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February 13, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Reading Royals (15-29-4) at Johnstown Chiefs (27-18-2) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Johnstown is 7-0-0 in the season series and has won the last 11 meetings dating back to Feb. 27 2008.
- Rookie Dan Rudisuela leads the Royals in the last five games with six points (3g-3a).
- Ryan Del Monte leads the Chiefs against Reading with nine points and is tied for the lead with seven assists.
- PJ Atherton leads the Royals against Johnstown with 10 points (5g-5a) in eight games.

Wheeling Nailers (25-15-7) at Dayton Bombers (23-22-5) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Jarret Lukin (7g-4a) and Christian Gaudet (3g-8a) lead the Bombers against Wheeling with 11 points each.
- Jordan Morrison leads the Nailers against Dayton with 10 assists and 13 points in nine games.
- Dayton's Paul Drew is 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 3.20 against Wheeling.
- Wheeling is 20-5-5 when it scores first and 19-2-0 when leading after two periods.

Cincinnati Cyclones (27-18-5) at Florida Everblades (34-12-2) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Everblades' Kevin Baker has a 10-game point streak (11g-11a) and a six-game assist streak (10a).
- Cyclones rookie Mark Van Guilder has 21 assists and 30 points in his last 20 games.
- Florida defenseman Peter Metcalf has 11 assists and 13 points in his last nine games.
- Cincinnati's Dustin Sproat has four assists and six points in his last six games.

Trenton Devils (24-18-4) at Elmira Jackals (27-19-4) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Elmira's Mitch O'Keefe is 4-0-0 with a shutout and a goals-against average of 1.47 in his last four starts.
- Devils rookie Jeremy Akeson a three-game goal streak (4g) and a three-game assist streak (3a).
- Jackals' Chris Korchinski has six points (2g-4a) in his last four games and 18 points (9g-9a) in his last 15 games.
- Trenton rookie Jeff Prough has six goals and seven points in his last seven games.

Charlotte Checkers (25-20-2) at Mississippi Sea Wolves (20-24-5) 7 p.m. CT
- Rookie Ryan Cruthers leads the Sea Wolves against Charlotte with five goals and 10 points in eight games.
- Checkers have won the last three meetings to improve to 6-2-0 in season series against Mississippi.
- Mississippi defenseman Kyle Peto has five assists and five points in his last five games.
- Mike Bayrack leads the Checkers against Mississippi with five goals, five assists and 10 points in seven games.

Phoenix RoadRunners (20-22-3) at Idaho Steelheads (26-15-3) 7:10 p.m. MT
- Idaho rookie Kris Sparre has seven assists and 11 points in his last six games.
- RoadRunners' Gino Guyer has five points (3g-2a) in his last three games.
- Steelheads' Bryan McGregor has a five-game point streak (3g-5a).
- Phoenix's Dan DaSilva has four points (1g-3a) in his last three games.

Ontario Reign (25-18-4) at Bakersfield Condors (17-27-6) 7 p.m. PT
- Condors' Yutaka Fukufuji is 3-1-0 with a goals-against average of 3.25 in his last four starts.
- Ontario's Geoff Walker is fourth among league rookies with 20 power-play points (8ppg-12ppa).
- Chad Painchaud leads the Condors against Ontario with eight assists and nine points in seven games.
- Reign's Jeff Zatkoff leads ECHL with a save percentage of .936 and is third with a goals-against average of 2.25.

Utah Grizzlies (17-16-13) at Stockton Thunder (23-21-5) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Stockton's Mike Lalonde has a four-game point streak (3g-3a) and a three-game goal streak (3g).
- Utah's Michael Mole is 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 2.50 against Stockton.
- Damian Surma leads the Thunder in the last 10 games with seven assists and 10 points.
- Grizzlies rookie James Brannigan has a three-game point streak (4g-2a).

Victoria Salmon Kings (29-16-5) at Alaska Aces (28-18-3) 7:15 p.m. AT
- Aces have won the last four meetings and are 4-0-0 at home and 6-4-0 overall in the season series against Victoria.
- Adam Taylor leads the Salmon Kings in the last five games with three goals and three points.
- Alaska's Scott Burt has three points (1g-2a) in his last two games.
- Victoria leads the ECHL with a goals-against average of 2.34.

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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.
* 394 former ECHL players have played in NHL.
* 138 have played their first NHL game in the last four seasons.
* 39 former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Idaho Steelheads forward Jay Beagle (Washington on Feb. 11), 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 Augusta Lynx and Mississippi Sea Wolves goaltender Riku Helenius (Tampa Bay on Jan. 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 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), two-time All-Star and former Las Vegas Wranglers goaltender Mike McKenna (Tampa Bay on Feb. 3), 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 center Jakub Petruzalek (Carolina on Feb. 5), 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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