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Published on January 24, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Johnstown Chiefs (23-15-2) at Trenton Devils (20-16-3) 7 p.m. ET
- Devils have won the last three meetings to improve to 4-3-1 in the season series against Johnstown.
- Jarrett Konkle has six goals and 10 points in his first 10 games with the Chiefs.
- Trenton's Gerald Coleman is 12-1-0 with three shutouts and a goals-against average of 1.56 in his last 15 games.
- Ryan Del Monte (3g-4a) and Petr Pohl (2g-5a) lead the Chiefs with seven points each against Trenton.

South Carolina Stingrays (21-13-4) at Charlotte Checkers (20-17-2) 7 p.m. ET
- Checkers have won the last four meetings to improve to 63-53-11 all-time against South Carolina.
- Michael Dubuc leads the Stingrays against Charlotte with seven goals and 12 points in eight games.
- Mike Bayrack leads the Checkers against South Carolina with seven assists and 11 points in eight games.
- South Carolina's Travis Morin has 16 assists and 20 points in his last 15 games.

Wheeling Nailers (23-11-6) at Reading Royals (13-26-2) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Royals' Brock Hooton has a 12-game point streak (6g-12) and a five-game assist streak (8a).
- Wheeling leads the league with 11 shorthand goals and is second on the power play with 22.1 percent.
- Reading All-Star defenseman Steve Ward has an 11-game point streak (4g-8a) and a four-game assist streak (4a).
- Nailers' Erik Johnson has three goals and four points in his last two games.

Gwinnett Gladiators (17-17-4) at Florida Everblades (28-9-2) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Everblades lead the league on the power play with 22.3 percent (57-for-256).
- Gladiators rookie Kevin Regan made 28 saves to pick up his first win of the season on Friday.
- Mark Lee leads the Everblades in January with 10 assists and 16 points in 10 games.
- Gwinnett rookie defenseman Jean-Claude Sawyer has three assists and four points in his last five games.

Dayton Bombers (21-17-4) at Cincinnati Cyclones (21-15-5) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Cyclones rookie Mark Van Guilder has a five-game point streak (2g-8a) and a four-game assist streak (8a).
- Dan Riedel leads the Bombers against Cincinnati with 12 points (5g-7a) in nine games.
- Cincinnati's Ryan Nie is 5-0-0 with a goals-against average of 2.85 in his last six games.
- Bombers are sixth in the ECHL in scoring with 3.26 goals per game.

Idaho Steelheads (22-14-3) at Utah Grizzlies (15-14-9) 7:05 p.m. MT
- Ryan Kinasewich leads the ECHL in January with 14 assists and is tied for the league lead with 21 points.
- Steelheads' Rejean Beauchemin is 3-0-1 with a goals-against average of 1.69 against Utah.
- Utah has had a league-high 13 games go past regulation.
- Idaho rookie Ben Nelson had career highs with four assists and four points on Friday.

Victoria Salmon Kings (27-10-4) at Las Vegas Wranglers (16-16-4) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Las Vegas rookie Mick Lawrence has five points (2g-3a) in his last five games.
- Salmon Kings' Todd Ford is 8-1-0 with three shutouts and a goals-against average of 1.48 in his last nine games.
- Wranglers' Peter Ferraro has four goals and four points in his last five games.
- Victoria's Dylan Yeo leads ECHL defensemen with 36 points and is tied for the league lead with 10 goals.

Ontario Reigns (21-14-3) at Bakersfield Condors (13-22-5) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Ontario's Jon Francisco has four goals and six points in his last two games.
- Bakersfield's Matt Pope has five assists and eight points in his last seven games.
- Reign rookie Geoff Walker has five points (2g-3a) in his last five games.
- Condors' Dave Bonk has four goals and nine points in his last seven games.

Alaska Aces (24-14-2) at Stockton Thunder (17-18-5) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Thunder have won the last two meetings and are 3-0-1 overall and 1-0-0 at home against the Aces this season.
- Cam Keith leads the Aces against Stockton with four assists and five points in four games.
- Ryan Huddy leads Stockton against Alaska with four goals and seven points in four games.
- Alaska's Luke Erickson has five goals and six points in his last seven games.

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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 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.
* 390 former ECHL players have played in NHL.
ï* 134 have played their first NHL game in the last four seasons.
ï* 35 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 Stockton Thunder and ECHL All-Star right wing Troy Bodie (Anaheim on Jan. 16), 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 left wing Chris Durno (Colorado on Jan. 18), 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 All-Star and Wheeling Nailers center Kurtis McLean (New York Islanders on Jan. 19), 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 Augusta Lynx defenseman Kevin Quick (Tampa Bay on Jan. 13), 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 Utah Grizzlies and ECHL All-Star center Trevor Smith (New York Islanders on Dec. 31), 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 and ECHL All-Star 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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