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Fifth-Annual Kelly Cup Tour Begins February 23

February 14, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced that the Fifth-Annual Kelly Cup Tour will begin Feb. 23 when the Mississippi Sea Wolves host the championship trophy at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

The 42-day tour will cover 5,677 miles and is scheduled to visit six cities in six states.

Each of the 25 teams had the opportunity to have the Kelly Cup, which stands 19 3/8 inches tall and weighs 25 3/8 pounds, visit their city. The tour, which includes a full-color display showing the intensity and excitement of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, was created in 2004 to give fans a chance to see the coveted trophy which is presented annually to the postseason champion of the Premier 'AA' Hockey.

The Kelly Cup has visited 15 states since the Kelly Cup Tour began in 2004 and in addition to ECHL games it has appeared at schools, sponsors, radio and television stations and other community events in each city. The Kelly Cup replaced the Riley Cup which was awarded to the ECHL postseason champion from 1989-96.

The Kelly Cup has gained recognition and prominence as the championship trophy of the nationwide league and is a symbol of hard work, dedication and excellence at the 'AA' level. Since becoming a national league in 2003-04, the ECHL has seen the Kelly Cup Champion come from Idaho in 2007 and 2004, Alaska in 2006 and New Jersey in 2005. It has been displayed on multiple occasions with both the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup and the American Hockey League's Calder Cup.

The trophy is named in recognition of Patrick J. Kelly, who is one of the founding fathers of the ECHL, which began with five teams in four states in 1988-89. A member of the inaugural ECHL Hall of Fame class inducted in January, Kelly was Commissioner for the league's first eight seasons and was named Commissioner Emeritus in 1996, a title that he continues to hold.

Kelly, who is celebrating his 55th season in professional hockey in 2007-08, played for the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League, the Trois Riveres Lions in the Quebec League, Troy Bruins of the International Hockey League and the Greensboro Generals of the Eastern Hockey League.

He coached in the Eastern Hockey League, the Southern Hockey League and the National Hockey League where he was the only coach to ever lead the Colorado Rockies to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He also coached in the American Hockey League and the International Hockey League, leading Peoria to the Turner Cup in 1984-85. In 1967-68, the Clinton Comets finished with a 57-5-10 record, making them the only professional team in history to lose only five games or less in a season, and in 1969-70, Kelly was named Minor League Coach of the Year by The Hockey News.

Kelly was inducted into the Peoria Sports Hall of Fame in February of 1990 and into the Roanoke Hall of Fame and the Sports Hall of Fame in his hometown of Welland, Ontario in 1998. In 2002 he became the first inductee into the Greensboro Hockey Hall of Fame when the Generals retired his uniform number (5).

Mississippi, which sold a record number of season tickets and sponsorships for their return after a two-year hiatus in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, won the Kelly Cup in 1999 with current Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau behind the bench.

The Kelly Cup will travel to New York for the first time when it visits Elmira on Mar. 1 and 2. The Jackals lead the ECHL with 10 sellouts and are averaging 3,605 per game, which is 95.3 percent of capacity at the 3,784-seat First Arena and an increase of more than five percent from a year ago when the Jackals played in the now-defunct United Hockey League.

For the first time since the inaugural tour in 2004, Gwinnett will host the Kelly Cup Tour on Mar. 8. The Gladiators have reached the Kelly Cup Playoffs in each of their first four seasons in Georgia, advancing to the Finals in 2006. Gwinnett drew 20,508 fans for its "Pink in the Rink" weekend on Feb. 8-10, including 10,020 on Feb. 9, which is the third time this season that the Gladiators have had a crowd of more than 10,000.

The Cup makes its shortest trip of the tour when it travels 535 miles to Dayton, Ohio for the second consecutive year. The Bombers are the defending American Conference champions, reaching the Finals for the second time since 2002 while becoming the first team in league history to win two Game 7s in a single postseason. Dayton became only the third team in history to overcome a 3-1 deficit when it beat Cincinnati in seven games in the division finals.

For the first time the Tour will stop in Trenton, N.J. on Mar. 20, but it won't be the first visit to the capital city for the trophy which Trenton won in 2005.

The longest leg of the tour will take the Kelly Cup 2,461 miles on Mar. 4 to Boise, Idaho where it has resided since the Steelheads won it in 2007. Idaho won its second championship in four years in 2007 becoming the second team to win the Kelly Cup twice and the fourth team to win two ECHL championships. Hampton Roads won three championships capturing the Riley Cup, presented to the ECHL champion from 1989-96, in 1991 and 1992 and the Kelly Cup in 1998. South Carolina won the Kelly Cup in 1997 and 2001 and Toledo won the Riley Cup in 1993 and 1994. Idaho reached the Kelly Cup Finals and beat Florida in five games to win the first-ever national 'AA' title in 2004, becoming only the second expansion team in history to win the ECHL title, joining the Greensboro Monarchs who beat Winston-Salem in 1990.

2008 Kelly Cup Tour Schedule
Feb. 23 Biloxi, Miss.
Mar. 1-2 Elmira, N.Y.
Mar. 8 Duluth, Ga.
Mar. 14 Dayton, Ohio
Mar. 20 Trenton, N.J.
Apr. 4 Boise, Idaho

2008 Kelly Cup Tour Facts
- 42 days (Feb. 23-Apr. 4)
- 6 ECHL Cities - Biloxi, Boise, Dayton, Duluth, Elmira and Trenton
- Distance Traveled - 5,677 miles
- Longest Travel Segment - 2,461 miles (Trenton, N.J. to Boise, Idaho)
- Shortest Travel Segment - 535 miles (Duluth, Ga. to Dayton, Ohio)

2007 Kelly Cup Tour Facts
- 51 days (Feb. 16-Apr. 7)
- 9 ECHL Cities - Bakersfield, Dayton, Long Beach, North Charleston, Phoenix, Stockton, Victoria, Wheeling and West Valley City
- Distance Traveled - 13,013 miles
- Longest Travel Segment - 2,725 miles (Victoria, British Columbia to Wheeling, W.Va.)
- Shortest Travel Segment - 381 miles (Phoenix to Long Beach, Calif.)

2006 Kelly Cup Tour Facts
- 50 days (Feb. 10-Mar. 31)
- 11 ECHL Cities - Boise, Charlotte, Duluth, Greenville, Johnstown, North Charleston, Stockton, Toledo, Victoria, Wheeling and West Valley City
- Distance Traveled - 10,339 miles
- Longest Travel Segment - 2,584 miles (Stockton, Calif. to Johnstown, Pa.)
- Shortest Travel Segment - 104 miles (Greenville, S.C. to Charlotte, N.C.)

2005 Kelly Cup Tour Facts
- 51 days (Feb. 18-Apr. 9)
- 12 ECHL Cities - Bakersfield, Biloxi, Boise, Charlotte, Columbia, Estero, Florence, Fresno, Long Beach, North Charleston, Reading and Toledo
- Distance Traveled - 7,112 miles
- Longest Travel Segment - 2,511 miles (North Charleston, S.C. to Bakersfield, Calif.)
- Shortest Travel Segment - 78 miles (Columbia, S.C. to Florence, S.C.)

2004 Kelly Cup Tour Facts
- 44 Days (Feb. 20-Apr. 3)
- 10 ECHL Cities - Atlantic City, Boise, Columbia, Duluth, Estero, Florence, Greensboro, Lafayette, North Charleston and Wheeling
- Distance Traveled - 7,543 miles
- Longest Travel Segment - 2,506 miles (Boise, Idaho to Atlantic City, N.J.)
- Shortest Travel Segment - 78 miles (Columbia, S.C. to Florence, S.C.)

Kelly Cup Champions
2007 - Idaho defeated Dayton, 4 games to 1
2006 - Alaska defeated Gwinnett, 4 games to 1
2005 - Trenton defeated Florida, 4 games to 2
2004 - Idaho defeated Florida, 4 games to 1
2003 - Atlantic City defeated Columbia, 4 games to 1
2002 - Greenville defeated Dayton, 4 games to 0
2001 - South Carolina defeated Trenton, 4 games to 1
2000 - Peoria defeated Louisiana, 4 games to 2
1999 - Mississippi defeated Richmond, 4 games to 3
1998 - Hampton Roads defeated Pensacola, 4 games to 2
1997 - South Carolina defeated Louisiana, 4 games to 1

Kelly Cup Notes
- The Kelly Cup Champion the last three years has come from the National Conference with Idaho in 2007, Alaska in 2006 and Trenton in 2005. Idaho was a member of the Western Conference when it won in 2004. The Kelly Cup Champion has come from the Northern Conference three times (2003 - Atlantic City, 2000 - Peoria and 1998 - Hampton Roads) and from the Southern Conference three times (2002 - Greenville, 2001 - South Carolina and 1999 - Mississippi). The first season that the Kelly Cup was awarded the ECHL did not have conferences but rather three divisions (East, North and South). The winner was South Carolina from the East Division.

- In the 11 years that the Kelly Cup has been awarded, the state of South Carolina has produced the winner three times (South Carolina in 1997 and 2001 and Greenville in 2002) while Idaho (2004 and 2007) and New Jersey have produced the winner twice (Atlantic City in 2003 and Trenton in 2005). Alaska, Illinois, Mississippi and Virginia have each produced one champion.

- With the exception of Hampton Roads in 1998 and Idaho in 2004 and 2007, every ECHL Champion has finished in the Top Five in the regular season standings. Hampton Roads finished 18th overall and qualified for the postseason on the final day of the regular season. Idaho finished sixth in 2007 and tied for 11th overall in 2004. Ironically, only twice in ECHL history has a team finished first in the regular season and gone on to win in the postseason - South Carolina in 1997 and Alaska in 2006.

- The Alaska Aces hold the distinction of being the Kelly Cup Champion located the furthest west and also the furthest north. The latitude of Anchorage, Alaska is 61.1306 N while its longitude is 149.5357 W. The Kelly Cup Champion located the furthest south (30.40334 N) is the Mississippi Sea Wolves in 1999 while the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in 2003 are located the furthest east (74.431727 W).

- 14 players whose name appears on the Kelly Cup have played in the National Hockey League: Sebastien Charpentier, Hampton Roads, 1998; Chris Schmidt and Travis Scott, Mississippi, 1999; Cody Rudkowsky and Cam Severson, Peoria, 2000; Zdenek Blatny, Simon Gamache and Luke Sellars, Greenville, 2002; Kevin Colley and Matt Yeats, Atlantic City, 2003; Dan Ellis and Zenon Konopka, Idaho, 2004; Chris Minard, Alaska, 2006; and B.J. Crombeen, Idaho, 2007.

- Boardman Silversmiths, Inc. in Meriden, Connecticut created the Kelly Cup. Boardman also produces the Calder Cup for the American Hockey League as well as trophies for the U.S. Open tennis tournament and Masters golf tournament.

- There are 15 individuals whose name appears on the Kelly Cup twice. Seven had their name engraved for the second time while the eighth had his name engraved for the first time in 2001 when South Carolina won the Kelly Cup. Rick Adduono was assistant coach in 1997 and head coach in 2001 while Jason Fitzsimmons was a player in 1997 and assistant coach in 2001. Jared Bednar, Brad Dexter, Brett Marietti and Dave Seitz were players in both 1997 and 2001. Marty Clapton had his name first engraved in 1998 with Hampton Roads and in 2001 with South Carolina. Mike Nicholishen had his name engraved for the first time in 2001 with South Carolina and for the second time in 2003 with Atlantic City. Mike Haviland was head coach of Atlantic City when it won in 2003 and was head coach of Trenton when it won in 2005 while Steve Munn played for Atlantic City in 2003 and Trenton in 2005. Peter Metcalf and Joe Talbot both had their name engraved for the first time in 2003 with Atlantic City and for the second time with Alaska in 2006. Scott Burt, Lance Galbraith and Darrell Hay each had their name engraved for the first time when Idaho won in 2004 and for the second time when Idaho won in 2007.

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