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Published on November 7, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release




Reading Royals (3-5-0) at Johnstown Chiefs (5-3-0) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Chiefs have won the last five meetings, including 6-4 on Oct. 25, to improve to 33-24-6 all-time against Reading.
- Royals' Kirk MacDonald has a goal and an assist in each of his last two games.
- Johnstown's Petr Pohl had career highs with four assists and four points in 6-4 win at Reading on Oct. 25.
- Reading rookie James Reimer is 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.92 on the road.

Gwinnett Gladiators (2-2-2) at Florida Everblades (4-2-1) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Everblades won 6-2 on Monday to improve to 15-19-6 all-time against Gwinnett.
- Gladiators' Brad Schell has a three-game assist streak (4a) and a three-game point streak (1g-4a).
- Florida's Kevin Baker has a two-game goal streak (4g) and a two-game point streak (4g-2a).
- Gwinnett's Kevin Nastiuk was 6-5-2 with a goals-against average of 2.44 in 14 games for Florida in 2007-08.

Dayton Bombers (3-2-1) at Trenton Devils (2-5-1) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Devils have won the last four meetings at Trenton and are 44-8-8 all-time against Dayton.
- Bombers are sixth in the league on the power play with 21.3 percent (10-for-47).
- Trenton's Eric Castonguay has a seven-game assist streak (9a) and a seven-game point streak (3g-9a).
- Dayton rookie Justin Bowers has three points (1g-2a) in his last two games.

Elmira Jackals (5-3-0) at Cincinnati Cyclones (3-3-2) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Cyclones have won the last three meetings to improve to 4-0-1 at home and 7-2-1 overall against the Jackals.
- Jackals are 2-0 in overtime games and 1-0 in shootouts.
- Cincinnati's Thomas Beauregard and Olivier Latendresse are tied for third in the league with seven goals each.
- Elmira's Tyler Donati has a seven-game point streak (4g-11a) and a four-game assist streak (7a).

Charlotte Checkers (5-3-0) at Augusta Lynx (4-3-1) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Lynx are 8-2-0 in the last 10 meetings at Augusta and 34-28-4 all-time against Charlotte.
- Mike Bayrack leads the Checkers with six assists and is second on the team with seven points in seven games.
- Charlotte's Jeff Jakaitis is 4-0-0 and is fourth in the league with a goals-against average of 1.75.
- Augusta rookie Riku Helenius is 3-1-1 with a goals-against average of 3.10 and a save percentage of .911.

Wheeling Nailers (5-0-2) at Mississippi Sea Wolves (3-4-1) 7 p.m. CT
- In the only previous meeting, Nailers won 5-4 at Wheeling on Feb. 1, 2003.
- Sea Wolves are third in the league in scoring with 3.88 goals per game.
- Nailers lead the ECHL in scoring with 5.29 goals per game and on the power play with 33.3 percent (15-for-45).
- Mississippi's Jason Tejchma has a three-game goal streak (3g) and a three-game point streak (3g-4a).

Ontario Reign (4-4-0) at Utah Grizzlies (5-2-0) 7:05 p.m. MT
- Reign rank third in the league on the power play with 22.2 percent (12-for-54).
- Grizzlies' Michael Mole is 3-0-0 with a goals-against average of 2.33 in his last three starts.
- Ontario rookie defenseman Dan Knapp had a career-high two assists on Wednesday against Utah.
- Utah's Ryan Kinasewich has a three-game assist streak (5a) and a three-game point streak (1g-5a).

Alaska Aces (6-2-1) at Idaho Steelheads (4-3-2) 7:10 p.m. MT
- Idaho rookie Matt Climie improved to 3-1-0 with a 2-1 shootout win on Thursday.
- Alaska rookie Jean-Phillipe Lamoureux is 3-0-1 with a goals-against average of 0.98 in his last four starts.
- Idaho rookie Ben Nelson leads the team with five goals and is tied for the team lead with nine points.
- Aces' Matt Shasby leads ECHL defensemen with eight assists and is tied for the league lead with nine points.

Victoria Salmon Kings (4-6-0) at Stockton Thunder (3-4-0) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Thunder rookie Bryan Pitton is 2-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.67 against Victoria.
- Salmon Kings' Sean D. O'Connor scored two goals in a 3-0 win at Bakersfield on Wednesday.
- Cory Urquhart leads the Thunder against Victoria with four assists and five points in three games.
- Victoria's Jonathan Boutin is 3-1-0 with a shutout and a goals-against average of 2.27 in his last four starts.

Bakersfield Condors (2-4-1) at Las Vegas Wranglers (2-4-1) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Bakersfield has won the last two meetings to improve to 4-4-2 in their last 10 games at Las Vegas.
- Rookie defenseman Jeff May scored a goal in his first game with the Wranglers on Monday.
- Condor rookie Matt Caruana leads the team with six goals and is tied for the team lead with six points.
- Las Vegas is fourth in the league on the penalty kill with 86.0 percent (43-for-50).

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Premier 'AA' Hockey League Fast Facts
- The ECHL celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08 and 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 23 teams playing 828 games in 16 states and British Columbia in 2008-09.
- The Reading Royals, the City of Reading and the Sovereign Center will host the 17th Annual ECHL All-Star Game on Jan. 21, 2009 and the 12th Annual All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 20, 2009.
- The league officially changed its name from East Coast Hockey League to ECHL on May 19, 2003.
- Affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League marking 12th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.
- 367 former ECHL players have played in NHL.
- 111 have played their first NHL game in the last four seasons.
- 12 former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Wheeling Nailers and ECHL All-Star defenseman Paul Bissonnette (Pittsburgh on Oct. 4), former Greenville Grrrowl goaltender Jeff Deslauriers (Edmonton on Oct. 17), former Gwinnett Gladiators right wing Pat Dwyer (Carolina on Nov. 2), former Columbus Cottonmouths and Tallahassee Tiger Sharks left wing Mitch Fritz (New York Islanders on Oct. 30), former Charlotte Checkers center Dwight Helminen (Carolina on Oct. 28), former Trenton Devils right wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (New Jersey on Oct. 22), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Steve MacIntyre (Edmonton on Oct. 15), former Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Adam Pardy (Calgary on Oct. 9), former Gwinnett Gladiators center Jared Ross (Philadelphia on Oct. 11), former Alaska Aces goaltender Marek Schwarz (St. Louis on Oct. 25), former Dayton Bombers and Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Tyler Sloan (Washington on Oct. 21) and former Augusta Lynx defenseman Brett Skinner (New York Islanders on Oct. 27).
- There were 72 former ECHL players on NHL opening-day rosters.
- Twenty-six former ECHL players made their NHL debut in 2007-08, including six who played in both the ECHL and the NHL as goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu (Alaska and St. Louis), Adam Berti (Pensacola and Chicago), Joe Jensen (Wheeling and Carolina), Dan LaCosta (Elmira and Columbus), Jonathan Quick (Reading and Los Angeles) and Danny Taylor (Reading and Los Angeles).
- Record 47 former ECHL players played their first NHL game in 2005-06.
- ECHL is represented for the eighth consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2008 by Aaron Downey of the Detroit Red Wings.
- Former ECHL coaches working as head coaches in the NHL are Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals, Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders and Peter Laviolette of the Carolina Hurricanes. Boudreau, who coached Mississippi for three seasons winning the Kelly Cup championship in 1999, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2007-08 becoming the first former ECHL coach to receive the award. Laviolette, who began his coaching career with the Wheeling Nailers, led Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006.
- There are 18 assistant coaches in the NHL who were players or coaches in the ECHL.
- There are 18 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2008-09 with referees David Banfield, Chris Ciamaga, Ghislain Hebert, Marc Joannette, Mike Leggo, Wes McCauley, Dean Morton, Dan O'Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Justin St. Pierre and Ian Walsh and linesmen Steve Barton, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers. Barton, Joannette, Leggo, McCauley, Nowak, Pollock, Rooney and Sharrers all worked the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
- ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League and for the past 19 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup Champion.
- In the last six 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.
- Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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ECHL Stories from November 7, 2008


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