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National Conference Semifinals Begin Friday

Published on April 23, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The National Conference Semifinals in the Kelly Cup Playoffs will begin on Friday with top seed Las Vegas hosting fifth-seed Alaska and second-seed Victoria hosting sixth-seed Utah.

Las Vegas beat eighth-seed Stockton in six games to reach the semifinals while Alaska swept defending Kelly Cup champion Idaho in four games to advance. Victoria beat seventh-seed Bakersfield in six games while Utah upset third-seed Fresno in six games.

Las Vegas and Alaska meet at 7:05 p.m. at the Orleans Arena while Victoria and Utah square off at 7:05 p.m. at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Las Vegas will host Game 2 at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday before the series moves to the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage for Games 3 and 4 at 7:15 p.m. on Apr. 29 and May 1. Victoria will host Game 2 at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday and then the series travels to The E-Center for Games 3 and 4 at 7 p.m. on May 1 and 3.

The winners will advance to the best-of-seven National Conference Finals to determine who faces the American Conference winner in a best-of-seven series for the Kelly Cup.

It is the third time in four trips to the postseason that Las Vegas has reached the second round, having been eliminated each year by the eventual Kelly Cup champion with Idaho in 2004 and 2007 and Alaska in 2006. The Aces have never missed the Kelly Cup Playoffs since joining the league as an expansion team in 2003-04 and have reached the conference finals each of the last three years.

In the first postseason meeting between Alaska and Las Vegas in the division finals in 2006, the Aces won in six games on their way to the Kelly Cup championship. The series included Cam Keith of Alaska scoring at 13:30 of the third overtime to give the Aces a 4-3 win in Game 2, ending the third-longest game in league history.

It is the first time that either the Grizzlies or Salmon Kings have advanced past the first round in the postseason. Victoria, which finished first in the West Division at 42-23-7 and 91 points, is in the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the second straight year after failing to qualify their first two seasons while Utah returns to the postseason for the second time in three seasons.

Las Vegas is the top seed after going 47-13-12 and finishing first in the National Conference for the second straight year with 106 points while Alaska was 41-26-5 and had 87 points to finish fifth. The Wranglers are the first team in the 20-year history of the ECHL to score 100 points in three consecutive seasons after having 112 points in 2005-06 and 106 points in 2006-07 when they won the league regular season title.

Tyler Mosienko leads Las Vegas and is tied for the league postseason lead with eight assists while his team-high 11 points ties him for third.

Victoria's Wes Goldie is tied for the Kelly Cup Playoffs lead with eight assists while his 10 points tie him for fourth. Ryan Wade of the Salmon Kings is tied for the postseason lead with two shorthand goals and five goals while rookie Dylan Yeo is second among league defensemen with three power-play goals and tied for second with four goals.

Marek Schwarz of Alaska is 4-0 and ranks second in the Kelly Cup Playoffs with a save percentage of .951 and third with a goals-against average of 1.83. Cam Keith leads the Aces offense with five assists and six points in four games.

Utah rookie Nathan Lawson is 4-2 and tied for second in the postseason with one shutout while ranking fourth in goals-against average with 1.90 and save percentage with .936. Rookies Rob Sirianni (3g-2a) and Micheal Haley (2g-3a) lead the Grizzlies in scoring with five points in six games.

The Wranglers were 2-1-0 at home and 2-1-3 overall during the regular season against Alaska to improve to 21-13-4 all-time. The Aces were 3-0-0 at home, all three wins coming in the shootout, and 4-2-0 overall during the regular season against Las Vegas to improve to 17-16-5 all-time.

Rookie Josh Soares led Alaska in the regular season with eight points in six games and tied for the team lead with three goals while Schwarz was 3-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.85 and a save percentage of .926. Peter Ferraro led Las Vegas in the regular season with five points in six games and tied for the team lead with three goals while goaltender Daniel Manzato, who is expected to rejoin the Wranglers, was 2-0-2 with a goals-against average of 2.17 and a save percentage of .926.

The Salmon Kings won the last three meetings to finish 4-0-2 at home and 6-1-2 overall during the regular season against Utah. Victoria is 15-9-2 all-time against the Grizzlies, who are 11-12-3 all-time against the Salmon Kings.

In the first round, Las Vegas was 2-1 at home and 2-1 on the road and went 3-0 in one-goal games, including 2-0 in overtime while Alaska was 1-0 in overtime and 2-0 overall in one-goal games. Victoria was 2-1 at home and 2-1 on the road and went 2-1 in overtime and 3-2 overall in one-goal games in the opening round. Utah was 3-0 on the road and 2-0 in one-goal games, going 2-0 in overtime including a 4-3 win in the sixth-longest game in the 20-year history of the ECHL at 106:23.

National Conference Semifinals (Best-of-Seven)

#1 Las Vegas Wranglers (47-13-12) vs. #5 Alaska Aces (41-26-5)

Apr. 25 Alaska at Las Vegas 7:05 p.m.
Apr. 26 Alaska at Las Vegas 7:05 p.m.
Apr. 29 Las Vegas at Alaska 7:15 p.m.
May 1 Las Vegas at Alaska 7:15 p.m.
May 2 Las Vegas at Alaska 7:15 p.m. (if necessary)
May 6 Alaska at Las Vegas 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
May 7 Alaska at Las Vegas 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)

National Conference Semifinals (Best-of-Seven)

#2 Victoria Salmon Kings (42-23-7) vs. #6 Utah Grizzlies (32-30-10)

Apr. 25 Utah at Victoria 7:05 p.m.
Apr. 27 Utah at Victoria 5:05 p.m.
May 1 Victoria at Utah 7 p.m.
May 3 Victoria at Utah 7 p.m.
May 4 Victoria at Utah 4 p.m. (if necessary)
May 6 Utah at Victoria 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
May 7 Utah at Victoria 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)


National Conference Quarterfinals (Best-of-Seven)

#1 Las Vegas Wranglers (47-13-12) vs. #8 Stockton Thunder (27-40-5)
Las Vegas Wins Series 4-2
Game 1 - STOCKTON 4 at Las Vegas 2
Game 2 - Stockton 4 at LAS VEGAS 5 (OT)
Game 3 - LAS VEGAS 3 at Stockton 2
Game 4 - LAS VEGAS 4 at Stockton 3 (OT)
Game 5 - Las Vegas 3 at STOCKTON 6
Game 6 - Stockton 1 at LAS VEGAS 4



#2 Victoria Salmon Kings (42-23-7) vs. #7 Bakersfield Condors (26-37-9)
Victoria Wins Series 4-2
Game 1 - BAKERSFIELD 2 at Victoria 1 (OT)
Game 2 - Bakersfield 3 at VICTORIA 4
Game 3 - VICTORIA 3 at Bakersfield 2 (OT)
Game 4 - VICTORIA 4 at Bakersfield 1
Game 5 - Victoria 4 at BAKERSFIELD 5
Game 6 - Bakersfield 5 at VICTORIA 6 (OT)

#3 Fresno Falcons (42-22-8) vs. #6 Utah Grizzlies (32-30-10)
Utah Wins Series 4-2
Game 1 - UTAH 6 at Fresno 1
Game 2 - UTAH 4 at Fresno 3 (3 OT)
Game 3 - FRESNO 3 at Utah 0
Game 4 - FRESNO 6 at Utah 1
Game 5 - Fresno 0 at UTAH 1 (OT)
Game 6 - UTAH 4 at Fresno 2

#4 Idaho Steelheads (40-22-10) vs. #5 Alaska Aces (41-26-5)
Alaska Wins Series 4-0
Game 1 - ALASKA 4 at Idaho 1
Game 2 - ALASKA 6 at Idaho 4
Game 3 - Idaho 2 at ALASKA 3 (2OT)
Game 4 - Idaho 1 at ALASKA 2

ECHL
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08, the ECHL is the Premier 'AA' Hockey League and the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.

ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league with 25 teams playing 900 games in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08.

The league officially changed its name to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL in 2007-08, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 355 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including 99 in the last three seasons. There have been 210 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past seven seasons.

There are 15 coaches in the NHL who have ECHL experience including former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and former Mississippi coach Bruce Boudreau, who is head coach of the Washington Capitals.

The ECHL is represented for the seventh consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2007 with Anaheim assistant coach Dave Farrish, players Francois Beauchemin and George Parros and broadcasters John Ahlers and Steve Carroll.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and for the past 18 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion.

In each of the last two seasons there have been more than 225 players who have played in both the ECHL and the AHL and there were over 800 call-ups involving more than 500 players. In the last five seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 2,000 call-ups involving more than 1,000 players since 2002-03.

Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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