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Kelly Cup Finals Begin Friday

May 1, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


The 2002 Kelly Cup Finals open Friday with the Greenville Grrrowl and the Dayton Bombers making their first-ever appearance in the East Coast Hockey League Championship.

Greenville clinched its berth with a 6-2 win in the Southern Conference Finals at Mississippi on Tuesday while Dayton beat Atlantic City 5-2 on Monday in the Northern Conference Finals. The Grrrowl and Bombers both won their conference championship series, three games to one.

First awarded to the ECHL playoff champion in 1997, the Patrick J. Kelly Cup is named for Patrick Kelly, one of the founding fathers of the ECHL. Kelly, whose hockey career spanned more than four decades as a player, general manager and coach, is the ECHL Commissioner Emeritus and the only commissioner in ECHL history.

Greenville finished atop the Southeast Division and was second overall in the Southern Conference with 92 points (43-23-6). The Grrrowl beat Florida, three games to two, in the Southeast Division Semifinals and beat Pee Dee, three games to one, in the Southeast Division Finals.

Dayton finished first in the Northwest Division and tied for third overall in the Northern Conference with 92 points (40-20-12). The Bombers beat Cincinnati, three games to none, in the Northwest Division Semifinals and beat Johnstown, three games to none, in the Northwest Division Finals.

Greenville is making its second postseason appearance in its four-year history. The Grrrowl lost to Louisiana, four games to two, in the 2000 Southern Conference Finals. Greenville Head Coach and Vice President of Hockey Operations John Marks led the Charlotte Checkers to the 1996 Riley Cup Championship. The Riley Cup was retired following the 1995-96 season after being awarded to the postseason champion for eight seasons from 1988-96.

Dayton has qualified for the postseason in each of its 11 seasons tying the ECHL records for most appearances and most consecutive appearances held by Hampton Roads, which appeared in the postseason from 1989-2000. In their 10 previous appearances, the Bombers had won a total of two playoff series, defeating Huntington, three games to one, in the first round in 1995 and beating Charlotte, three games to two, in the Northern Conference Quarterfinals in 2001. Bombers' assistant coach Dave Flanagan won a Riley Cup Championship in 1991 with Hampton Roads and in 1993 with Toledo. Flanagan scored 16 goals in 1991, one shy of the ECHL playoff record, and was named co-Most Valuable Player with teammate Dave Gagnon.

Greenville's Simon Gamache leads the postseason with 13 goals and 20 points, and he enters the finals with a seven-game goal-scoring streak (nine goals), the longest streak in the 2002 Kelly Cup Playoffs. The ECHL record for most goals in a playoff year is 17 set by Blaine Moore of Richmond in 1995 and tied by J.F. Boutin of Peoria in 2000. Moore set the ECHL record with 34 points in 1995, a record tied by Louisiana's John Spoltore, who had an ECHL record 26 assists and 34 points in 2000.

Dayton's Karl Goehring leads the postseason with a 1.63 goals against average. The ECHL record for lowest goals against average in a playoff year is 1.70 by Kirk Daubenspeck of Chesapeake in 1999. Goehring also leads the postseason with nine wins and 625 minutes played. The ECHL record for most wins in a playoff year is 14 set by Sebastien Charpentier of Hampton Roads in 1998 and tied by Travis Scott of Mississippi in 1999.

Tom Nemeth, who has played eight of his nine seasons in the ECHL with the Bombers, leads defensemen in the postseason with eight assists and 11 points. He was named ECHL Defenseman of the Year and First-Team All-ECHL in 1994, 2000 and 2001 while being named as a starter in the ECHL All-Star Game in 1993, 1994 and 1998. Nemeth was selected as Captain for the Northern Conference All-Star Team in 2000 and holds the ECHL records for most assists by a defenseman (82 in 1994) and most points by a defenseman (98 in 1994).

2002 KELLY CUP FINALS SCHEDULE

Game 1 Friday, May 3 Dayton at Greenville 7:05 ET
Game 2 Sunday, May 5 Dayton at Greenville 7:05 ET
Game 3 Wednesday, May 8 Greenville at Dayton 7:00 ET
Game 4 Friday, May 10 Greenville at Dayton 7:30 ET
*Game 5 Sunday, May 12 Greenville at Dayton 6:00 ET
*Game 6 Wednesday, May 15 Dayton at Greenville 7:05 ET
*Game 7 Friday, May 17 Dayton at Greenville 7:05 ET

* - If Necessary

2002 KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE FINALS RESULTS

NORTHERN CONFERENCE FINALS

DAYTON WINS SERIES 3 GAMES TO 1

April 24 Dayton 3 at Atlantic City 2
April 26 Dayton 3 at Atlantic City 4
April 28 Atlantic City 2 at Dayton 3
April 29 Atlantic City 2 at Dayton 5

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE FINALS

GREENVILLE WINS SERIES 3 GAMES TO 1

April 25 Mississippi 1 at Greenville 8
April 26 Mississippi 2 at Greenville 3
April 28 Greenville 3 at Mississippi 5
April 30 Greenville 6 at Mississippi 2

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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