
ECHL Today
December 2, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
Gwinnett Gladiators (7-6-3) at South Carolina Stingrays (11-4-2) 7:05
p.m. ET
- Stingrays won 3-2 in a shootout at Gwinnett on Nov. 15 and are 5-1-0 in
the last six games against the Gladiators.
- Gwinnett's Kevin
Nastiuk is 2-0-0 with a shootout win and a goals-against average of
2.40 in his last two starts.
- South Carolina's Trent
Campbell has six points (2g-4a) in his last four games.
- Gladiator rookie Matt
Siddall has six points (3g-3a) in his last six games.
Fresno Falcons (12-6-1) at Las Vegas Wranglers (8-7-2) 7:30 p.m.
PT
- Las Vegas' John
DeCaro is 5-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.61 in his last six
starts.
- Falcons are 3-0 in shootouts and 7-4-1 in one-goal games.
- Wranglers' Justin
Taylor has six points (4g-2a) in his last five games.
- Fresno's Kenny
MacAulay is tied for second among league defensemen with 11 assists and
14 points.
Watch Games Live on B2 Networks, the "Official Broadband Broadcast Provider" of the ECHL
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.
- 372 former ECHL
players have played in NHL.
- 116 have played their first NHL game in the last four seasons.
- 17 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 Bakersfield Condors center
Alexandre
Bolduc (Vancouver on Nov. 27), former Las Vegas Wranglers and Wheeling
Nailers goaltender John
Curry (Pittsburgh on Nov. 26), former Greenville Grrrowl goaltender
Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (Edmonton on Oct. 17) , former Johnstown Chiefs
center Andre
Deveaux (Toronto on Nov. 27), former Gwinnett Gladiators right wing Pat
Dwyer 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 Phoenix RoadRunners and
Wheeling Nailers center Cam
Paddock (St. Louis on Nov. 14), 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 Greenville Grrrowl and Stockton
Thunder center Tim
Sestito (Edmonton on Nov. 26), 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: 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.
ECHL Stories from December 2, 2008
- Rays Announce Revised Schedule for December - South Carolina Stingrays
- Stingrays Fall to Gladiators 3-2 - South Carolina Stingrays
- Reign Win Three In A Row - Ontario Reign
- Gladiators Beat Rays 3-2 - Atlanta Gladiators
- Sea Wolves Announce Revised Schedule for this Weekend, Early December - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Nastiuk Reassigned to Gwinnett from Providence - Atlanta Gladiators
- Augusta Suspends Operations - Augusta Lynx
- Cyclones Receive Kyle Rank Back From Portland - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Salmon Kings Holiday Combo Returns - Victoria Salmon Kings
- Former Sea Wolves Forward Smolenak Recalled to Tampa Bay - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Kinley Returns From Springfield, Huddy Recalled - Stockton Thunder
- Fresno Falcons back at the Selland Arena to take on the Victoria Salmon Kings - Fresno Falcons
- Checkers Continue Community Outreach In December - Charlotte Checkers
- Ryan Menei returns to Sea Wolves from Asiago HC - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Chiefs To Host Toy Drive At Next Home Game - Johnstown Chiefs
- Cool 101.7 Toy Toss A Success - Johnstown Chiefs
- Rays Face Gwinnett Tonight at 7:05pm - South Carolina Stingrays
- ECHL Today - ECHL
- Lalande and Wranglers Stuff Falcons 4-0 - Las Vegas Wranglers
- Reign Split Series With Aces in 3-1 Loss - Ontario Reign
- Falcons Blanked by Las Vegas, 4-0 - Fresno Falcons
- Alaska Salvages Road Trip With Win in Ontario - Alaska Aces
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.
