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Florida, Gwinnett Battle Atop Tight South Division

Published on January 9, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Three wins in a row and going 8-1-1 in the last 10 games have helped Florida improve to 22-8-2 and climb into first place in the South Division with 46 points. Gwinnett saw its seven-game winning streak end on Sunday at Augusta, but is 8-2-0 in its last 10 games and at 20-7-4 sits two points behind the Everblades and five points in front of Charlotte at 18-14-3. Greenville has won its last three and is 7-3-0 in its last 10 games to improve to 18-10-1 to move into fourth place with 37 points, three points ahead of South Carolina at 13-13-8 and four points in front of Augusta at 15-18-3.

The Everblades will travel to California to visit Fresno on Tuesday and Jan. 17, Stockton on Friday and Saturday and Bakersfield on Sunday. Gwinnett plays at Greenville on Tuesday and Thursday before hosting Greenville on Friday, Charlotte on Saturday and Columbia on Monday. In addition to its games with Gwinnett, Greenville plays at Augusta on Saturday and will host Pensacola on Monday.

In the first three games after being reassigned from Lowell of the American Hockey League on Jan. 3, Florida's Steve Saviano scored a game-winning goal and 10 points (4g-6a) while Paul Cabana has seven points (4g-3a) in the last three games.

Guillaume Desbiens leads Gwinnett with nine goals and 15 points in the last 10 games while defenseman Troy Milam leads the team in the last 10 games with 12 assists, including six in his last four games.

Reassigned by the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League on Jan. 6, Mike Morrison started three games in three days for Greenville going 3-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.95 to improve to 4-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.36 in five games with the Grrrowl. The 26-year-old is 5-1-0 with a goals against of 2.35 and a save percentage in 10 games with Edmonton and was named NHL Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 28.

Falcons Lead Pacific By 10 Points

Winning two games at Victoria, Fresno was 2-1-0 last week and is 8-1-1 in the last 10 games, improving to 18-5-8 and extending their lead in the Pacific Division. The Falcons have 44 points and are 10 points ahead of San Diego (15-13-4) and Long Beach (15-15-4) and 16 points ahead of Bakersfield (12-11-4).

Shawn Mather had a team-leading four goals and six points (4g-2a) against Victoria while Jamie Holden won two games to improve to 3-0-0 with a save percentage of .935 in his last three starts.

Fresno hosts South Division leader Florida on Tuesday and division rival Bakersfield on Saturday while traveling to West Division leader Las Vegas on Friday.

Tyler Weiman of San Diego was 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.26 and a save percentage of .960 while All-Star selection Jesse Bennefield had seven points (3g-4a) in four games. The Gulls play at Las Vegas on Tuesday before hosting Bakersfield on Friday and Alaska on Saturday.

All-Star selection Ash Goldie had four points (2g-2a) in four games and leads Long Beach with 16 goals while ranking second on the Ice Dogs with 27 points. The Ice Dogs play at Utah on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Condors' Munce Ties Record

Bakersfield rookie goaltender Ryan Munce made 63 saves in a 2-1 shootout win at Long Beach on Friday which ties the fourth-highest save total in ECHL history set by Joel Laing of Wheeling against Peoria on Feb. 16, 2002 and tied by Davis Parley of Texas at Pensacola on Jan. 2, 2004. The 20-year-old Munce had 55 saves in regulation and eight saves in overtime before stopping four of six shooters in the shootout for his league-leading fifth shootout win.

Selected in the third round (82nd overall) by Los Angeles in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and under contract to the Kings, the 6-foot-2 and 177-pound Munce is 10-4-3 and ranks third in the league in shootout save percentage with .828 (24 for 29) and is 13th in the league with a goals-against average of 2.83.

The ECHL record for most saves in a game is 65 by Daniel Bosclair of Greenville at Greensboro on Mar. 17, 2004 while the second most saves in a game is 64 set by Christian Soucy of Baton Rouge against Tallahassee on Jan. 18, 1997 and tied by Matus Kostur of Augusta against Gwinnett on Apr. 8, 2005.

Did You Know ... The teams that rank first on the penalty kill (Trenton at 87.2 percent) and the power play (Reading at 24.5 percent) are both in the North Division while the teams that rank second are both in the West Division (Alaska at 86.5 percent and Idaho at 24.3 percent).

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ECHL Stories from January 9, 2006


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