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Shutouts Abound in Early Season

November 10, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Goaltenders stepped up over the weekend as the ECHL had a record nine shutouts by nine different goaltenders in three days with three on Friday, three on Saturday and three on Sunday. There have been 19 shutouts in the ECHL in 2003-04 by 19 different goaltenders. The previous high for shutouts in a three-day period was seven which happened twice in 2002-03, first on January 16-18 and again on February 5-7.

Idaho picked up back-to-back home shutouts against Cincinnati as Dan Ellis made 33 saves in Friday's 3-0 win and Blair Allison stopped 33 shots in Saturday's 1-0 win. It was the first professional shutout for Ellis, who was selected in the second round (60th overall) by Dallas in the 2000 National Hockey League Entry Draft. It was the first shutout of the season and the 15th of his professional career for Allison, who leads the ECHL with a 1.20 goals against average and ranks second with a .952 save percentage.

Alaska's Lance Mayes recorded a shutout in his first professional start making 33 saves in a 4-0 win at Long Beach on Friday while South Carolina's David Brumby made 19 saves in only his second start of the season, a 3-0 win against Columbus on Friday.

Reading's Cody Rudkowsky recorded his sixth career ECHL shutout and his 10th professional shutout stopping 44 shots in a 5-0 win at Peoria on Saturday. Rudkowsky was 2-0 against Peoria while improving his save percentage to a league-leading .964 and lowering his goals against average to 1.23, the second lowest in the ECHL. Johnstown's Arturs Irbe, who has 33 shutouts in the NHL, picked up his first ECHL shutout on Saturday making 29 saves in a 3-0 win at Trenton.

Atlantic City's Scott Stirling recorded his 10th ECHL shutout on Sunday stopping 25 shots in a 5-0 win against Johnstown. In 2000-01 with Trenton, Stirling tied for the league lead with five shutouts and was named Goaltender of the Year, Rookie of the Year and First-Team All-ECHL.

Louisiana's Derek Gustafson made 15 saves in a 2-0 win against Columbus on Sunday for his first shutout of the season and the 10th of his professional career. Bakersfield's Peter Hirsch picked up his first professional shutout in North America making 26 saves in a 1-0 win against Florida. The shutout completed a weekend that saw Hirsch go 2-0-0 while lowering his goals against average from 2.95 to 2.64 and raising his save percentage from .886 to .902.

In the first 150 games of 2003-04 there has been a shutout every 7.9 games compared to a shutout every 9.8 games in 2002-03 and a shutout every 11.4 games in 2001-02.

Texas Sellout Raises Home Opener Attendance Average
The ECHL had its sixth opening night sellout on Saturday as Texas opened the new Ford Arena with 8,314 on Saturday, increasing the average opening night attendance in the ECHL from 5,763 to 5,848. Fresno is the 31st and final ECHL team to play its home opener when the Falcons open the new 13,800-seat Save Mart Center on Sunday hosting Bakersfield.

The 22 former ECHL teams have drawn 124,792 fans and averaged 5,672 for their home openers compared to 112,742 and an average of 5,125 in 2002-03, an increase of over 10 percent. The 26 ECHL and WCHL teams that played in 2002-03 have drawn 149,357 to average 5,745 for their home openers compared to 129,963 and 5,199 for their home openers in 2002-03, up more than 10 percent.

In the first four weeks of the season, the ECHL has drawn 567,929 for 151 games and is averaging 3,761 per game. In the first four weeks of 2002-03, the ECHL averaged 3,568 per game while the ECHL and WCHL combined averaged 3,766 per game during the same period.

Falcons Pair Has League-Best Active Scoring Streaks
Florida's Anderson Sees 10-Game Scoring Streak End
Fresno's Greg Bullock has a nine-game scoring streak, the longest active streak in the ECHL, while teammate Jason Weaver has an eight-game point streak, the second-longest active streak. The streaks by Bullock and Weaver are also the longest road streaks of the season as the Falcons are playing their first 11 games on the road while awaiting the completion of the Save Mart Center. Bullock had a six-game assist streak (6 assists) end on Sunday, but did extend his scoring streak with a goal in the Falcons' 9-4 loss at Mississippi. Bullock leads the Falcons with 10 assists while his 13 points ties him for the team scoring lead with Kris Porter. Weaver has scored in all eight of the games that he has played and is tied for second on the team with six assists and ranks third in scoring with nine points.

Keith Anderson of Florida has the longest scoring streak and the longest goal-scoring streak in the league in 2003-04. Before being held scoreless in a 1-0 loss at Bakersfield on Sunday, Anderson had scored a point in each of the Everblades' first 10 games and had a goal in nine consecutive games (11 goals) from October 18 to November 9. He leads the ECHL with 11 goals and his 21 points tie him for the scoring lead with teammate Brian McCullough, who has nine points (2g-7a) in his last five games.

Pensacola's Corey Neilson has the longest active and the longest assist streak in the league with seven games (12 assists). Neilson leads ECHL defensemen with 13 assists and 15 points while ranking third overall in assists and tied for fifth overall in scoring.


Northern Division
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
 * Scott Stirling is 6-2-0 and ranks fourth in the ECHL with a 1.88 goals against average.
* Bullies rank third in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.09 goals per game.
* Atlantic City hosts Johnstown on Wednesday and Las Vegas on Friday.

Cincinnati Cyclones
 * Randy Petruk is 5-2-0 with a 1.84 goals against average in seven games.
* Garrett Prosofsky leads the team in goals with five and in scoring with 10 points (5g-5a).
* Cincinnati hosts Peoria on Friday and Johnstown on Saturday.

Dayton Bombers
 * Jason Deskins is tied for the ECHL lead with two shorthand goals.
* Bombers rank 30th in the ECHL in goals allowed with 4.14 goals per game.
* Dayton travels to Peoria on Saturday and hosts Peoria on Sunday.

Johnstown Chiefs
 * Two-time NHL All-Star Arturs Irbe is 6-1-0 with a 1.57 goals against average.
* Pierre-Luc Courchesne is tied for the ECHL lead with four power-play goals.
* Johnstown travels to Atlantic City on Wednesday and hosts Wheeling on Friday before traveling to Cincinnati on Saturday and Wheeling on Sunday.

Peoria Rivermen
 * Trevor Baker leads the team in scoring with nine points (3g-6a).
* Peoria was shut out for the first time in 2003-04, 5-0 loss against Reading on Saturday.
* Rivermen travel to Cincinnati on Friday, host Dayton on Saturday, and play at Dayton on Sunday.

Reading Royals
 * David Masse leads ECHL rookies with 10 assists and 14 points (4g-10a).
* Royals' power play leads the ECHL with 32.1 percent (17-for-53).
* Reading travels to Trenton on Tuesday, hosts Toledo on Friday, visits Wheeling on Saturday and hosts Greensboro on Sunday.

Toledo Storm
 * Morton Ask (4g-3a) and Nick Parillo (2g-5a) lead the team in scoring with seven points.
* Storm's power play ranks 30th in the ECHL with 8.9 percent (5-for-56).
* Toledo travels to Trenton on Wednesday, Reading on Friday and Trenton on Saturday.

Trenton Titans
 * Matt Zultek is tied for fifth in the ECHL with seven goals.
* Trenton's penalty kill ranks 31st in the ECHL with 74.6 percent (44-for-59).
* Titans host Reading on Tuesday, Toledo on Wednesday and Saturday, and Las Vegas on Sunday.

Wheeling Nailers
 * Tyler MacKay is 2-0-0 with a 1.50 goals against average in his last two games.
* Nailers rank second in the ECHL in scoring with 3.80 goals per game.
* Wheeling travels to Johnstown on Friday before hosting Reading on Saturday and Johnstown on Sunday.


Southern Division
Charlotte Checkers
 * Dave Inman (1g-5a) and Allen Egeland (2g-4a) are tied for the team lead with six points.
* David St. Germain is 1-1-1 with a 4.29 goals against average in his last three games.
* Charlotte travels to Florida on Friday and Saturday.

Columbia Inferno
 * Josh Blackburn is 3-1-1 with a 1.62 goals against average in his last five games.
* Inferno's road power play ranks fourth in the ECHL with 26.3 percent (5-for-19).
* Columbia hosts Columbus on Friday and visits Greensboro on Saturday.

Florence Pride
 * Mark McRae is tied for the ECHL lead among defensemen with two game-winning goals.
* Sebastien LaPlante is 3-1-0 with a 2.50 goals against average in his last four games.
* Pride hosts Roanoke on Thursday and Mississippi on Friday before traveling to Greenville on Saturday.

Florida Everblades
 * Keith Anderson (11g-10a) and Brian McCullough (7g-14a) are tied for the ECHL scoring lead with 21 points.
* Everblades rank third in the ECHL in scoring with 3.75 goals per game.
* Florida hosts Charlotte on Friday and Saturday.

Greensboro Generals
 * Sam Ftorek has five goals and two assists in his last five games.
* Daniel Berthiaume ranks second in the ECHL with seven wins.
* Generals travel to Greenville on Friday, host Columbia on Saturday and travel to Reading on Sunday.

Greenville Grrrowl
 * Peter Flache (4g-3a), Mike Henderson (2g-5a) and Rae Metz (2g-5a) lead the team in scoring with seven points.
* Greenville ranks 29th in the ECHL in scoring with 2.25 goals per game.
* Grrrowl hosts Greensboro on Friday and Florence on Saturday.

Roanoke Express
 * David Belitski is 5-0-0 with a 1.69 goals against average in his last five games.
* Shawn Limpright has a seven-game point steak (3g-6a) dating back to October 24.
* Roanoke travels to Florence on Thursday and Gwinnett on Saturday before hosting South Carolina on Sunday.

South Carolina Stingrays
 * Dave Seitz leads the team with seven assists and nine points.
* Stingrays rank fourth in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.22 goals per game.
* South Carolina hosts Mississippi on Tuesday and Saturday while traveling to Gwinnett on Friday and Roanoke on Sunday.

Central Division
Augusta Lynx
 * Scott Kelman leads the team in scoring with nine points (4g-5a).
* Rob Stanfield will play his 200th career game against Gwinnett on Thursday.
* Augusta hosts Gwinnett on Thursday, Columbus on Saturday and Mississippi on Sunday.

Columbus Cottonmouths
 * Peter Hogan leads the team in assists with seven and scoring with nine points (2g-7a).
* Cottonmouths are 1-6-1 in road games this season.
* Columbus travels to Columbia on Friday and Augusta on Saturday.

Gwinnett Gladiators
 * Michael Garnett is 4-1-0 with a 1.97 goals against average in his last five games.
* Gladiators' home penalty kill ranks second in the ECHL with 95.0 percent (19-for-20).
* Gwinnett travels to Augusta on Thursday before hosting South Carolina on Friday and Roanoke on Saturday.

Louisiana IceGators
 * IceGators are tied for the ECHL lead for fewest goals allowed with 2.00 goals per game.
* Martin Masa is one point shy of 500 (213g-286a) for his professional career.
* Louisiana travels to Pensacola on Friday before hosting Texas on Saturday and Pensacola on Sunday.

Mississippi Sea Wolves
 * Nine different players scored a goal in Sunday's 9-4 win against Fresno.
* Jeff Hutchins is tied for second in the ECHL with eight goals.
* Mississippi travels to South Carolina on Tuesday, Florence on Friday, South Carolina on Saturday, and Augusta on Sunday.

Pensacola Ice Pilots
 * Pensacola leads the EHCL in scoring with 4.11 goals per game.
* Cory Neilson leads ECHL defensemen with 13 assists and 15 points.
* Ice Pilots host Texas on Thursday and Louisiana on Friday before traveling to Louisiana on Sunday.

Texas Wildcatters
 * Bob Cunningham is tied for second in the ECHL with eight goals.
* Wildcatters rank 31st in the ECHL in goals allowed with 4.22 goals per game.
* Texas hosts Fresno on Tuesday before traveling to Pensacola on Thursday and Louisiana on Saturday.

Pacific Division
Alaska Aces
 * Mark Smith is tied for the ECHL with two shorthand goals.
* Mike Scott is tied for the ECHL lead with three game-winning goals.
* Alaska hosts San Diego on Tuesday and Wednesday before traveling to Idaho on Friday and Saturday.

Bakersfield Condors
 * Peter Hirsch earned his first professional shutout in Sunday's 1-0 win against Florida.
* Condors are 31st in the ECHL in scoring with 1.91 goals per game.
* Bakersfield hosts San Diego on Friday and travels to Fresno on Sunday.

Fresno Falcons
 * Greg Bullock (3g-10a) has a point in each of the Falcons first nine games.
* Kris Porter is tied for second in the ECHL with eight goals.
* Fresno travels to Texas on Tuesday and Long Beach on Friday before hosting Bakersfield on Sunday.

Idaho Steelheads
 * Dan Ellis earned his first professional shutout in Friday's 3-0 win against Cincinnati.
* Blair Allison earned his 15th professional shutout on Saturday and leads the ECHL with a 1.20 goals against average.
* Idaho hosts Alaska on Friday and Saturday.

Las Vegas Wranglers
 * Greg Day leads the ECHL with 17 assists and ranks third in scoring with 20 points.
* Marc Magliarditi leads the ECHL with nine wins, 607 minutes and 297 saves.
* Las Vegas travels to Atlantic City on Friday and Trenton on Sunday.

Long Beach Ice Dogs
 * Ice Dogs' penalty kill ranks fifth in the ECHL with 90.0 percent (45-for-50).
* John McNabb (4g-6a) and Craig Lyons (3g-7a) lead the team with 10 points.
* Long Beach hosts Fresno on Friday and San Diego on Saturday.

San Diego Gulls
 * Billy Tibbetts has nine points (4g-5a) in his last five games.
* San Diego ranks third in the ECHL on the penalty kill with 91.3 percent (42-for-46).
* Gulls travel to Alaska on Tuesday and Wednesday, Bakersfield on Friday, and Long Beach on Saturday.

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