Idaho Captures Founders Cup
Published on April 8, 2002 under West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) News Release
BOISE, Idaho - The Idaho Steelheads clinched the WCHL's Founders Cup for the first time in team history as they established the 2001-2002 season's best record of 47-17-8. Idaho captured the Founders Cup after knocking off the Tacoma Sabercats 4-0 on Wednesday. The win gave the Steelheads their 29th home victory this season which tied a WCHL record. While Idaho was securing the Founders Cup, the San Diego Gulls won the Southern Division championship with a 2-0 victory over Long Beach. The Gulls have finished first in seven consecutive seasons and have won the Southern Division title five times.
The playoff matchups are now set. Idaho will host the Anchorage Aces in the First Round of the Taylor Cup Playoffs beginning Friday. The Steelheads won 11 of 13 meetings against Anchorage this season and did not lose a home game to the Aces. Colorado finished the season on a four-game winning streak and will be the higher seed in their first-round series against Tacoma. However, due to arena availability the series will begin in Tacoma with Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Saturday. The final three games will be in Colorado.
San Diego hosts the WCHL's hottest team, Bakersfield, in their opening series beginning Friday. The Gulls were 10-2-1 against the Condors this season but the Condors enter the playoffs winners of 10 of their last 12. The other half of the Southern Division first round pits the Long Beach Ice Dogs against the Fresno Falcons. This series will open in Fresno despite the Ice Dogs being the higher seed. Arena availability forces the Ice Dogs to play Games 1 and 2 on the road. The regular season series was nearly even with Fresno winning seven times to Long Beach's six victories. The Falcons have won four straight games including a 3-2 win over the Ice Dogs in Sunday's season finale.
WCHL SETS SINGLE SEASON ATTENDANCE MARK
BOISE, Idaho - The WCHL set a new single-season attendance mark this season after averaging 4,682 fans per game. This marks the sixth gain in attendance in the league's first seven seasons and the league finished second to only the American Hockey League in per-game attendance this season. San Diego led the way with an average per-game attendance of 6,832 fans, the second highest per-game attendance mark in WCHL history. Fresno came in just behind the Gulls averaging a franchise record 5,957 fans per game, an increase of 657 fans per game. Also improving their per-game record were the Colorado Gold Kings. The Gold Kings increased their per-game mark to 3,787 fans per-game.
TAYLOR CUP PLAYOFFS FIRST-ROUND SCHEDULE
NORTHERN DIVISION
Series A - Anchorage Aces (#4) vs. Idaho Steelheads (#1)
Game 1 Friday, April 12, 2002 Anchorage at Idaho
Game 2 Saturday, April 13, 2002 Anchorage at Idaho
Game 3 Wednesday, April 17, 2002 Idaho at Anchorage
Game 4 Friday, April 19, 2002 Idaho at Anchorage ***
Game 5 Saturday, April 20, 2002 Anchorage at Idaho ***
*** if necessary
Series B - Tacoma Sabercats (#3) vs. Colorado Gold Kings (#2)
Game 1 Friday, April 12, 2002 Colorado at Tacoma
Game 2 Saturday, April 13, 2002 Colorado at Tacoma
Game 3 Monday, April 15, 2002 Tacoma at Colorado
Game 4 Tuesday, April 16, 2002 Tacoma at Colorado ***
Game 5 Wednesday, April 17, 2002 Tacoma at Colorado ***
*** if necessary
SOUTHERN DIVISION
Series C - Bakersfield Condors (#4) vs. San Diego Gulls (#1)
Game 1 Friday, April 12, 2002 Bakersfield at San Diego
Game 2 Saturday, April 13, 2002 Bakersfield at San Diego
Game 3 Thursday, April 18, 2002 San Diego at Bakersfield
Game 4 Friday, April 19, 2002 San Diego at Bakersfield ***
Game 5 Sunday, April 21, 2002 Bakersfield at San Diego ***
*** if necessary
Series D - Fresno Falcons (#3) vs. Long Beach Ice Dogs (#2)
Game 1 Friday, April 12, 2002 Long Beach at Fresno
Game 2 Saturday, April 13, 2002 Long Beach at Fresno
Game 3 Thursday, April 18, 2002 Fresno at Long Beach
Game 4 Saturday, April 20, 2002 Fresno at Long Beach ***
Game 5 Sunday, April 21, 2002 Fresno at Long Beach ***
*** if necessary
Northern Division Series "A"
# 1 Idaho Steelheads (48-15-2, 99 points) vs. # 4 Anchorage Aces (20-55-3, 50 points)
2001-2002 REGULAR SEASON STATS
IDA ANC Record 47-17-8 19-44-9
Home Record 29-6-1 10-22-4
Road Record 18-11-7 9-22-5
Goals For 288 222
Goals Against 213 330
Penalty Minutes 1,846 1,573
Power Play % (rank) 22.2 (1) 15.4 (7)
Penalty Kill % 84.6 (3) 79.3 (8)
SHGF 10 (7) 11 (6)
SHGA 14 (5) 19 (8)
Scoring First 29-4-2 10-11-5
Leading after 1 21-2-1 7-6-5
Tied after 1 18-3-3 7-8-2
Trailing after 1 8-12-4 5-30-2
Leading after 2 35-2-3 7-4-6
Tied After 2 5-2-2 10-1-2
Trailing after 2 7-13-3 2-39-1
One-Goal Games 15-4-8 10-6-9
SERIES NOTES
Idaho Steelheads: Idaho dominated the regular season series winning 11 of 13 meetings...Cal Ingraham scored 20 points in 11 games versus the Aces this season...Bobby Stewart had seven goals and 11 assists versus the Aces in the regular season...Gary Toor led the Steelheads with 15 assists and a +15 plus/minus rating against the Aces.
Anchorage Aces: Paul Williams has been successful against Idaho this year, scoring four goals and seven assists while compiling a team best +4 plus/minus rating...Kimbi Daniels had five power-play goals versus Idaho during the regular season...Parris Duffus allowed 12 goals in three regular season games against Idaho...Anchorage enters the playoffs on a four-game losing streak.
2001-02 HEAD-TO-HEAD
IDAHO ANCHORAGE
6-0-0 Home Record 2-5-0
5-2-0 Road Record 0-6-0
Copeland, 9 Goals Leader Larson, 8
Toor, 15 Assists Leader Daniels, 9
Ingraham, 20 Points Leader Two players, 16
Allison, 10-1-0 Goaltending Sandstrom, 1-3-0
20.6 Power Play 22.7
77.3 Penalty Kill 79.4
Northern Division Series "B"
# 2 Colorado Gold Kings (39-26-7, 85 points) vs. # 3 Tacoma Sabercats (30-36-6, 66 points)
2001-2002 REGULAR SEASON STATS
COL TAC Record 39-26-7 30-36-6
Home Record 24-9-3 19-15-2
Road Record 15-17-4 11-21-4
Goals For 253 211
Goals Against 221 249
Penalty Minutes 1,863 1,435
Power Play % (rank) 18.8 (2) 16.4 (5)
Penalty Kill % 83.3 (4) 81.3 (5)
SHGF 16 (2) 13 (5)
SHGA 11 (3) 11 (3)
Scoring First 27-8-2 16-12-3
Leading after 1 19-4-3 14-3-3
Tied after 1 16-9-1 9-15-3
Trailing after 1 4-13-3 7-18-0
Leading after 2 28-3-4 16-5-1
Tied After 2 9-3-0 7-6-4
Trailing after 2 2-20-3 7-25-1
One-Goal Games 11-10-7 17-9-6
SERIES NOTES
Colorado Gold Kings: Craig Lyons and Zac Boyer each scored 15 points against Tacoma during the regular season...R.J. Enga netted four power-play goals in the regular season series...Tom Perry had three game-winning goals versus Tacoma this season...Kirk Daubenspeck posted a 7-2-1 record in the season series.
Tacoma Sabercats: Clayton Read scored seven of his 26 goals against Colorado this season...Dampy Brar led the Sabercats with 15 points, including six goals, versus the Gold Kings this season...Mike Brusseau stonewalled Colorado in eight games, recording a 2.25 goals against average...Tacoma opens the series at home despite being the lower seed.
2001-02 HEAD-TO-HEAD
COLORADO TACOMA
3-2-1 Home Record 3-4-0
4-2-1 Road Record 3-2-1
Enga, 7 Goals Leader Read, 7
Lyons, 12 Assists Leader Two players, 9
Two players, 15 Points Leader Brar, 15
Daubenspeck, Goaltending Brusseau, 4-3-1 7-2-1
18.5 Power Play 25.9
74.1 Penalty Kill 81.5
Southern Division Series "C"
# 1 San Diego Gulls (47-22-3, 97 points) vs. # 4 Bakersfield Condors (32-35-5, 69 points)
2001-2002 REGULAR SEASON STATS
SD BAK Record 47-22-3 32-35-5
Home Record 25-8-3 19-14-3
Road Record 22-14-0 13-21-2
Goals For 255 213
Goals Against 209 237
Penalty Minutes 2,677 1,377
Power Play % (rank) 18.0 (3) 15.5 (6)
Penalty Kill 85.9 (1) 79.9 (7)
SHGF 15 (3) 8 (8)
SHGA 16 (6) 11 (2)
Scoring First 34-11-2 22-8-3
Leading after 1 24-5-0 16-4-1
Tied after 1 19-9-2 11-14-1
Trailing after 1 4-8-1 5-17-3
Leading after 2 35-1-0 22-3-3
Tied After 2 6-7-3 3-10-0
Trailing after 2 6-14-0 7-22-2
One-Goal Games 16-7-3 17-12-5
SERIES NOTES
San Diego Gulls: Mark Woolf was named WCHL's Most Valuable Player and Trevor Koenig earned Outstanding Goaltender last week...John Spoltore burned Bakersfield for five goals and 14 assists in the regular season...Dan Gravelle scored four goals and assists versus the Condors this year...Koenig's goals against average versus Bakersfield was 1.78 in 13 games.
Bakersfield Condors: The Condors have won 10 of 12 and enter the playoffs on a six game winning streak...Paul Rosebush scored seven goals and led the Condors with a +4 plus/minus rating against San Diego...Aaron Brand has assisted on a goal in six consecutive games...Ryan Foster has scored in six straight...Bakersfield faced San Diego in the first round last season as well.
2001-02 HEAD-TO-HEAD
BAKERSFIELD SAN DIEGO 5-1-1 Home Record 1-4-1
5-1-0 Road Record 2-5-0
Rosebush, 7 Goals Leader Woolf, 10
Three players, 7 Assists Leader Spoltore, 14
Firth, 10 Points Leader Spolotre, 19
Hay, 2-3-1 Goaltending Koenig, 9-1-1
10.4 Power Play 22.5
77.5 Penalty Kill 89.6
Southern Division Series "D"
# 2 Long Beach Ice Dogs (41-27-4, 86 points) vs. # 3 Fresno Falcons (33-31-8, 74 points)
2001-2002 REGULAR SEASON STATS
LB FRE Record 41-27-4 33-31-8
Home Record 24-10-2 19-14-3
Road Record 19-14-3 14-17-5
Goals For 240 242
Goals Against 198 267
Penalty Minutes 2,086 2,108
Power Play % (rank) 16.9 (4) 14.8 (8)
Penalty Kill % 85.0 (1) 81.1 (6)
SHGF 14 (4) 18 (1)
SHGA 5 (1) 18 (7)
Scoring First 27-9-3 23-11-4
Leading after 1 24-5-3 19-5-3
Tied after 1 7-8-1 4-8-4
Trailing after 1 10-14-0 10-18-1
Leading after 2 26-2-2 20-2-3
Tied After 2 6-4-2 9-5-4
Trailing after 2 9-21-0 4-24-1
One-Goal Games 15-11-4 15-7-8
SERIES NOTES
Long Beach Ice Dogs: Jamie Sokolsky was named the WCHL's Outstanding Defenseman last week...Kelly Askew led the Ice Dogs with seven goals and 12 points versus Fresno this season...Marten Engren was 4-2-1 against the Falcons in the regular season, while Mike Buzak struggled to a 2-4-0 mark...John Lilley and Askew each had three power-play goals in the regular season series.
Fresno Falcons: Fresno scored 17 first period goals in the regular season series against Long Beach...The Falcons enter the series having won four consecutive games and seven of their last 10...Terry Friesen was 3-1-0 against the Ice Dogs in five games...Mike Mathers netted two game-winning goals against Long Beach in the regular season.
2001-02 HEAD-TO-HEAD
LONG BEACH FRESNO
4-3-0 Home Record 4-1-1
2-3-1 Road Record 3-2-2
Askew, 7 Goals Leader Two players, 5
Two players, 8 Assists Leader Two players, 7
Askew, 12 Points Leader Two players, 11
Engren, 4-2-1 Goaltending Mitchell, 4-2-3
14.7 Power Play 14.5
85.5 Penalty Kill 85.3
West Coast Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2002
- Idaho Captures Founders Cup - WCHL
- Gold Kings Break Attendance Record - Colorado Gold Kings
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