ECHL ECHL

Reading Streak Hits Seven, Moves Into First

November 28, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


After posting its first shutout of the season against Trenton on Tuesday, Reading came from behind for a 3-2 overtime win against Toledo on Friday to improve to 7-0-0 at the Sovereign Center.

Reading closed out the week with a 5-1 win at Trenton to extend their winning streak to seven games and move into first place in the North Division at 11-2-1. Wheeling is in second place at 11-3-1 followed by Toledo at 8-4-3 and Trenton at 8-6-2.

The Royals will host Dayton (6-10-1) on Friday and Toledo on Saturday at the Sovereign Center as Reading plays seven of its next nine games at home. The team record for consecutive wins is nine games set Nov. 7-Dec. 3, 2004 and the team record for home wins in a row is also nine games set Jan. 2-15, 2004.

Reading is averaging 5.20 goals-per game during its current winning streak and 4.00 goals-per game for the season which ranks third in the league. The Royals are allowing an average of 1.86 goals-per game during the winning streak lowering their overall goals-against average to 2.29 which is tied for second in the ECHL.

Mike Pandolfo is the only player with two game-winning goals as 10 different players have scored the game winner for Reading.

Defenseman T.J. Kemp has a seven-game scoring streak (2g-12a) and ranks second on the team with 12 assists and fifth in scoring with 14 points while Greg Hogeboom has a six-game scoring streak (4g-9a) and leads the team with 13 assists and 18 points.

Cody Rudkowsky has won his last five starts and allowed only seven goals to improve his record to 8-1-0 while lowering his goals-against to 1.66 and raising his save percentage to .940. He is tied for the league lead in wins and ranks second on goals-against average and save percentage.

Steelheads Remain Atop West Division

Idaho posted back-to-back home wins over Utah to improve to 12-3-1 and take a three-point lead over Utah (11-5-0) in the West Division of the National Conference. The Steelheads ended the Grizzlies league season-high nine-game winning streak with a 7-4 win on Friday and then won 5-1 on Saturday.

Idaho plays at Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday. The Wranglers have won their last three games to improve to 9-4-1 and are in fourth place in the West, one point behind Alaska at 9-3-2. Las Vegas will play four games in five days hosting Johnstown on Tuesday and traveling to Phoenix on Thursday before hosting the Steelheads. The Wranglers record for consecutive home wins is eight games set Nov. 5-Dec. 26, 2003 and tied Feb. 15-Mar. 26, 2004.

Idaho's Garret Bembridge has 19 points (9g-10a) in his last nine games and leads the league with 13 goals and 28 points while ranking second with 15 assists. Steve Silverthorn is 4-0-0 with a goals-against of 2.00 and a save percentage of .918 in his last four starts and is 5-1-0 with a goals-against of 2.91 and a save percentage of .891 in seven games.

Las Vegas rookie goaltender Mike McKenna is 3-0-0 with a goals-against of 1.99 and a save percentage of .925 in his last three starts and 3-0-1 with a goals-against of 2.27 and a save percentage of .916 in five games. Chris Stanley has six goals, tying him with Todd Alexander for the team lead, and 10 points, tying him for the team lead with Dan Tudin.

Returning to action for the first time since Nov. 19, Alaska will host Utah on Tuesday and Wednesday before traveling to Long Beach on Friday and Saturday and Fresno on Sunday. The Aces have won their last three games and are 5-1-0 in their last six games.

Alaska's Chris Beckford-Tseu is 2-0-0 with goals-against of 1.00 and save percentage of .958 in his last two starts and 5-0-1 with a league-leading goals-against of 1.49 and a league-best save percentage of .945 in six games. Chris Minard, who led the league with 49 goals in 2004-05, has scored two goals in each of his last two games to increase his goal-scoring streak to four games (6g). Minard has a six-game scoring streak (7g-2a) and leads the Aces with nine goals and three game-winning goals while ranking third in scoring with 13 points in 14 games. Barrett Heisten has 11 points (4g-7a) in his last seven games and ranks second on the team with eight goals and 16 points. Mike Scott leads the Aces offense with 12 assists and 17 points.

After playing at Alaska, Utah, which beat the Aces 4-1 on Nov. 4 and 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 5, will head to Victoria for games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Matt Craig leads league rookies and is tied for second overall with 12 goals while his three game-winning goals are tops among first-year players and tied for the overall lead. Utah's James Laux is tied for the overall league lead with six power-play goals and 13 power-play points while among league defenseman he is tied for the scoring lead with 18 points, second in goals with six and tied for second with 12 assists.

South Race Tightens - Four Points Separate First, Sixth Place

The race in the South Division of the American Conference has tightened up with one point separating the top four teams and four points between first-place Greenville (9-5-1) and sixth-place Charlotte (7-5-1). Florida (9-5-0), Gwinnett (8-3-2) and Columbia (8-6-2) are tied for second with 18 points and Augusta is fifth (7-5-2).

Florida has won its last two games and is 3-2-0 on its six-game road trip which concludes Tuesday at South Carolina (4-9-5). The Everblades will return home to host Gwinnett on Friday and Saturday. Daniel Sisca has a three-game scoring streak (1g-5a) and leads the team with 10 assists while his 14 points tie him with Steve Saviano (5g-9a) for the scoring lead.

Greenville, which is 5-1-1 in its last seven games, hosts Augusta on Tuesday and South Carolina on Friday before traveling to South Carolina on Saturday and to Augusta on Sunday. The Grrrowl won 3-2 in a shootout at South Carolina on Nov. 1 and 8-2 at Augusta on Friday. Colin Pepperall has a four-game assist streak (5a) and a four-game scoring streak (1g-5a) and leads the Grrrowl with 14 assists and 17 points in 14 games while Tyler Mosienko has a three-game assist streak (4a) and a four-game scoring streak (3g-4a) and ranks second on the team with 10 assists and 15 points in 15 games.

Gwinnett beat Florida 5-2 on Nov. 11 and 3-1 on Nov. 12 to improve to 10-2-2 all-time in the regular season against the Everblades. Chris Durno has nine points (5g-4a) in his last five games and is tied for second in the league in goals with 12 and is tied for third in scoring with 22 points in 13 games.

South Carolina ended its team record winless streak (0-7-3) with an 8-7 win against Gwinnett on Friday and won 5-0 at Columbia on Saturday for its first back-to-back wins of the season. The Stingrays will host Florida on Tuesday and then play at Greenville on Friday and home against the Grrrowl on Saturday. Maxime Daigneault is 2-0-0 with a shutout and goals-against of 1.16 in his last two games while Ryan Finnerty has a four-game scoring and assist streak (5a).

Looking to snap its five-game winless streak (0-4-1) and its three-game home winless streak (0-2-1), Columbia hosts Pensacola on Tuesday and Augusta on Friday while visiting Augusta on Saturday. The five-game streak ties the team record set Dec. 13-21, 2002. The Inferno is 2-1-1 against Pensacola and 1-1-1 against Augusta. Brandon Nolan, who is under contract to and was assigned to Columbia by Victoria of the NHL, has five points (2g-3a) in four games with the Inferno.

Ice Dogs Close Gap On Falcons In Pacific

Long Beach won three out of four games on the week, improving its record to 8-7-2 and moving into sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division of the National Conference. The Ice Dogs have won their last two games and have recorded seven out of a possible 10 points in the last five contests. Rookie Ash Goldie scored the game winners in each of the last two wins and leads the team with nine goals while ranking second with 12 points.

Long Beach will play Alaska at home on Friday and Saturday and then hosts Phoenix on Sunday. The meeting with the Aces is the first since Alaska swept the Ice Dogs in three games in the Division Finals of the 2005 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Long Beach is 3-0-0 against Phoenix.

Fresno continues to lead the Pacific after going unbeaten in regulation the last five games (3-0-2) improving its record to 9-3-3 and 8-0-1 within the division. Second-year goaltender Brett Jaeger has started four of the last five games for the Falcons posting a 3-0-1 record with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage.

Recording five of a possible six points in the last three games and going 2-1-1 for the week, San Diego remains in third place in the division with 17 points and a record of 7-7-3. The Gulls will host Johnstown on Saturday and Sunday.

Going 1-0-1 for the week, Bakersfield has played past regulation in its last three games, winning two shootouts and losing in overtime. The Condors will host Johnstown on Wednesday before traveling to play at Pensacola on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Stanley Cup Tour Hits Bakersfield, Victoria

The Stanley Cup Tour of the ECHL travels into Bakersfield on Wednesday for the Condors game against original ECHL member Johnstown and then it heads north to Victoria, British Columbia which is home to the Victoria Salmon Kings, who are the only ECHL team outside the United States, on Friday for the Salmon Kings game against the Utah Grizzlies.

The National Hockey League and the Hockey Hall of Fame have toured hockey's most prestigious trophy throughout the league since Oct. 26 to raise awareness and money for hurricane relief efforts. The Tour visited Utah on Thanksgiving, Las Vegas on Friday, Phoenix on Saturday and Long Beach on Sunday after previous stops in Johnstown, Wheeling, Toledo, Dayton, Trenton, Reading and Pensacola.

Mississippi and Texas of the ECHL were both unable to play in 2005-06 as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Florida Everblades had to postpone their season opener for a week because of Hurricane Wilma.

All ECHL teams were given an opportunity to host the Stanley Cup and 20 of the 23 teams who submitted requests are in the original schedule which continues until Dec. 17. The NHL is finalizing details on visits to San Diego and Stockton in conjunction with the Stanley Cup's annual visit to the ECHL All-Star Game which is being hosted by the Fresno Falcons at Save Mart Center on Jan. 25.

Donations generated by the appearances benefit charities assisting in hurricane relief efforts including, but not limited to, the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army and the United Way. The Tour is another addition to the National Hockey League's charitable efforts which have included a joint donation with the NHL Players' Association of $1 million to the Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina relief.

Checkers, Condors Increase League Average Attendance

A team record crowd of 10,894 on Friday increased the average attendance in Charlotte to a league-leading 7,729 per game. The listed capacity for Charlotte's new arena is 6,800 for Checkers games, but additional sections can be opened to accommodate larger crowds.

Bakersfield is second at 6,476 per game after having the third-largest crowd in its history and the fourth largest in the ECHL this season with 8,815 on Saturday while Idaho had its second sellout of the season on Friday and increased its average attendance to 4,460 per game.

Through the first six weeks of the season, the ECHL is averaging 4,224 per game which is up just over three percent from the first six weeks of 2004-05 and up more than 12 percent from two years ago.

Feature Games Of The Week

North Division

Wheeling at Toledo - Friday at 7:35 p.m. ET
* Storm shutout Wheeling 3-0 on Nov. 11 to end Nailers six-game winning streak.
* Nailers are 1-4-0 at Toledo dating back to 2004-05.

South Division

Greenville at Augusta - Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET
* Three points separate first-place Grrrowl and fifth-place Lynx.
* Third of four meetings in two weeks.

West Division

Idaho at Las Vegas - Friday at 7:10 p.m. PT
* Wranglers have won three straight and Idaho has won its last two.
* Idaho went 7-1-1 in 2004-05 against Las Vegas.

Pacific Division

Stockton at Fresno - Saturday at 7:00 p.m. PT
* Falcons are 2-0-0 against Thunder with two one-goal victories.
* Stockton has scored three of its five goals against Fresno on power play.

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