Kelly Cup Tour Travels To Toledo, Wheeling
March 1, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
PRINCETON, N.J. - The Third-Annual Kelly Cup Tour will visit Toledo, Ohio
on Friday and Saturday and Wheeling, W.Va. on Sunday. Toledo will host
defending Kelly Cup champion Trenton on Friday and 2002 Kelly Cup champion
Greenville on Saturday before traveling to visit Wheeling on Sunday.
The Storm is celebrating its 15th Anniversary season in the ECHL while the
Nailers are celebrating their 10th Anniversary season. Toledo, which joined
the league as an expansion team in 1991-92, has won two league
championships, capturing the Riley Cup in 1993 and 1994 with current Storm
head coach Nick Vitucci as the starting goaltender. Vitucci has won five
ECHL championships, four as a player (1989, 1990, 1994 and 1995) and one as
an assistant coach (2002), which is more than any other individual in
league history.
Toledo and Wheeling are the seventh and eighth stops on a 50-day tour that
will see the Kelly Cup visit 11 cities in nine states and one Canadian
province. The tour covers 10,339 miles, the greatest distance traveled in
one year since the Kelly Cup Tour began in 2004.
So far the Third-Annual Kelly Cup Tour has traveled 4,241 miles across
North America with stops in Victoria, British Columbia; West Valley City,
Utah; Stockton, Calif. and Johnstown, Pa.
The Kelly Cup has gained recognition and prominence as the championship
trophy of the nationwide ECHL and is a symbol of hard work, dedication and
excellence at the 'AA' level. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to the ECHL
postseason champion each season since 1997 and was won by the Trenton
Titans in 2005. The Kelly Cup and the Stanley Cup were both at the ECHL
All-Star Game festivities in Fresno, Calif. on Jan. 24-25, marking the
seventh consecutive year that the championship trophy of the Premier 'AA'
Hockey League was displayed with the championship trophy of the National
Hockey League.
The tour opened Feb. 10 in Victoria, British Columbia as the Kelly Cup
traveled outside the United States for the first time. The opening stop of
the tour also featured ECHL Commissioner Emeritus Patrick J. Kelly, the man
for whom the postseason trophy is named.
In addition to ECHL games, the trophy will make appearances at schools,
sponsors, radio and television stations and other community events in each
city it visits. The Kelly Cup, which stands 19 3/8 inches tall and weighs
25 3/8 pounds, replaced the Riley Cup which was awarded to the ECHL
postseason champion from 1989-96. Accompanying the Kelly Cup is a
full-color display that highlights the Kelly Cup Playoffs, scheduled to
begin April 10.
2006 Kelly Cup Tour Schedule
Feb. 10 Victoria, British Columbia
Feb. 11 Victoria, British Columbia
Feb. 17 West Valley City, Utah
Feb. 18 Stockton, Calif.
Feb. 19 Stockton, Calif.
Feb. 24 Johnstown, Pa.
Feb. 25 Johnstown, Pa.
Mar. 3 Toledo, Ohio
Mar. 4 Toledo, Ohio
Mar. 5 Wheeling, W.Va.
Mar. 10 Greenville, S.C.
Mar. 11 Greenville, S.C.
Mar. 12 Charlotte, N.C.
Mar. 18 Duluth, Ga.
Mar. 24 Boise, Idaho
Mar. 25 Boise, Idaho
Mar. 31 North Charleston, S.C.
2006 Kelly Cup Tour Facts
* 50 days (Feb. 10-Mar. 31)
* 11 ECHL Cities
* Distance Traveled - 10,339 miles
* Longest Travel Segment - 2,584 miles (Stockton, Calif. to Johnstown, Pa.)
* Shortest Travel Segment - 104 miles (Greenville, S.C. to Charlotte, N.C.)
Kelly Cup Champions
2005 - Trenton defeated Florida, 4 games to 2
2004 - Idaho defeated Florida, 4 games to 1
2003 - Atlantic City defeated Columbia, 4 games to 1
2002 - Greenville defeated Dayton, 4 games to 0
2001 - South Carolina defeated Trenton, 4 games to 1
2000 - Peoria defeated Louisiana, 4 games to 2
1999 - Mississippi defeated Richmond, 4 games to 3
1998 - Hampton Roads defeated Pensacola, 4 games to 2
1997 - South Carolina defeated Louisiana, 4 games to 1
ECHL Stories from March 1, 2006
- Condors ground Bombers with four third-period goals - Bakersfield Condors
- Gulls win fifth straight - San Diego Gulls
- Steelheads double up Roadrunners 4-2 - Phoenix RoadRunners
- 'Blades stung by South Carolina 7-3 - Florida Everblades
- Titans knocked off by Storm 3-1 - Trenton Devils
- Rays blast Blades 7-3 - South Carolina Stingrays
- Lawson named Gulls player of the month - San Diego Gulls
- Former Wrangler Krahn named AHL Goaltender of the Month - Las Vegas Wranglers
- Two Titans head to IR - Trenton Devils
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- Pardy recalled to Omaha, Sloan to Manitoba - Las Vegas Wranglers
- Thrashers acquire Stepp from Ducks for Hurme - Augusta Lynx
- Inferno Acquire Right Wing/Hurme Traded - Columbia Inferno
- Former Las Vegas Goaltender Krahn Named AHL Goaltender Of The Month - ECHL
- Lock Monsters add toughness with Jacobsen - Augusta Lynx
- Stepp assigned to Gwinnett from NHL Atlanta - Atlanta Gladiators
- Kelly Cup Tour Travels To Toledo, Wheeling - ECHL
- America One Game Of The Week Is Gwinnett At Florida - ECHL
- ECHL Today - ECHL
- Gulls-Long Beach preview - San Diego Gulls
- Vegas uses five-goal third to defeat Fresno, 6-4 - Fresno Falcons
- Thunder stonewalled in frantic third period in 2-1 loss to San Diego - Stockton Thunder
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.
