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February 29, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Gwinnett Gladiators (33-15-5) at Columbia Inferno (25-21-10) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Gwinnett is 4-0-1 against Columbia this season and is 24-8-4 all-time against the Inferno.
- Columbia is on a three-game winning streak and is 8-3-0 in their last 11 games.
- Tomas Pospisil leads the Gladiators against Columbia with four goals and six points.
- Inferno's Steve McJannet has eight points (5g-3a) in his last eight games.



Texas Wildcatters (40-6-9) at South Carolina Stingrays (35-18-3) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Texas is 3-1-1, including 2-0-0 on the road, this season and is 6-7-2 all-time against South Carolina.
- South Carolina ranks eighth in the ECHL on the power play at home with 20.8 percent (33-for-159).
- Kevin Baker leads the Wildcatters in February with eight goals and 16 points in 11 games.
- Rookie Travis Morin leads the Stingrays against Texas with six goals and eight points.



Dayton Bombers (23-19-10) at Elmira Jackals (31-16-6) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Dayton won 3-1 on Jan. 5 to improve to 1-2-1 against Elmira.
- Elmira ranks fourth in the ECHL on the penalty kill at home with 88.2 percent (135-for-153).
- Grant Goeckner-Zoeller (1g-2a) and Greg Labenski (3a) lead the Bombers against Elmira with three points each.
- Benoit Doucet leads the Jackals against Dayton with four points (2g-2a).



Johnstown Chiefs (24-26-4) at Wheeling Nailers (15-32-6) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Wheeling won 3-2 on Jan. 5 and is 3-3-2 in the season series and 78-51-17 all-time against Johnstown.
- Johnstown is out scoring their opponents 40-33 in their last 10 games.
- Sean Collins leads the Nailers against Johnstown with six assists and nine points.
- Jean Desrochers leads the Chiefs against Wheeling with eight assists and 13 points.



Florida Everblades (31-20-5) at Pensacola Ice Pilots (14-33-7) 7:05 p.m. CT
- Florida is 5-1-1 this season against Pensacola and is 50-14-11 all-time against the Ice Pilots.
- Pensacola is 7-4-2 when tied after the second period.
- Everblades' Ernie Hartlieb has 11 points (3g-8a) in his last nine games.
- Erik Fabian leads the Ice Pilots against Florida with five assists and six points.



Charlotte Checkers (26-22-6) at Mississippi Sea Wolves (22-33-3) 7:05 p.m. CT
- Charlotte is 2-1-0 this season against Mississippi and is 7-4-0 all-time the Sea Wolves.
- Mississippi is 10-3-0 when leading after the first period.
- Mark Lee leads the Checkers against Mississippi with three assists and five points.
- Sea Wolves' Ryan Menei has six points (3g-3a) in his last five games.



Bakersfield Condors (17-28-9) at Idaho Steelheads (31-17-9) 7:10 p.m. MT
- Bakersfield won 4-3 in a shootout at Idaho on Feb. 27 to improve to 1-1-2 in the season series and 13-13-7 all-time.
- Idaho ranks second in the ECHL on the power play at home with 23.0 percent (37-for-161).
- Todd Griffith (1g-3a) and Andrew Ianiero (4a) lead the Condors against Idaho with four points each.
- Taggart Desmet leads the Steelheads against Bakersfield with three assists and four points.



Alaska Aces (29-19-5) at Phoenix RoadRunners (18-32-7) 7:11 p.m. MT
- Alaska won 6-3 at Phoenix on Feb. 28 and is 2-1-0 in the season series and 13-2-1 all-time against the RoadRunners.
- RoadRunners are out shooting their opponents 175-154 in their last five games.
- Kimbi Daniels had two goals for the Aces on Feb. 28 against Phoenix.
- Phoenix's Gino Guyer had career-high three assists and tied career best with three points on Feb. 28 against Alaska.



Las Vegas Wranglers (35-11-10) at Victoria Salmon Kings (34-16-5) 7 p.m. PT
- Victoria won 5-3 on Feb. 27 and is 4-3-0 in the season series and 9-16-2 all-time against Las Vegas.
- Las Vegas ranks second in the ECHL on the power play on the road with 24.6 percent (43-for-175).
- Kevin Estrada and Chris St. Jacques each scored two goals for the Salmon Kings on Feb. 27 against Las Vegas.
- Chris Ferraro leads the Wranglers against Victoria with nine assists and 11 points.



Utah Grizzlies (29-22-5) at Stockton Thunder (22-30-3) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Utah is 4-0-1, including 2-0-0 on the road, this season against Stockton and is 9-6-2 all-time against the Thunder.
- Stockton is 3-2-0 in their last five games.
- Keith Johnson leads the Grizzlies against Stockton with six goals and nine points.
- Geoff Paukovich leads the Thunder against Utah with three goals and five points.



Cincinnati Cyclones (41-8-3) at Fresno Falcons (30-14-8) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Cincinnati leads the ECHL on the penalty kill on the road with 90.2 percent (119-for-132).
- Fresno is 21.5 percent (17-for-79) on the power play in February.
- David Desharnais leads the Cyclones with 20 assists and 22 points in 12 games in February.
- Falcons' Brady Leisenring is on an 11-game point streak (9g-9a).



Kelly Cup Playoffs Update

Florida can clinch a berth in the Kelly Cup Playoffs on Friday if:

Florida wins in regulation

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



Most Career Coaching Wins
480 - John Marks, Pensacola, Charlotte (1993-98) and Greenville (1998-2006)
- John Brophy, Hampton Roads (1989-2000) and Wheeling (2001-03)
343 - 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)

Longest Winning Streak, One Season
16 - Cincinnati Cyclones, Jan. 16 to present
14 - Louisiana IceGators, Nov. 23-Dec. 22, 2001
Knoxville Cherokees, Dec. 28, 1993-Jan. 29, 1994
13 - Las Vegas Wranglers, Mar. 10-Apr. 7, 2007
12 - South Carolina Stingrays, Nov. 28-Dec. 31, 2007
Las Vegas Wranglers, Dec. 3-28, 2005
Pensacola Ice Pilots, Jan. 22-Feb. 18, 2005
Wheeling Nailers, Feb. 20-Mar. 12, 2004
Florida Everblades, Dec. 14, 1999-Jan. 13, 2000
Chesapeake Icebreakers, Feb. 14-Mar. 13, 1998
Erie Panthers, 1989-90

Longest Consecutive Assist Scoring Streak
19 - David Desharnais, Cincinnati, Jan. 5 to present (28 assists)
17 - Peter Kasowski, Roanoke Valley, Oct. 26-Dec. 7, 1991 (28 assists)
15 - Scott Bertoli, Trenton, Feb. 16-Apr. 4, 2000 (21 assists)
- Mike Reier, Dayton, Oct. 23-Nov. 28, 1992 (24 assists)
14 - John Spoltore, Louisiana, Dec. 20, 1997-Jan. 16, 1998 (23 assists)
- John Spoltore, Louisiana, Jan. 12-Mar. 11, 1994 (18 assists)
- Matt Robbins, Charlotte, Jan. 12-Mar. 11, 1994 (18 assists)

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.

- 350 former ECHL players have played in NHL.

- 21 former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Peoria Rivermen and Alaska Aces goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu (St. Louis on Feb. 21), 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 Wheeling Nailers left wing Joe Jensen (Carolina on Feb. 18), 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 Columbus Chill, Richmond Renegades and Trenton Titans left wing Pete Vandermeer (Phoenix on Feb. 10), 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).

- 205 former ECHL players have played their first game in the NHL in the past seven seasons, including 94 since 2005-06.

- 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.

- 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 29, 2008


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