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October 23, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Preview of ECHL Games for Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

Reading Royals (0-1-1) at Toledo Walleye (2-1-0) 7 p.m. ET
- Walleye's Jamie Milam leads ECHL defensemen with five points and is tied for the lead with three assists.
- Ben McLeod leads the Royals with three points and is tied for the team lead with two goals.
- Toledo defenseman Brock Wilson has a three-game assist streak (3a) and a three-game point streak (0g-3a).
- Reading defenseman Scott Langdon tied his career high with two points (1g-1a) on Oct. 17 against Kalamazoo.

Gwinnett Gladiators (2-1-0) at South Carolina Stingrays (1-1-1) 7:05 p.m. ET
- South Carolina's Zach Tarkir is tied for the league lead among defensemen with three assists.
- Gladiators' Brad Schell has a three-game assist streak (4a) and a three-game point streak (0g-4a).
- Stingrays' Rob Ricci leads league rookies with three goals and is tied for fifth among rookies with three points.
- Gwinnett's Tom Zanoski is tied for second in the league with six points and is tied for third with three goals.

Charlotte Checkers (1-0-0) at Florida Everblades (1-1-1) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Everblades were 9-6-2 against Charlotte in 2008-09 and are 37-18-5 all-time against the Checkers.
- Checkers are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games against Florida and 12-12-6 in the last 30 games against the Everblades.
- Jacob Micflikier leads the Everblades with three assists and four points.
- Checkers' Ryan Munce is 1-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.24.

Cincinnati Cyclones (1-1-0) at Wheeling Nailers (1-2-0) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Nailers are 5-3-2 in their last 10 meetings with Cincinnati and 33-22-6 all-time against the Cyclones.
- Cyclones rookie Jeremy Smith is tied for the league lead with one shutout and a goals-against average of 0.00.
- TJ Fox leads the Nailers with four points and is tied for the team lead with two goals and two assists.
- Cincinnati has won the last three meetings with the Nailers and is 23-23-4 all-time against Wheeling.

Johnstown Chiefs (0-2-0) at Elmira Jackals (2-0-0) 7:35 p.m. ET
- Jackals lead the league in scoring with 5.50 goals per game.
- Chiefs are 4-1-0 in their last five games with Elmira and 12-8-3 all-time against the Jackals.
- Elmira's Justin Donati is tied for the league rookie lead with three assists and is tied for second with four points.
- Johnstown is tied for the league penalty kill lead with 100 percent (13-for-13).

Idaho Steelheads (3-0-0) at Utah Grizzlies (1-0-0) 7:05 p.m. MT
- Grizzlies lead the league on the power play with 42.9 percent (3-for-7).
- Idaho's Tyler Spurgeon has a three-game assist streak (4a) and a three-game point streak (1g-4a).
- Ryan Kinasewich has tied Chris Taylor for the Grizzlies all-time record with 111 goals.
- Steelheads are third in the league with a goals-against average of 1.67.

Alaska Aces (4-0-0) at Las Vegas Wranglers (0-2-0) 7:05 p.m. PT
- Las Vegas rookie Justin Bernhardt scored his first professional goal and point on Thursday against Alaska.
- Aces' John Lammers leads the league with five goals, two shorthand goals and seven points.
- Robbie Bina leads the Wranglers and is tied for the league lead among defensemen with three assists.
- Alaska's Sebastian Dahm leads the league with three wins and is tied for the league lead with 180 minutes.

Bakersfield Condors (2-1-0) at Victoria Salmon Kings (0-4-0) 7:05 p.m. PT
- Defenseman Mike Burgoyne leads the Salmon Kings with three assists and three points.
- Condors' Dan Sexton leads league rookies with five points and is tied for the rookie lead with three assists.
- Victoria's John Murray is fifth in the league with 62 saves.
- Bakersfield's Maxime Macenauer has a three-game point streak (1g-2a) and a two-game assist streak (2a).

Ontario Reign (1-1-0) at Stockton Thunder (0-3-0) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Thunder's Judd Blackwater leads the league with three power-play goals.
- Ontario's Greg Hogeboom tied his career high with four points (1g-3a) in 8-2 win on Oct. 17 at Bakersfield.
- Stockton rookie Chris D'Alvise has a three-game point streak (1g-2a).
- Reign's Tim Kraus set career highs with four assists and four points in 8-2 win on Oct. 17 at Bakersfield.

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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.
- 411 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), former Johnstown Chiefs defenseman Jay Rosehill (Toronto on Oct. 1) and former Idaho Steelheads left wing Francis Wathier (Dallas on Oct. 21).
- The ECHL has had 219 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.
- 155 ECHL players who have played their first game in the last five seasons for an average of 31 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 the 30 teams in the NHL, marking the 13th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.
- 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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