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Five-Game Streak Moves Royals Into Tie For First In Northern Division

December 15, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Going 3-0-0 last week, Reading increased its winning streak to a season-high five games and climbed from fourth place into a tie for first place in the Northern Division with Wheeling, which went 2-1-0. Wheeling (16-8-1) and Reading (15-7-3) each have 33 points while Atlantic City (16-9-0) and Johnstown (15-7-2) are tied for third with 32 points.

The Royals scored a season-high eight goals in an 8-4 win at Dayton on Friday and beat Trenton 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday before closing out the weekend with a 2-1 overtime win over Toledo. Reading has won an ECHL season-high and a Royals record seven consecutive home games while improving to 8-1-1 at home.

Reading hosts Cincinnati on Friday, travels to Atlantic City on Saturday and hosts Peoria on Sunday. It will be the first meeting of the season with Cincinnati and Atlantic City while Reading is 2-0-0 against Peoria in 2003-04. The Royals are 3-3-0 all-time against Cincinnati and 7-9-1 all-time against Atlantic City.

During the current winning streak, Judd Medak has led the Royals offensively with five goals, five assists and 10 points while defenseman Jonathan Zion has scored six points (1g-5a). Medak has an eight-game scoring streak (7g-8a) and he is tied for the team lead with 10 goals and 21 points while ranking third on the team with 11 assists in 16 games.

Cody Rudkowsky is 5-0-0 with a 1.95 goals against average and a .944 save percentage during the streak. Rudkowsky is tied for the ECHL lead with three shootout wins and three overtime wins. He is 11-6-1 and ranks fourth in the ECHL with a 2.06 goals against average and a .909 shootout percentage. Rudkowsky ranks third with 543 saves while ranking fifth in wins (11), save percentage (.935) and minutes (1,107).


Checkers On ECHL Season-High Six-Game Road Streak
Going 6-0 in California with two wins over San Diego and Bakersfield and victories over Fresno and Long Beach, the Charlotte Checkers have the longest road winning streak of the year in the ECHL and the longest active winning streak. The Checkers, who were 4-3-2 on the road before heading west, are 10-3-2 on the road and tied with Gwinnett for the most road wins in the ECHL.

Charlotte will conclude its season-high seven-game road trip on Tuesday when it visits South Carolina, which has won its last five games including three in a row a home. The Checkers are 1-1-0 against the Stingrays, winning 3-2 at South Carolina on November 8 and losing 4-1 at home on November 28. Charlotte returns home on Saturday to host Gwinnett and then travels to Columbia on Sunday. The Checkers are 2-3-0 against Gwinnett with all three losses coming at home. Charlotte is 0-0-1 against Columbia, losing 4-3 in overtime at Columbia on November 1.

The Checkers have outscored their opponents 27-9 and have not allowed more than three goals during the streak. Charlotte has held the opposition to one goal in each of the last three games while scoring 14 goals. On Friday at Bakersfield, Charlotte took only three shots but scored on all three and led 3-0 at the end of the first period. The Checkers then scored on their first shot of the second period giving them four goals in four shots and a 4-0 lead.

Dave Inman has been the offensive leader for the Checkers during the streak scoring 13 points (4g-9a) in six games. Inman has an 11-game scoring streak (6g-15a) and he leads the Checkers with 20 assists and 27 points in 23 games. Benoit Dusablon scored 11 points (7g-4a) in five games before being called up to Hartford of the American Hockey League on December 11 while Brandon Cullen scored seven points (4g-3a) in four games before being called up to Hartford on December 10. Dusablon, who has a nine-game scoring streak (9g-8a) leads the Checkers with 10 goals and is tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals while ranking second in scoring with 20 points.

During the winning streak, David St. Germain is 4-0-0 with a 1.25 goals against average and a .955 save percentage while Scott Meyer is 2-0-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and a .944 save percentage. St. Germain is 7-3-2 with a 3.02 goals against average and a .910 save percentage in 13 games while Meyer is 4-6-1 with a 2.75 goals against average and a .920 save percentage in 13 games.

Charlotte is tied with Alaska, Atlantic City and Peoria for the ECHL lead with seven shorthand goals. Inman leads the Checkers and is tied for the ECHL lead with three shorthand goals while Blaz Emersic has two shorthand goals, tying him for fifth in the league. Ryan Cuthbert and Kengo Ito each have one shorthand goal.

With the signing of Daisuke Obara on December 10, Charlotte becomes the only professional hockey team in North America to have two Japanese-born players on its roster at the same time. Defenseman Kengo Ito, who became the sixth Japanese player in the ECHL and only the second Japanese player to score a point in the ECHL when he scored a shorthand goal on November 15 at Florida, is the other Japanese player on the Checkers. Obara became the third Japanese player to score a point when he had an assist on December 10 at Fresno. The first Japanese player to score a point was Takahito Suzuki, who had 49 points (24g-25a) in 72 games as a rookie for Charlotte in 2002-03. Ito has scored three points (1g-2a) in 14 games with the Checkers while Obara, who also had an assist at Bakersfield on December 12, has scored two points (0g-2a) in his first two games with Charlotte.

2004 ECHL All-Star Game Announcement Schedule
Tuesday, Dec. 16, 4 p.m. ET
 Coaches, Equipment Managers, and Trainers

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 4 p.m. ET
 Western Conference All Stars

Thursday, Dec. 18, 4 p.m. ET
 Eastern Conference All Stars


Lynx Goaltender Saal Has Three Assists, 25 Saves In Win
Goaltender Jason Saal assisted on three goals in Augusta's 4-2 win over Greenville on Friday. Saal, who also made 25 saves, tied the team season high for assists set by Scott Corbett on October 18. The three-point night ties him with three players for the second most points in a game by a Lynx player in 2003-04, one point shy of Corbett's four-point night on October 18.

Saal, who recorded assists in back-to-back games on November 15 and 16, is tied for ninth on the team with five assists and tied for 13th in scoring with five points (0g-5a) while leading the team with two shorthand assists and two shorthand points. He is tied for fifth with two power-play assists and tied for eighth with two power-play points.

Saal has scored 12 points (0g-12a) during his professional career, including three points (0g-3a) in 44 games with Dayton in 1999-2000. In 1994-95 with the Detroit Junior Red Wings, Saal scored a career-high six points (0g-6a) in 51 games.

Named ITECH Hockey ECHL Saver of the Week for November 17-23, Saal is 9-5-1 and tied for the ECHL lead with two shutouts while ranking 13th with a 2.33 goals against average. Selected in the fifth round (117th overall) by Los Angeles in the 1993 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Saal ranks sixth all-time in the ECHL with 143 career wins, one behind Las Vegas' Marc Magliarditi and three behind Cory Cadden, who had 146 wins from 1992-2001 with Knoxville, Dayton, Peoria, South Carolina and Pee Dee. Saal ranks fourth all-time in career games by a goaltender with 282 games, 12 behind Cadden.


Cottonmouths Lewis Doubles Goals With Hat Trick
Carlyle Lewis recorded his first professional hat trick and had an assist in Columbus' 5-1 win against Augusta on Tuesday.

"I was a little kid the last time I had that happen," Lewis told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

Lewis, who had scored three goals in his previous 23 games, scored another goal in Saturday's 3-2 win against Greensboro, and ended the week second on the team with seven goals. In 2001-02 with the Cottonmouths, Lewis set professional career highs with 15 goals, 20 assists, 35 points and 275 penalty minutes in 59 games.


Northern Division
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
 * Stefan Rivard scored three points (1g-2a) and tallied his 400th career point in Sunday's 7-1 win at Wheeling.
* Next win for the Bullies and Coach Mike Haviland will be the 100th career regular season victory for both.
* Atlantic City hosts Reading on Saturday.

Cincinnati Cyclones
 * Cincinnati is 7-0-0 when leading after the first period and 4-6-1 in one-goal games.
* Cyclones rank sixth in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.56 goals per game.
* Cincinnati hosts Dayton on Wednesday and Sunday, and travels to Reading on Friday and Roanoke on Saturday.

Dayton Bombers
 * Martin Paquet has nine points (2g-7a) in his last five games and 11 points (2g-9a) in his last seven games.
* Jason Deskins is tied for the ECHL lead with three shorthand goals and four shorthand points.
* Dayton travels to Cincinnati on Wednesday and Sunday and hosts Johnstown on Friday and Saturday.

Johnstown Chiefs
 * Corey Campbell is 6-1-1 and leads the ECHL with a 1.47 goals against average.
* Chiefs rank second in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.25 goals per game.
* Johnstown travels to Dayton on Friday and Saturday.

Peoria Rivermen
 * Peoria has not lost in regulation in its last eight road games (5-0-3).
* Rivermen are 8-4-4 through the first 16 of 26 straight games against Northern Division opponents.
* Peoria travels to Wheeling on Friday and Saturday and Reading on Sunday.

Reading Royals
* Judd Medak has an eight-game point streak (7g-8a) dating back to November 22.
* Royals' power play ranks second in the ECHL with 23.5 percent (35-for-149).
* Reading hosts Cincinnati on Friday, travels to Atlantic City on Saturday, and hosts Peoria on Sunday.

Toledo Storm
 * Toledo lost its first overtime game on Sunday, 2-1 at Reading, and is now 2-1 in overtime and 4-2 in shootouts.
* Dustin Kingston has scored seven points (2g-5a) in seven games since being acquired from Charlotte.
* Toledo hosts Trenton on Friday and Saturday.

Trenton Titans
 * Matt Zultek is tied for second in the ECHL with seven power-play goals.
* Defenseman P.J. Martin has an assist in four consecutive road games (4a).
* Trenton travels to Toledo on Friday and Saturday.

Wheeling Nailers
 * Nick Boucher is 7-1-0 with a 2.68 goals against average in his last nine games.
* Jason Jaffray (4g-8a) and J-F Dufour (6g-6a) have each scored 12 points in their last 10 games.
* Wheeling hosts Peoria on Friday and Saturday.

Pacific Division
Alaska Aces
 * Alaska is 5-0-1 in its last six games, and its last regulation loss was 2-1 at Las Vegas on November 28.
* Lance Mayes is 4-0-0 in his last four games and 6-1-0 overall.
* Alaska hosts Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday.

Bakersfield Condors
 * The nine goals in Sunday's 9-2 win against Long Beach is a team record for the Condors.
* Paul Rosebush and Jani Virtanen each had two goals and 13 players registered a point on Sunday.
* Bakersfield travels to Idaho on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Fresno Falcons
 * Greg Bullock has a nine-game scoring streak (4g-6a) and has scored a point in 22 of Fresno's 25 games.
* Boris Protsenko scored the Falcons second hat trick of the season in Friday's 7-3 win against Long Beach.
* Fresno hosts San Diego on Tuesday and plays at Long Beach on Sunday.

Idaho Steelheads
* Steelheads are 8-3-0 when leading after the first period and 7-2-0 in one-goal games.
* Jan Kopecky leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points.
* Idaho hosts Bakersfield on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Las Vegas Wranglers
* Eric Schneider and Ryan Christie both scored two goals at Fresno on Sunday.
* Dave Cousineau leads ECHL rookies with six power-play goals.
* Wranglers host Long Beach on Wednesday before traveling to Alaska on Friday and Saturday.

Long Beach Ice Dogs
 * Craig Lyons has four goals and three assists in his last five games.
* John McNabb leads the team with 11 goals and 20 points.
* Long Beach travels to Las Vegas on Wednesday before hosting San Diego on Saturday and Fresno on Sunday.

San Diego Gulls
 * Gulls rank fourth in the ECHL on the penalty kill with 87.4 percent (104-for-119).
* Trevor Koenig is 6-2-0 with a 2.67 goals against average in his last eight games.
* San Diego travels to Fresno on Tuesday and Long Beach on Saturday.

Southern Division

 Charlotte Checkers
 * Checkers went 6-0-0 on their West Coast swing outscoring their opponents 27-9.
* Dave Inman has an 11-game point streak (6g-15a) and leads the Checkers with 20 assists and 27 points.
* Charlotte travels to South Carolina on Tuesday, hosts Gwinnett on Saturday, and travels to Columbia on Sunday.

Columbia Inferno
* Derek Eastman ranks second among ECHL rookies with eight power-play assists.
* Robin Carruthers has six goals and six assists and in his last 10 games.
* Columbia travels to Greensboro on Wednesday, hosts Roanoke on Friday, travels to Augusta on Saturday, and hosts Charlotte on Sunday.

Florence Pride
 * Allen Sirois has scored 195 goals in 497 career ECHL games.
* Wes Goldie has a four-game goal streak (5g) and has scored 10 goals in his last 10 games.
* Pride travels to Florida on Friday and Saturday.

Florida Everblades
 * Brian McCullough leads the ECHL with 17 goals and 38 points.
* Everblades rank second in the ECHL with 3.77 goals per game.
* Florida hosts Florence on Friday and Saturday.

Greensboro Generals
 * Kurtis Drummond is tied for third among ECHL defensmen with 20 assists and 24 points.
* Generals lead the ECHL in scoring with 3.79 goals per game.
* Greensboro hosts Columbia on Wednesday, travels to Gwinnett on Friday, hosts South Carolina on Saturday, and plays at Roanoke on Sunday.

Greenville Grrrowl
 * Scott Kirton (7g-6a) and Chris Lynch (8g-5a) have each scored 13 points in their last 10 games.
* Troy Ilijow scored his first professional goal in Sunday's 4-1 loss to Roanoke.
* Greenville travels to Pensacola on Thursday, Louisiana on Saturday, and Texas on Sunday.

Roanoke Express
 * Joe Dusbabek played his 200th career professional game on Friday and all 200 games have been with Roanoke.
* After losing its first two home games, Roanoke is 8-1-1 in its last 10 home games.
* Roanoke travels to Columbia on Friday before hosting Cincinnati on Saturday, and Greensboro on Sunday.

South Carolina Stingrays
 * David Brumby is 5-4-0 with a 2.22 goals against average and ranks third in the ECHL with a .939 save percentage.
* Mike Jickling (8g-10a) and Ed Courtenay (6g-12a) lead the team in scoring with 18 points.
* South Carolina hosts Charlotte on Tuesday, before traveling to Augusta on Friday, and Greensboro on Saturday.

Central Division
Augusta Lynx
 * Jason Saal is 7-2-0 with two shutouts and a 1.78 goals against average in his last nine games.
* Greg Jacina is tied for the team lead with 10 assists and 16 points.
* Augusta hosts South Carolina on Friday and Columbia on Saturday.

Columbus Cottonmouths
 * Olivier Michaud recorded his first professional shutout making 27 saves in Sunday's 2-0 win against Florida.
* Carlyle Lewis tallied his first professional hat trick in Tuesday's 5-1 win against Augusta.
* Columbus travels to Louisiana on Friday and Mississippi on Saturday before hosting Gwinnett on Sunday.

Gwinnett Gladiators
 * Michael Garnett had his first two professional shutouts last week and is tied for the ECHL lead with two shutouts.
* Four players are ranked in the Top 20 for rookie scorers, more than any other team.
* Gwinnett hosts Greensboro on Friday before traveling to Charlotte on Saturday, and Columbus on Sunday.

Louisiana IceGators
 * Louisiana ranks third in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.30 goals per game.
* IceGators' power play leads the ECHL with 24.9 percent (30-for-121).
* Louisiana hosts Columbus on Friday and Greenville on Saturday.

Mississippi Sea Wolves
 * Brent Gauvreau leads the ECHL with 25 assists and ranks second with 37 points.
* Jim Baxter leads ECHL defensemen with 31 points and is tied for the lead among defensemen with 23 assists.
* Mississippi travels to Texas on Friday, hosts Columbus on Saturday, and travels to Pensacola on Sunday.

Pensacola Ice Pilots
 * Brian Eklund leads the ECHL with 669 saves and ranks fourth with 12 wins.
* Corey Neilson is tied for the lead among ECHL defensemen with 23 assists and ranks second with 30 points.
* Pensacola hosts Greenville on Thursday, Texas on Saturday and Mississippi on Sunday.

Texas Wildcatters
 * Wildcatters won their first-ever shootout with a 5-4 win against Pensacola on Sunday.
* Corey Morgan leads Texas with eight assists and 11 points in the last 10 games.
* Texas hosts Mississippi on Friday, travels to Pensacola on Saturday and hosts Greenville on Sunday.
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