grizzlies against Bakersfield with two points (1g-1a).
- Condors' Mark Derlago has back-to-back hat tricks and has 10 points (8g-2a) in his last five games.



Stockton Thunder (19-24-3) at Fresno Falcons (25-12-7) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Fresno is 2-2-0, including 1-0-0 at home, this season against Stockton and is 17-4-1 all-time against the Thunder.
- Stockton is out scoring their opponents 7-5 in the first period in their last five games.
- Falcons' Kris Mayotte is 2-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average in two games against Stockton.
- Thunder's Andy Contois is on a four-game point streak (2g-4a).



Idaho Steelheads (26-14-7) at Alaska Aces (21-18-5) 7:15 p.m. AT
- Idaho won 3-2 at Alaska on Friday to lead the season series 4-0-2 and is 19-14-5 all-time against the Aces.
- Alaska ranks ninth in the ECHL with 152 goals.
- John Lammers scored a hat trick for the Steelheads on Friday against Alaska.
- Kimbi Daniels had a goal and an assist for the Aces on Friday against Idaho.


Texas can clinch a berth in the Kelly Cup Playoffs on Saturday if:

Texas wins OR losses in overtime or a shootout

AND OR

Pensacola losses

Most Career Coaching Wins
480 - John Brophy, Hampton Roads (1989-2000) and Wheeling (2001-03)
477 - John Marks, Pensacola, Charlotte (1993-98) and Greenville (1998-2006)
337 - 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.

- 347 former ECHL players have played in NHL.

- 18 former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Florida Everblades center David Brine (Florida on Feb. 2), former Idaho Steelheads right wing B.J. Crombeen (Dallas on Jan. 19), former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Kevin Doell (Atlanta on Jan. 4), former Alaska defenseman Zack FitzGerald (Vancouver on Feb. 5), 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).

- 202 former ECHL players have played their first game in the NHL in the past seven 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 affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League, marking the seventh consecutive season that it has had affiliations with 20 or more teams in the AHL.

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

- 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 February 9, 2008


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