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Published on December 27, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Florida Everblades (19-5-2) at Gwinnett Gladiators (11-13-4) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Florida's Kevin Baker has a five-game goal streak (6g) and has scored 16 goals in his last 14 games.
- Gwinnett's Matt Siddall has a two-game assist streak (3a) and eight points (0g-8a) in his last five games.
- Everblades' Anton Khudobin is 3-0-0 with two shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.33 against Gwinnett.
- Gladiators' Bruce Graham has four points (2g-2a) in his last five games.

Mississippi Sea Wolves (13-13-3) at South Carolina Stingrays (16-7-3) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Jason Tejchma leads the Sea Wolves against South Carolina with five points (2g-3a) in five games.
- Trent Campbell leads the Stingrays against Mississippi with eight points (3g-5a) in five games.
- Mississippi rookie Ryan Cruthers leads the league in December with 16 points (7g-9a) in 10 games.
- South Carolina's Ian Vigier is 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 3.00 in his first two starts.

Elmira Jackals (15-12-3) at Johnstown Chiefs (19-9-1) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Chiefs have won the last two meetings at Johnstown to improve to 3-2-2 all-time at home against Elmira.
- Jackals' David Shantz is 3-0-0 with a shutout and a goals-against average of 1.31 in his last four games.
- Johnstown's Wes Clark has five points (1g-4a) in his last four games.
- Elmira's Josh Aspenlind has a four-game point streak (2g-3a).

Reading Royals (8-21-2) at Dayton Bombers (17-9-3) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Dayton rookie Paul Drew is 2-0-0 with an overtime win and a goals-against average of 2.41 in his last two starts.
- Rob LaLonde leads the Royals against Dayton with five assists and five points in three games.
- Bombers' Mike McLean has 10 points (6g-4a) in his last six games.
- Reading's David Nimmo has a three-game goal streak (3g) and a three-game point streak (3g-0a).

Cincinnati Cyclones (12-12-5) at Wheeling Nailers (18-4-5) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Nailers have won the last two meetings and are 4-0-1 overall and 2-0-0 at home against Cincinnati this season.
- Cyclones are 10-4-4 when they score the first goal.
- Wheeling's Jordan Morrison had a team record tying seven points (2g-5a) in 10-6 win against Reading on Friday.
- Cincinnati is fourth in the ECHL in scoring with 3.48 goals per game.

Idaho Steelheads (17-11-2) at Utah Grizzlies (11-12-4) 7:05 p.m. MT
- Steve Gainey leads the Steelheads against Utah with seven assists and nine points in six games.
- Utah's James Sixsmith is tied for the league lead in December with 10 assists in 10 games.
- Idaho rookie Matt Climie is 4-0-0 with a shutout and a goals-against average of 1.50 in his last four starts.
- Grizzlies' Michael Mole has started 25 consecutive games.

Ontario Reign (17-9-2) at Phoenix RoadRunners (12-12-3) 7:05 p.m. MT
- Ontario rookie John Murray is 8-0-0 with a shutout and a goals-against average of 2.16 in his last eight starts.
- Phoenix's Kimbi Daniels has a five-game point streak (2g-4a).
- Reign rookie Tim Kraus has an eight-game point streak (2g-7a) and a four-game assist streak (5a).
- RoadRunners are 8-0-3 in one-goal games including 1-1 in overtime and 2-2 in shootouts.

Alaska Aces (16-11-1) at Las Vegas Wranglers (12-13-2) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Alaska rookie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux is 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 2.88 against Las Vegas.
- Las Vegas rookie Adam Miller has a three-game assist streak (4a) and a three-game point streak (0g-4a).
- Colin Hemingway leads Alaska against Las Vegas with two goals and five points in two games.
- Wranglers' Chris Neiszner has a three-game point streak (2g-2a) and a two-game goal streak (2g).

Victoria Salmon Kings (19-9-2) at Stockton Thunder (10-15-4) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Stockton's Andrew Perugini is 1-0-0 with a shootout win and a goals-against average of 1.85 against Victoria.
- Victoria's Jonathan Boutin is 4-1-2 with a goals-against average of 1.77 in his last seven starts.
- Thunder's Craig Valette has seven points (3g-4a) in his last six games.
- Salmon Kings' Wes Goldie has a four-game point streak (8g-1a).

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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 21 teams 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 24 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.
- 385 former ECHL players have played in NHL.
- 129 have played their first NHL game in the last four seasons.
- 30 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 Florida Everblades defenseman Brett Carson (Carolina on Dec. 7), former South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Sean Collins (Washington on Dec. 6), 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 Dayton Bombers center Philippe Dupuis (Colorado on Dec. 12), 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 South Carolina Stingrays right wing Andrew Gordon (Washington on Dec. 23), 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 Gwinnett Gladiators defenseman Scott Lehman (Atlanta on Dec. 18), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Steve MacIntyre (Edmonton on Oct. 15), former Florida Everblades left wing Kenndal McArdle (Florida on Dec. 2), 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 Idaho Steelheads left wing Warren Peters (Calgary on Dec. 7), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Corey Potter (New York Rangers on Dec. 7), former Charlotte Checkers, Columbia Inferno and Elmira Jackals defenseman Bryan Rodney (Carolina on Dec. 11), 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), former Johnstown Chiefs and Mississippi Sea Wolves forward Radek Smolenak (Tampa Bay on Dec. 2), former Augusta Lynx defenseman Brett Skinner (New York Islanders on Oct. 27), former Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Tyson Strachan (St. Louis on Dec. 18), former Wheeling Nailers right wing Tim Wallace (Pittsburgh on Dec. 10) and former Idaho Steelheads center Tom Wandell (Dallas on Dec. 10).
- 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 and Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders. 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. Peter 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 23 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 December 27, 2008


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