ECHL ECHL

Gulls Extend Streak To ECHL Season-High 9 Games

February 2, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Winning four games in five days, San Diego extended its winning streak to an ECHL season-high nine games and its home winning streak to an ECHL season-high 11 games. San Diego is 21-3-1 in its last 24 games after going 9-7-2 in its first 18 games.

The Gulls, who are 30-10-3 overall and 20-4-0 at home, lead the Western Conference and are tied for second place overall in the ECHL with 63 points. San Diego and Atlantic City, who is also 30-10-3, are three points behind ECHL leader Wheeling, with a record of 32-11-2. In the Pacific Division, the Gulls are six points ahead of second place Idaho (26-13-5), eight points ahead of third place Las Vegas (25-13-5) and 12 points ahead of fourth place Alaska (24-14-3).

After opening the week with a 5-2 win at Las Vegas on January 27, San Diego won three games in three days for the second straight week, beating Long Beach 2-1 on January 29, Idaho 3-2 in a shootout on January 30 and Bakersfield 4-2 on January 31. San Diego is 28-7-3 against the Pacific Division including an 18-1-0 home record.

San Diego will play at Idaho on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The Gulls are 5-0-0 against Idaho in 2003-04, with all five games played at San Diego, and are 35-20-5 all-time in the regular season against the Steelheads.

In the last five games, Greg Barber (2g-6a), Sylvain Deschatelets (1g-6a) and Mark Pederson (5g-2a) have combined for 22 points (8g-14a) including two game-winning goals by Pederson and one game-winning goal by Deschatelets. During the current winning streak, Barber (6g-10a), Deschatelets (3g-11a) and Pederson (7g-6a) have combined for 43 points (16g-27a) including three game-winning goals by Pederson, two game-winning goals by Barber and one game-winning goal by Deschatelets.

Pederson has an ECHL season-high 18-game scoring streak in which he has scored 30 points (19g-11a) while Barber has a career-high 11-game scoring streak in which he has scored 20 points (7g-13a). Pederson leads the ECHL in goals with 30, power-play goals with 13 and shooting percentage with 26.1 percent while ranking second in game-winning goals with six and 10th in scoring with 51 points (30g-21a). Barber ranks third among ECHL rookies in scoring with 43 points (17g-26a) and fourth in assists with 26.

Trevor Koenig has won his last seven starts to improve to 22-5-3 and has lowered his goals against average from 2.48 to 2.28 while raising his save percentage from .909 to .918. Koenig leads the ECHL in shootout percentage with .853 and is tied for the league lead with four shootout wins while ranking second in wins with 22 and seventh in goals against average with 2.28.


Original Member Signs Lease Extension
In front of 2,316 fans during the first intermission of their game against Reading on January 31, the Johnstown Chiefs signed a two-year lease extension with the Cambria County War Memorial Arena. The lease, which has an option for an additional two seasons, ensures that the original ECHL member will remain in Johnstown through 2005-06. The Chiefs have already had three sellouts while missing a fourth sellout by less than 300 fans, marking the first time since 1994-95 that there have been three sellout crowds in the same season. Johnstown is averaging 2,463 fans per game in the 3,998-seat Cambria County War Memorial Arena through its first 22 home dates, an increase of more than 18 percent from the 2,083 it averaged through the first 22 home games a year ago.


Nailers Surpass Last Season Wins, Points
Winning its last four games and going 16-2-1 in its last 19 games, Wheeling has improved to 32-11-2 and leads the ECHL with 66 points. The Nailers have already surpassed their totals from 2002-03 of 59 points and 28 wins. Wheeling is looking to qualify for the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time since 1997-98 when it lost in the Northern Conference Finals to Hampton Roads. The Nailers record for most wins is 46 in 1994-95 and the team record for most points is 97 also in 1994-95.


Titans' Brunelle Scores ECHL Season-High, Team Record Five Goals
Mathieu Brunelle scored an ECHL season-high five goals and tied the ECHL season high with six points as Trenton beat Augusta 8-5 on January 31.

The five goals is a team record surpassing the previous mark of three goals held by several players, including Brunelle, who scored three goals on December 30 against Dayton, and Matt Zultek, who scored three goals on October 31 at Charlotte, this season.

Brunelle scored three goals in the first period, setting a team record for goals in a period, at 3:26, 11:23 and 19:00. He scored his fourth goal and fifth goals at 2:26 and 12:20 of the second period and assisted on Zultek's goal at 16:44 of the third period.

Louis Goulet recorded the first hat trick of the season for Augusta scoring at 14:59 of the first period, 14:33 of the second and 19:30 of the second while assisting on a goal by Matt Dzieduszycki at 19:13 of the third period.

Mike Hurley of Charlotte was the last ECHL player to score five goals, accomplishing the feat on October 21, 2000 against Greensboro. The ECHL record for most goals in a game is six set by Tom Bissett of Hampton Roads on November 22, 1989 against Greensboro and tied by Toledo's Brad McCaughey on November 6, 1991 against Columbus (Ohio).

Under contract to Philadelphia of the National Hockey League, Brunelle scored 11 points (6g-5a) in three days with an assist in Trenton's 4-3 shootout loss to Atlantic City on January 29 and had a goal and three assists in the Titans' 4-1 win against Dayton on January 30. Selected in the seventh round (201st overall) by Philadelphia in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Brunelle ranks second in the ECHL in shooting percentage with 22.6 percent and he has moved into second place on the team with 14 goals while ranking third with 17 assists and 31 points in 31 games.


San Diego's Pederson Extends Scoring Streak To 18 Games
Mark Pederson scored a goal and had an assist in San Diego's 4-2 win against Bakersfield on January 31 extending his ECHL season-high scoring streak to 18 games. Pederson has scored 30 points (19g-11a) during the streak that began December 28. He leads the ECHL in goals with 30, power-play goals with 13 and shooting percentage with 26.1 percent while ranking second in game-winning goals with six and 10th in scoring with 51 points (30g-21a).

The longest scoring streak in 2002-03 was 23 games by Atlantic City's Jim Henkel, who scored 37 points from December 18-February 22. The ECHL scoring record is 38 games by Nashville's Trevor Jobe, who scored 112 points from December 19, 1992-March 14, 1993.

Pederson had a nine-game goal streak (12g) from December 28-January 17, tying the ECHL season high set by Florida's Keith Anderson, who scored 11 goals in nine games from October 18-November 9. The ECHL goal record is 16 games by Wheeling's Darren Schwartz, who scored 25 goals from January 14-February 21, 1993.


Everblades Break Single-Game Attendance Record ... Again
For the second time in two weeks, Florida broke its single-game attendance record with a crowd of 7,581 on January 31 against South Carolina. The Everblades drew 7,386 on January 17 against Roanoke, surpassing the 7,209 on February 26, 1999 against Pensacola. Florida has had four sellouts and leads the ECHL averaging 5,961 fans per game.

Reading had crowds of 5,589 on February 1 and 6,342 on January 30 raising its average attendance to 5,389 per game, second in the ECHL. South Carolina is third in the league averaging 5,056 per game while Peoria is fourth with 5,048 per game.

The ECHL has had 22 sellout crowds in 2003-04 led by Idaho which has five sellouts, including a season-high 5,304 on November 28 against Fresno. Alaska has had three sellouts, including a season-high 6,293 on November 22 against Idaho, and the Aces are averaging 4,309 for 25 home dates, up over 61 percent from the first 25 games in 2002-03. Idaho will host San Diego for the first time on February 4, 6 and 7 while Alaska returns to action for the first time since January 24 when it hosts Las Vegas for the first time on February 6-8.

The ECHL has drawn over 2.5 million for the 11th consecutive season and is averaging 3,715 per game through 679 games, up almost five percent from its average of 3,540 through the first 16 weeks of 2002-03


Northern Conference
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
 * Scott Stirling leads the ECHL with a 1.71 goals against average and 23 wins.
* Bullies lead the ECHL in goals allowed with 1.98 goals per game.
* Atlantic City hosts Peoria on Wednesday and Reading on Friday and Saturday.

Cincinnati Cyclones
 * Ryan Brindley has an eight-game home assist streak (9a) dating back to December 5.
* Jade Galbraith has seven points (2g-5a) and is +2 in his last five games.
* Cincinnati hosts Dayton on Wednesday, Toledo on Friday, Wheeling on Saturday and Johnstown on Sunday.

Dayton Bombers
 * Bujar Amidovski was 4-4-0 with a .915 save percentage and a shutout in nine games in January.
* Jason Deskins is tied for second in the ECHL with four shorthand goals.
* Dayton travels to Cincinnati on Wednesday before hosting Wheeling on Friday and Toledo on Saturday.

Johnstown Chiefs
 * Corey Campbell ranks second in the ECHL with a 2.17 goals against average.
* Chiefs lead the ECHL on the penalty kill with 89.7 percent (175-for-195).
* Johnstown hosts Wheeling on Wednesday and Peoria on Friday and Saturday before traveling to Cincinnati on Sunday.

Peoria Rivermen
 * Rivermen have the best road record in the ECHL at 14-4-4 and will play five road games in the next nine days.
* Mike Valley is tied for third in the ECHL in goals against average with 2.18.
* Peoria travels to Atlantic City on Wednesday, Johnstown on Friday and Saturday, and Toledo on Sunday.

Reading Royals
 * Jon Zion has a five-game assist streak (6a) dating back to January 25.
* Cody Rudkowsky is tied for second with three overtime wins and is tied for third with a .933 save percentage.
* Reading travels to Atlantic City on Friday and Saturday.

Toledo Storm
 * Jim Abbott leads ECHL rookies with 20 goals and is tied for seventh with 37 points.
* Alexandre Jacques has seven goals and eight assists in his last 10 games.
* Toledo travels to Cincinnati on Friday and to Dayton on Saturday before hosting Peoria on Sunday.

Trenton Titans
 * Mathieu Brunelle set Titans team records for goals in a game (5g) and goals in a
period (3g, 1st) in Saturday's 8-5 win against Augusta.
* Andrew Allen is 7-2-1 with a 2.00 goals against average in his last ten game.
* Trenton travels to Las Vegas on Tuesday, to Fresno on Wednesday and Friday, to Long Beach on Saturday and to Bakersfield on Sunday.

Wheeling Nailers
 * J-F Dufour leads the ECHL with 40 assists and 60 points.
* Nailers rank second in the ECHL with 3.82 goals per game.
* Wheeling travels to Johnstown on Tuesday, Dayton on Friday and Cincinnati on Saturday.


Southern Conference
Charlotte Checkers
 * David St. Germain is 2-1-0 with a 2.34 goals against average in his last three games.
* Checkers' road penalty kill ranks third in the ECHL with 88.9 percent (120-for-135).
* Charlotte hosts South Carolina on Tuesday, travels to Gwinnett on Thursday and hosts Roanoke on Saturday and Augusta on Sunday.

Columbia Inferno
 * Tim Smith is third in the ECHL with 38 assists and is tied for third in scoring with 56 points.
* Inferno leads the ECHL in scoring with 3.93 goals per game.
* Columbia hosts Greenville on Thursday and Florida on Friday while visiting Augusta on Saturday.

Florence Pride
 * Defenseman Mark McRae has six assists in his last five games.
* Wes Goldie scored 15 points (9g-6a), including two game-winning goals, in 13 games in January.
* Florence travels to Mississippi on Tuesday, to Texas on Friday and Saturday, and to Louisiana on Sunday.

Florida Everblades
 * Brian McCullough ranks second in the ECHL with 27 goals and is tied for third with 54 points.
* Jeff Maund is 3-1-0 with a 2.57 goals against average in his last five games.
* Florida hosts Gwinnett on Tuesday before traveling to Columbia on Friday and South Carolina on Saturday and Sunday.

Greensboro Generals
 * Defenseman Geno Parrish ranks second in the ECHL with 39 assists.
* Daniel Berthiaume leads the ECHL with four overtime wins and ranks second with 1,081 saves.
* Greensboro travels to Mississippi on Friday and to Pensacola on Saturday and Sunday.

Greenville Grrrowl
 * Chris Lynch leads the team with 21 goals, 19 assists and 12 power-play points (7g-5a).
* Grrrowl was 4-for-43 (9.3 percent) on the power play in the month of January.
* Greenville travels to Columbia on Thursday and to Gwinnett on Friday before hosting Gwinnett on Saturday.

Roanoke Express
 * Duncan Dalmao is tied for third in the ECHL with 18 power-play assists.
* David Belistki has a 1.93 goals against average and a .956 save percentage in his last three games.
* Roanoke travels to South Carolina on Wednesday, Augusta on Friday and Charlotte on Saturday.

South Carolina Stingrays
 * Kirk Daubenspeck is 4-0-0 with a 1.47 goals against average in his last four games.
* South Carolina's road power play ranks second in the ECHL with 25.0 percent (26-for-104).
* South Carolina travels to Charlotte on Tuesday before hosting Roanoke on Wednesday and Florida on Saturday and Sunday.


Central Division
Augusta Lynx
 * Louis Goulet tallied his first hat trick of the season in Saturday's 8-5 loss to Trenton.
* Paul Vincent scored six goals and had 12 assists in 14 games in January.
* Augusta hosts Roanoke on Friday and Columbia on Saturday before traveling to Charlotte on Sunday.

Columbus Cottonmouths
 * John Morlang tallied his first hat trick of the season in Friday's 5-2 win against Greenville.
* Marc-Andre Thinel has four goals and four assists in his last five games.
* Cottonmouths do not play until February 10, when they will host Florence.

Gwinnett Gladiators
 * Kevin Doell has a five-game assist streak dating back to December 30.
* Gladiators' road power play ranks second in the ECHL with 89.1 percent (90-for-101).
* Gwinnett travels to Florida on Tuesday, hosts Charlotte on Thursday and Greenville on Friday, and visits Greenville on Saturday.

Louisiana IceGators
 * Louisiana leads the ECHL on the power play with 24.3 percent (57-for-235).
* IceGators are tied for second in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.44 goals per game.
* Louisiana hosts Texas on Tuesday and Pensacola on Friday, travels to Mississippi on Saturday, and hosts Florence on Sunday.

Mississippi Sea Wolves
 * Steffon Walby ranks second in the ECHL with 58 points (22g-36a).
* Sea Wolves rank third in the ECHL in scoring with 3.78 goals per game.
* Mississippi hosts Florence on Tuesday, Greensboro on Friday and Louisiana on Saturday.

Pensacola Ice Pilots
 * Corey Neilson ranks second among ECHL defensemen with 46 points (10g-36a).
* Brian Eklund leads the ECHL with 1,327 saves and is tied for third with 21 wins.
* Pensacola travels to Louisiana on Friday before hosting Greensboro on Saturday and Sunday.

Texas Wildcatters
 * Lukas Smital has a 10-game road point streak (8g-6a) dating back to December 12.
* Rob Guinn has a five-game home assist streak (5a) dating back to January 16.
* Texas travels to Louisiana on Tuesday before hosting Florence on Friday and Saturday.


Pacific Division
Alaska Aces
 * Joe Talbot is tied for second among ECHL rookies with 43 points (18g-25a).
* Aces rank third in the ECHL on the penalty kill with 88.0 percent (212-241).
* Alaska hosts Las Vegas on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Bakersfield Condors
 * Shane Bendera earned his second shutout of the season with a 6-0 win against Fresno on January 27.
* Jason Ralph has a nine-game home point streak (7g-7a) and is tied for the team lead with 17 goals.
* Bakersfield hosts Fresno on Tuesday and Trenton on Sunday while traveling to Long Beach on Friday and Fresno on Saturday.

Fresno Falcons
 * Kris Porter leads the team with 20 assists, three game-winning goals and 30 points.
* Falcons rank second in the ECHL in penalty minutes with 30 penalty minutes per game.
* Fresno travels to Bakersfield on Tuesday before hosting Trenton on Wednesday and Friday and Bakersfield on Saturday.

Idaho Steelheads
 * Blair Allison is 8-0-2 with a 1.76 goals against average in 10 home games.
* Miguel Delisle is tied for the ECHL rookie lead with 10 power-play goals.
* Idaho hosts San Diego on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Las Vegas Wranglers
 * Darren Partch tallied his first professional hat trick in his second game with Las Vegas.
* Dave Cousineau ranks third in the ECHL with seven power-play goals.
* Las Vegas hosts Trenton on Tuesday before traveling to Long Beach on Wednesday and then to Alaska on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Long Beach Ice Dogs
 * T.J. Aceti is 2-1-1 with a 1.85 goals against average in his last four games.
* John McNabb has seven points (2g-5a) in his last five games and leads the team with 40 points (18g-22a).
* Long Beach hosts Las Vegas on Wednesday, Bakersfield on Friday and Trenton on Saturday.

San Diego Gulls
 * Mark Pederson has an ECHL season-high 18-game point streak (18g-12a).
* Gulls are tied for second in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.44 goals per game.
* San Diego travels to Idaho on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

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