Sports stats

ECHL ECHL

Kelly Cup Playoffs South Division Semifinals Begin Friday

April 17, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release




PRINCETON, N.J. - The wait is over for Columbia, Gwinnett and Texas after South Carolina advanced to the South Division Semifinals of the Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 win against Augusta on Wednesday.

The matchups for the best-of-five series are top-seed Texas against fifth-seed Columbia and the second-seed Stingrays meeting third-seed Gwinnett.

Texas beat Mississippi in four games to advance while Columbia upset fourth-seed Florida in a three-game sweep and Gwinnett swept Charlotte in three games. After losing back-to-back games at Augusta, South Carolina won three games in three days including an overtime win and a double-overtime win to advance.

The Wildcatters will host the Inferno in Game 1 on Friday and Game 2 on Sunday while the Gladiators will visit the Stingrays on Friday and Saturday for Games 1 and 2.

South Carolina has advanced past the opening round for the eighth time in 14 postseason appearances while Gwinnett has reached the second round for the fourth time in five seasons. Columbia has advanced for only the second time in five postseason trips and Texas has reached the next round for the second time in the last two years. The Stingrays are 15-11 all-time in series and Gwinnett is 7-4 while Texas is 2-1 overall in its postseason series and Columbia is 4-4.

Texas rookie defenseman Cleve Kinley leads the Kelly Cup Playoffs with 10 points in four games and his six assists tie him for the league lead while his four goals are tied for second. Wildcatter rookie Brandon Benedict also has six assists and is tied for second with eight points while teammate Kevin Baker leads the postseason with five goals and is tied for fifth with seven points.

Todd Ford of Columbia is 3-0-0 and ranks fourth in save percentage with .949 and fifth in goals-against average with 1.62. Craig Kowalski of Gwinnett is 2-0-0 and leads the Kelly Cup Playoffs with a goals-against average of 0.50 and a save percentage of .985 while teammate Dan Turple is 1-0-0 and ranks second with a goals-against average of 1.00 and a save percentage of .958. South Carolina rookie Josh Johnson is 3-0-0 and ranks third with a goals-against average of 1.32 and is tied for fifth with a save percentage of .944.

Columbia was the only team in the South Division with a winning record against Texas after winning the last two meetings to finish 3-2-1. The Inferno were 2-1-0 on the road with two one-goal wins, including 3-2 in a shootout in the last meeting on Feb. 24, and 1-1-1 at home against the Wildcatters. Texas was 1-1-1 at home and 2-0-1 on the road against Columbia.

Jeremy Hall (3g-2a) and Reid Cashman (1g-4a) led the Inferno against Texas with five points each in six games while Ford was 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.92 and a save percentage of .950 in two games against the Wildcatters.

Baker led the Wildcatters against Columbia with 10 points and he tied for the team lead with five assists while Max Taylor led the team with six goals and was second on the team with nine points. Anton Khudobin was 1-0-1 with a goals-against average of 1.43 and a save percentage of .936 in two games against Columbia.

The Gladiators swept the Stingrays in three games in the first round en route to the American Conference title in 2006. In 2001 when it won the Kelly Cup championship, South Carolina beat Mobile in five games in the second round winning 6-3 on the road in Game 4 and 3-2 in double overtime at home in Game 5. Gladiators coach Jeff Pyle was behind the bench for Mobile, which relocated to Gwinnett following the 2001-02 season, while Stingrays coach Jared Bednar was a defenseman for South Carolina.

South Carolina won its last three home games against Gwinnett and was 3-1-0 at home and 4-3-0 overall against the Gladiators, who were 2-1-0 at home and 3-3-1 overall.

Andy Brandt led Gwinnett against South Carolina with four goals in seven games and his seven points tied him for the team lead with Lou Dickenson, who had five assists in four games. Rookie Travis Morin led the Stingrays against the Gladiators with four goals, six assists and 10 points in seven games while rookie goaltender Josh Johnson was 2-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.61 in three games.

Texas is making its second straight Kelly Cup Playoffs appearance after finishing 52-9-11 and 115 points, which is the second most in the 20-year history of the league, one behind the record of 116 by Louisiana in 2001-02. The Wildcatters nine regulation losses are the fewest in ECHL history breaking the record of 11 set by Richmond in 1995-96 while their 26 road wins tie the ECHL record by Louisiana in 2001-02. The Wildcatters had three home losses, one shy of the league record by Louisiana in 2001-02, and six road losses, one more than the league mark of five by Las Vegas in 2006-07.

South Carolina, which won the Kelly Cup in 1997 and 2001, is making its league record 14th postseason appearance after missing the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time ever last season. The Stingrays set a team record with 47 wins and their 97 points were the second most in the team's 15-year history.

The Gladiators have not missed the Kelly Cup Playoffs in their five seasons since moving to Georgia reaching the conference finals in 2004 and the Kelly Cup Finals in 2006.

The Inferno is in the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2005 and the fifth in their seven-year history.

#1 Texas Wildcatters (52-9-11) vs. #5 Columbia Inferno (33-28-11)
Game 1 - Apr. 18 at Texas at 7:30 p.m.
Game 2 - Apr. 20 at Texas at 4:05 p.m.
Game 3 - Apr. 22 at Columbia at 7:05 p.m.
Game 4 - Apr. 23 at Columbia at 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Game 5 - Apr. 25 at Texas at 7:30 p.m. (if necessary)

#2 South Carolina Stingrays (47-22-3) vs. #3 Gwinnett Gladiators (44-23-5)
Game 1 - Apr. 18 at South Carolina at 7:05 p.m.
Game 2 - Apr. 19 at South Carolina at 7:05 p.m.
Game 3 - Apr. 21 at Gwinnett at 7:05 p.m.
Game 4 - Apr. 22 at Gwinnett at 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Game 5 - Apr. 23 at South Carolina at 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)

Check out the ECHL Statistics



ECHL Stories from April 17, 2008


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central