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


Preview of ECHL Games for Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

Trenton Devils (1-2-0) at Toledo Walleye (2-2-0) 7 p.m. ET
- Walleye are third in the league on the power play with 28.6 percent (6-for-21).
- Trevor Kell leads the Devils with three assists and four points.
- Toledo's Tommy Lange has a three-game point streak (1g-3a) and a three-game assist streak (3a).
- Trenton rookie Kyle Kucharski is second on the team with two assists and three points.

Elmira Jackals (3-0-0) at Johnstown Chiefs (0-3-0) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Mike Bartlett leads the Chiefs with two assists and three points.
- Jackals' Tyler Donati had career-high four assists and tied his career high with five points on Friday.
- Johnstown defenseman Mike Knight has a two-game point streak (1g-1a).
- Elmira is second in the league on the power play with 43.8 percent (7-for-16).

Gwinnett Gladiators (3-1-0) at South Carolina Stingrays (1-1-2) 7:05 p.m. ET
- Keith Johnson leads the Stingrays with five assists and seven points.
- Gladiators' Scott Mifsud has a four-game point streak (2g-4a) and a two-game goal streak (2g).
- South Carolina's Nikita Kashirsky has a two-game goal streak (3g) and a two-game point streak (3g-1a).
- Gwinnett's Josh Johnson is 2-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.67 and a save percentage of .902.

Charlotte Checkers (1-1-0) at Florida Everblades (2-1-1) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Rob Hennigar leads the Everblades with four assists and is tied for the team lead with five points.
- Checkers are third in the league on the penalty kill with 94.7 percent (18-for-19).
- Florida's Jacob Micflikier leads the ECHL with two game-winning goals.
- Michel Leveille leads the Checkers with two goals and four points.

Wheeling Nailers (1-3-0) at Cincinnati Cyclones (2-1-0) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Cyclones are 14-for-14 on the penalty kill and are the only team that has not allowed a power-play goal.
- Wheeling's Thomas Beauregard has a four-game point streak (3g-1a) and a two-game goal streak (2g).
- Cincinnati rookie Mark Voakes scored his first career hat trick on Friday at Wheeling.
- Nailers' Mitch Ganzak is tied for fourth among defensemen with three assists and tied for sixth with three points.

Reading Royals (1-1-1) at Kalamazoo Wings (3-0-0) 7:30 p.m. ET
- Kalamazoo leads the league in goals-against average with 1.00.
- Royals are tied for third in the league in scoring with 4.33 goals per game.
- K-Wings are second in the league on the penalty kill with 95.5 percent (21-for-22).
- Reading's Stefano Giliati has six points (2g-4a) in his last two games.

Idaho Steelheads (4-0-0) at Utah Grizzlies (1-1-0) 7:05 p.m. MT
- Grizzlies James Sixsmith has two assists in each of his first two games.
- Idaho's Evan Barlow is tied for the league rookie lead with three goals and is tied for fourth with four points.
- Utah's Shea Guthrie has a goal in each of his first two games.
- Steelheads' Rejean Beauchemin is 3-0-0 and tied for the league lead in wins.

Alaska Aces (4-1-0) at Las Vegas Wranglers (1-2-0) 7:05 p.m. PT
- Wranglers are sixth in the league on the power play with 21.1 percent (4-for-19).
- Alaska's Colin Hemingway has a two-game goal streak (3g) and a four-game point streak (3g-5a).
- Wranglers rookie Andrew Orpik is tied for second on the team with three points and two assists.
- Aces lead the league with five shorthand goals.

Bakersfield Condors (2-2-0) at Victoria Salmon Kings (1-4-0) 7:05 p.m. PT
- Olivier Filion leads the Salmon Kings with three assists and four points.
- Condors' Shawn Weller is tied for the team lead with three assists and is second with four points.
- Victoria's Wes Goldie had two goals Friday for his 29th regular season multi-goal game in the last three years.
- Bakersfield's Sasha Pokulok leads ECHL defensemen with three goals.

Ontario Reign (2-1-0) at Stockton Thunder (0-4-0) 7:30 p.m. PT
- Stockton's Judd Blackwater has a four-game point streak (3g-2a) and a two-game assist streak (2a).
- Reign are 5-0-0 at Stockton and 6-3-1 overall against the Thunder.
- Thunder are ninth in the league on the power play with 19.0 percent (4-for-21).
- Ontario's Adam Henrich has six points (3g-3a) in his last two 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 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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ECHL Stories from October 24, 2009


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