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Published on October 17, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Preview of ECHL Games for Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009



Florida Everblades (1-0-0) at Toledo Walleye (0-1-0) 7 p.m. ET
- Walleye had standing-room-only crowd of 8,000 for first game in new Lucas County Arena on Friday.
- Florida's Jacob Micflikier scored the game-winning goal and had two points in 2-1 win on Friday.
- Rookie Maxime Tanguay scored his first professional point and the first goal in Walleye history on Friday.
- Everblades' Rob Hennigar had two assists in 2-1 on Friday.

Kalamazoo Wings (1-0-0) at Trenton Devils (0-0-0) 7 p.m. ET
- Rick Kowalsky is 105-92-19 in his first three seasons and has led the Devils to the Kelly Cup Playoffs twice.
- K-Wings' Darryl Lloyd had two goals in 4-1 win at Reading on Thursday.
- Trenton was 22-11-3 at home, including 15-3-2 in the last 20 games, in 2008-09.
- Kalamazoo rookie Anton Kharin scored the game-winning goal and had two points on Thursday.

Wheeling Nailers (0-1-0) at Gwinnett Gladiators (0-0-0) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Gladiators have won the last three meetings and are 2-0-0 at home and 3-1-0 overall against Wheeling.
- Wheeling's TJ Fox had a goal and two points on Friday at South Carolina.
- Gwinnett's Jeff Pyle ranks third all-time in the ECHL with 385 regular season wins and 716 regular season games.
- Nailers rookie Casey Pierro-Zabotel had two assists in his first professional game on Friday.

Elmira Jackals (1-0-0) at Reading Royals (0-1-0) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Reading is 8-3-0 at home and 11-10-0 overall against Elmira.
- Elmira rookie Maxime Gratchev scored two goals in 5-2 win against Cincinnati on Friday.
- Royals' Ben McLeod has three-game point streak (2g-3a), including a goal on Thursday, dating back to 2008-09.
- Chris Korchinski led the Jackals against Reading in 2008-09 with six goals and 10 points in eight games.

Charlotte Checkers (0-0-0) at South Carolina Stingrays (1-0-0) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Rookie Rob Ricci had two goals for Stingrays in 5-4 win against Wheeling on Friday.
- Derek Wilkinson is 194-161-34 and has more wins than any other coach in Checkers history.
- South Carolina is 69-47-19 all-time in the regular season against Charlotte.
- Matthew Ford tied for the Checkers team lead with 21 goals as a rookie in 2008-09.

Cincinnati Cyclones (0-1-0) at Johnstown Chiefs (0-0-0) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Johnstown opens 22nd season and is only team still playing in same city as when ECHL began in 1988-89.
- Cyclones have won the last four meetings and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games against Johnstown.
- Kris Mayotte was 20-13-3 with a goals-against average of 2.87 in 37 games for the Chiefs in 2008-09.
- Barret Ehgoetz led the Cyclones against Johnstown in 2008-09 with 11 assists and 16 points in 12 games.

Stockton Thunder (0-1-0) at Idaho Steelheads (1-0-0) 7:10 p.m. MT
- Idaho's Mark McCutcheon had two goals and three points on Friday.
- Stockton is tied for second in the league on the power play with 25 percent (1-for-4).
- Steelheads are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games with Stockton and 15-8-2 all-time against the Thunder.
- Judd Blackwater had a goal and Craig Valette had an assist for the Thunder on Friday.

Ontario Reign (0-1-0) at Bakersfield Condors (1-0-0) 7 p.m. PT
- Bakersfield defenseman Sasha Pokulok had two goals in 5-0 win on Friday.
- Condors' Justin Pogge stopped all 15 shots he faced in 5-0 shutout against Ontario on Friday.
- Reign rookie Mike Zacharias had 33 saves in first professional start on Friday.
- Ontario finished first in the Pacific Division in their first season in 2008-09 with 38-29-6 record.

Victoria Salmon Kings (0-1-0) at Alaska Aces (1-0-0) 7:15 p.m. AT
- Rookie Jack Combs scored his first professional point, the game-winning goal, in Alaska's 2-1 win on Friday.
- Salmon Kings are tied for the league lead on the penalty kill with 100 percent (6-for-6).
- Chris Morehouse scored his first professional point, a shorthand goal, in Alaska's 2-1 win on Friday.
- Victoria's Wes Goldie has eight goals and 11 points in his last 11 regular season games against Alaska.

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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 20 teams in 15 states and British Columbia in 2009-10.
- The league officially changed its name from East Coast Hockey League to ECHL on May 19, 2003.
- 410 players have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including a record 52 in 2008-09.
- ECHL players who have made their NHL debut this season are former Gwinnett Gladiators and 2006 ECHL All-Star right wing Guillaume Desbiens (Vancouver on Oct. 11), former Idaho Steelheads center Aaron Gagnon (Dallas on Oct. 16) and former Johnstown Chiefs defenseman Jay Rosehill (Toronto on Oct. 1).
- The ECHL has had 218 players reach the NHL since 2002-03 when it changed its focus to become the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. The ECHL had 97 players reach the NHL in its first 10 seasons and 215 in the first 15 years.
- 154 ECHL players who have played their first game in the last five seasons for an average of more than 30 per year.
- ECHL had a record 78 players on NHL opening-day rosters, surpassing the 71 from a year ago and marking the seventh year in a row that there have been over 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters.
- ECHL has affiliations with 27 of those, marking the 13th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.
- ECHL had 78 players on National Hockey League opening-day rosters, surpassing the record 71 players in 2008, and marking the seventh season in a row there have been more than 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters.
- 26 coaches with an ECHL background are working behind the benches of teams in the NHL including Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau and New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders while former ECHL player Dan Bylsma is head coach of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. It is the fifth consecutive season that there have been 11 or more coaches with an ECHL background working in the NHL. 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.
- 20 former ECHL officials are working as part of the NHL officiating team in 2009-10 with referees David Banfield, Francis Charron, Chris Ciamaga, Ghislain Herbert, 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, Bryan Pancich, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers.
- ECHL was represented for the ninth year in a row on the Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, player Ruslan Fedotenko, equipment managers Dana Heinze and Dave Zeigler, athletic trainers Chris Stewart and Scott Adams and scout Derek Clancey. There were 43 former players and 14 former coaches on 15 of the 16 teams competing in the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the fourth year in a row that there have been at least 30 former ECHL players and the sixth consecutive season that over 25 players with ECHL experience have competed in the NHL postseason.
- Former ECHL and current Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was the recipient of the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL and was also presented the William Jennings Trophy with teammate Manny Fernandez as the goaltenders finishing the season having surrendered the fewest goals. Thomas was also named First Team All-NHL after registering a career-high 36 wins while leading the NHL with a goals-against average of 2.10 and a save percentage of .933 to help the Bruins finish with the most wins (53) and points (116) since 1971-72.
- ECHL was represented in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game by Mark Streit of the New York Islanders and Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins while former ECHL players Dan Ellis, Jonathan Quick and Tomas Vokoun were all selected as recipients of the NHL's "Three Stars" award in 2008-09.
- Former ECHL broadcasters working in the National Hockey League include John Ahlers and Steve Carroll of the Anaheim Ducks, Tom Callahan of the Nashville Predators, Dave Goucher of the Boston Bruins, Chris Kerber of the St. Louis Blues, Dave Mishkin of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bob McElligott and John Michael of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Rob Simpson, who is a producer/host for The NHL Network.
- Ryan Stanzel and Jeremy Zager, who were both recipients of the ECHL Media Relations Director of the Year award, are working in the communications department for the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. Former ECHL assistant director of communications Joe Siville and Kelly Murray are now with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals, respectively, while former ECHL director of communications Jason Rothwell is the creative director for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
- ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League and for the past 20 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 2,500 call-ups involving more than 1,300 players and in 2008-09 there were 10 times as many call-ups from the ECHL to the AHL than all other professional leagues.
- The ECHL averaged 4,258 fans per game in 2008-09 and is the only minor professional hockey league to increase average attendance each of the last two seasons. It is the fifth consecutive season and the 17th time in the last 19 years that the ECHL has averaged over 4,000 fans and the league drew over 3 million fans for the 16th year in a row and reached the 3 million mark in the fewest number of games since 2005-06.
- There have been more than 74 million fans who have attended almost 17,000 games since the ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in three states.
- The Ontario Reign, the City of Ontario and Citizens Business Bank Arena will host the 18th Annual ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey on Jan. 20, 2010 and the 13th Annual All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 19, 2010.
- Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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ECHL Stories from October 17, 2009


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