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Pensacola Moves Atop ECHL With Eight Straight Wins

Published on February 7, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Pensacola recorded its team record eighth consecutive win with a 4-3 shootout victory in front of a sellout crowd of 11,355 at Gwinnett on Saturday night. The Ice Pilots break their team record of seven straight wins set October 27-November 5, 2000. South Carolina won a league season-high 10 games from January 7-February 1 while Reading won nine games from November 14-December 9.

The win improves Pensacola to 30-11-4 and moves it atop the ECHL in wins, points (64), road wins (16) and winning percentage (.711). The Ice Pilots, who are 13-2-1 in their last 16 games, are two points ahead of Long Beach (29-13-4) and three points ahead of Bakersfield (27-11-7), which are first and second in the West Division of the National Conference. Pensacola will host Texas (9-26-8) on Friday and Saturday.

During the streak, Frederic Cloutier is 6-0-0 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 1.81 and a save percentage of .950 while All-Star rookie goaltender Todd Ford is 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 2.00 and a save percentage of .927. The 2002 ECHL Goaltender of the Year, Cloutier is 18-9-3 with a goals-against average of 2.47 and a save percentage of .925. He is tied for third in the league with three shutouts while ranking fourth in wins and saves (889). Currently on call up to St. John's of the American Hockey League, Ford is 12-2-1 and ranks third in the league in goals-against average (2.05) and save percentage (.936).

All-Star forward Tyler Beechey leads the Ice Pilots during the streak with 11 assists and 14 points while two-time All-Star defenseman Corey Neilson is second with seven assists and 10 points. Beechey leads the ECHL with 59 points and 23 power-play points while he is tied for the lead with seven game-winning goals. Beechey is tied for second in goals (22) and power-play assists (15) and ranks second in assists (37). The 2004 ECHL Defenseman of the Year, Neilson leads league defensemen with 28 assists, 38 points and three game-winning goals while he is tied for the lead in goals with 10. Aaron Phillips has two game-winning goals and nine points (5g-4a) in the eight games while Jordan Krestanovich has a game-winning goal and eight points (4g-4a) in the last six games.

Exter Leads Nailers Into First Place In North Division

Home wins against San Diego and a road win at Trenton extended Wheeling's winning streak to six games which has allowed Nailers to move into first place in the North Division of the National Conference with 58 points, four points ahead of Toledo (25-15-4) and six points ahead of Atlantic City (23-14-6). Reading is in fourth place with 51 points (24-14-3), one point ahead of Trenton (22-13-6) and five points ahead of Peoria (21-16-4) which has won its last four games and nine of its last 10.

The Nailers will play at Alaska (26-15-4) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Joe Exter is 6-0-0 with three shutouts, a goals-against average of 1.16 and a save percentage of .960 during the streak and he has suffered only one loss since All-Star goaltender Dany Sabourin was called up to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Under contract to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Exter has evened his record at 7-7-0 while lowering his goals-against average from 3.60 to 2.80 and raising his save percentage from .895 to .912. Sabourin is tied for the league lead with a team record five shutouts while Exter is tied for third with three shutouts. The Nailers lead the league with eight shutouts, three shy of the Wheeling's ECHL record 11 shutouts in 2003-04.

Yevgeny Lazarev leads the Nailers offensively during the streak with five goals, including the game winner in three consecutive games, and eight points while defenseman Ray DiLauro has an assist in five straight games (5a). Brendon Hodge did not record a point on Sunday, ending his 12-game scoring streak which ties the ECHL season-high set by Charlotte's Mike Harder from October 22-November 20. Hodge, who has seven points (1g-6a) during the current winning streak, scored 14 points (3g-11a) in the 12 games.

Salmon Kings End Record 20-Game Winless Streak With Shootout Win

A goal by Ryan Watson in the seventh round of the shootout gave Victoria a 5-4 win over Fresno on Saturday, ending the Salmon Kings ECHL-record 20-game winless streak (0-18-2) and 12-game home winless streak (0-12-0). Dan Blackburn, who played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers in 2001-02 and 2002-03, stopped five of seven shooters for Fresno to even his ECHL record at 1-1-0.

The streak, which began with a 4-3 loss to Long Beach on December 31, was extended when Fresno scored with one second remaining for a 3-2 win on Friday. The Salmon Kings, who are 8-31-5 overall and 5-15-2 at home, host defending Kelly Cup Champion Idaho on Monday and Wednesday.

Victoria broke the ECHL winless streak record of 16 games set by the Roanoke Valley Rampage in 1992-93 and tied by the Huntington Blizzard (Oct. 20, 1995-Dec. 2, 1995). The Salmon Kings 12 games without a home win tied the league record for home winless streak set by Huntington (Oct. 20, 1995-Dec. 13, 1995). Victoria has not won a road game since a 4-1 win at Alaska on November 21, going a league season-high 11 games without a road win (0-8-3). The ECHL record for longest road winless streak is 26 games by Roanoke Valley in 1992-93.

IceGators, Wildcatters Combine For ECHL Season-High 15 Goals

The 15 goals scored in Louisiana's 8-7 win over Texas on Friday are the most goals by both teams in the ECHL this season. Texas and Pensacola combined for the most goals by both teams in the ECHL in 2003-04 with 15 goals in the Ice Pilots 9-6 win at Texas on March 28. The ECHL record for most goals by both teams is 21 set December 21, 1988 when Erie beat Carolina 13-8 and tied on November 5, 1993 when Toledo beat Louisville 11-10.

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ECHL Stories from February 7, 2005


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