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Steelheads Head Toward Playoffs With Third Kelly Cup Championship In Mind

Published on March 1, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


With only five weeks remaining in the 2009-10 regular season, teams are starting their final push to the Kelly Cup Playoffs which begin in April.

While no team has officially earned a playoff berth just yet, a few of the teams are within striking distance, including the Idaho Steelheads.

Idaho is leading the National Conference with a 37-12-5 record and 79 points and could potentially become the first team to clinch a spot in the 2010 Kelly Cup Playoffs. They are only nine points away from a playoff berth and could clinch the first spot on March 12 by winning at least four of their five games between now and then and earning at least one more point in the fifth game.

The Steelheads have hoisted the Kelly Cup twice in its history. The team won the Cup during their inaugural season in the ECHL in 2004 and celebrated a second ECHL championship in 2007 after five games against the Dayton Bombers.

It took three years for Idaho to repeat as Kelly Cup Champions and it has been three years since they last won the Kelly Cup. The Steelheads are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games and are poised to make a strong push toward a third Kelly Cup championship run.

All-Star Richard Bachman and Rejean Beauchemin lead the Steelheads with their strong goaltending. Bachman is 15-5-3 with two shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.26 and a save percentage of .911 in 24 appearances for the Steelheads. He has also appeared in six games for the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League going 3-3-0 with a shutout, a 2.07 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.

Beauchemin has appeared in 31 games for the Steelheads posting a record of 21-7-2 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.72 and a save percentage of .890. He has also appeared in two games for the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

Offensively, the Steelheads are lead by Mark Derlago, whose 61 points (27g-34a) not only leads Idaho but ranks him fifth among league skaters. This season, Derlago has been named ECHL Player of the Week twice and was named ECHL Player of the Month for January.

Rookie All-Star forward Evan Barlow has been one of the Steelheads' most productive players this season. Barlow is first among ECHL rookies 13 power-play goals, second with 22 power-play assists and third with 52 points (26g-26a).

Defenseman Aaron Dawson joined Idaho on Feb. 23 and has appeared in three games for the Steelheads while registering six penalty minutes. Dawson is the grandson of ECHL Hall of Famer, Bud Gingher, who was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame during the 2010 ECHL All-Star Weekend in Ontario, Calif.

The Steelheads are on a three-game win streak that started on Feb. 13 and they will look to continue that streak this week with three games against Bakersfield on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

American Conference - East Division

Elmira Jackals
* Elmira leads the league with 4.05 goals per game.
* Tyler Donati and Justin Donati have the league's longest and second-longest scoring streaks this season with 16 and 15 games, respectively.
* Jackals host Johnstown on Friday and Kalamazoo on Saturday before playing at Johnstown on Sunday.

Johnstown Chiefs
* All-Star rookie Connor Shields and Chanse Fitzpatrick are tied for the team lead with 24 goals.
* David Schulz had a team season-high plus-minus rating of +5 against Cincinnati on Feb. 27.
* Chiefs host Kalamazoo on Wednesday and play at Elmira on Friday and Reading on Saturday before returning home to play Elmira on Sunday.

Reading Royals

* Reading is 17-5-4 in one-goal games.
* Ryan Cruthers has an eight-game point streak (4g-13a) since Feb. 12.
* Royals play at Trenton on Tuesday and host Kalamazoo on Thursday, Johnstown on Saturday and Kalamazoo on Sunday.

Trenton Devils

* Trenton has a season-high six-game win streak that began Feb. 14.
* Dave Caruso has a six-game win streak dating back to Feb. 12 after allowing only one goal in each of his two wins this week.
* Devils host Reading on Tuesday before playing at Toledo on Friday and Wheeling on Saturday and Sunday.

American Conference - North Division

Cincinnati Cyclones
* Cincinnati is tied for the American Conference lead with 20 home wins and 16 road wins.
* Jeremy Smith is second in the league with a goals-against average of 2.57 and third with 18 wins.
* Cyclones play at Charlotte on Wednesday and South Carolina on Friday and Sunday.

Kalamazoo Wings
* Kalamazoo is unbeaten at home in its last 13 games (12-0-1).
* Defenseman Louis Liotti scored his first professional goal against Gwinnett on Feb. 26.
* K-Wings play at Johnstown on Wednesday, Reading on Thursday, Elmira on Saturday and Reading on Sunday.

Toledo Walleye
* Toledo set the all-time professional hockey attendance record on Feb. 27 in Toledo with 182,590 fans and six home games remaining.
* Evan Rankin has 10 points (5g-5a) in his last five games.
* Walleye host Trenton on Friday and Charlotte on Saturday and Sunday.

Wheeling Nailers
* Wheeling is third on the power play at home with 24.3 percent (36-for-148).
* Thomas Beauregard is second in the ECHL with 34 goals.
* Nailers host Charlotte on Friday and Trenton on Saturday and Sunday.

American Conference - South Division

Charlotte Checkers
* Charlotte is 7-0-0 when tied after two periods.
* Defenseman Kevin Schaeffer has three goals in his last four games including two shorthand goals.
* Checkers host Cincinnati on Wednesday, play at Wheeling on Friday and at Toledo on Saturday and Sunday.

Florida Everblades
* Florida has been involved in a league-high 12 shootouts (7-5).
* 2008-09 ECHL MVP Kevin Baker had a hat trick and the game winner in overtime on Feb. 27.
* Everblades host Gwinnett on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Gwinnett Gladiators
* Gwinnett has the ECHL's best road penalty kill with 87.4 percent (132-for-151).
* Defenseman Nick St. Pierre had his first professional three-point game with three assists on Feb. 27.
* Gladiators play at Florida on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

South Carolina Stingrays
* South Carolina is 13-0-0 when leading after two periods.
* Gregg Johnson has a seven-game point streak (3g-7a) that started on Feb. 12.
* Stingrays host Cincinnati on Friday and Sunday.

National Conference - West Division

Alaska Aces

* Alaska is unbeaten (7-0-1) in its last eight home games.
* Judd Blackwater is tied for second in the ECHL with 12 power-play goals.
* Aces host Utah on Wednesday and Thursday.

Idaho Steelheads

* Idaho needs eight wins in its final 18 games to best the club record of 44 set in 2008-09.
* Rejean Beauchemin is 8-1-1 in his last 10 starts.
* Steelheads host Bakersfield on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Utah Grizzlies

* Utah's penalty kill has improved from 20th in the league to sixth since Jan. 9.
* James Sixsmith has a team season-high nine-game scoring streak (6g-11a) since Feb. 12.
* Grizzlies visit Alaska on Wednesday and Thursday.

Victoria Salmon Kings

* Victoria has killed 27 of the last 31 power plays it has faced for 87.1 percent.
* Jimmy Sharrow leads National Conference defensemen in points (39), power play goals (8), power play points (23) and shots (149).
* Salmon Kings visit Stockton on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

National Conference - Pacific Division

Bakersfield Condors
* Bakersfield is the first team in the Pacific Division to score 100 goals this season.
* Stephane Goulet, who played in his 200th professional game on Feb. 28, became the 37th player in Condors history to score 20 goals in a season.
* Condors visit Idaho on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Las Vegas Wranglers
* Las Vegas went 31.6 percent (6-for-19) on the power play while winning two of three games last week.
* Ned Lukacevic has an 11-game point streak (11g-10a) at home since Jan. 2.
* Wranglers visit Ontario on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Ontario Reign
* Ontario has a six-game win streak that began on Feb. 19.
* David Walker leads ECHL defensemen with 19 power-play assists.
* Reign host Las Vegas on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Stockton Thunder

* Stockton is third in the ECHL on the power play with 21.6 percent (57-for-264).
* Matt Robinson has scored in 18 of his last 21 games for 24 points (11g-13a).
. * Thunder hosts Victoria on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

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Premier 'AA' Hockey League Fast Facts
- The ECHL celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08 and is 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 20 teams in 15 states and British Columbia in 2009-10.
- The league officially changed its name from East Coast Hockey League to ECHL on May 19, 2003.
- 435 players have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including a record 53 in 2008-09.
- 27 ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Charlotte Checkers and Reading Royals defenseman Dean Arsene (Edmonton on Nov. 16), former Augusta, Greenville, Pensacola and Toledo goaltender Mike Brodeur (Ottawa on Dec. 19), former Wheeling Nailers left wing Luca Caputi (Pittsburgh on Jan. 5), former Idaho Steelheads left wing Richard Clune (Los Angeles on Feb. 11), former Gwinnett Gladiators and 2006 ECHL All-Star right wing Guillaume Desbiens (Vancouver on Oct. 11), former Cincinnati Cyclones center and 2008 ECHL Most Valuable Player David Desharnais (Montreal on Nov. 25), former Stockton Thunder and 2007 ECHL All-Star goaltender Devin Dubnyk (Edmonton on Nov. 28), former Las Vegas Wranglers, Reading Royals and South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Deryk Engelland (Pittsburgh on Nov. 10), former Louisiana IceGators defenseman Maxime Fortunus (Dallas on Dec. 19), former Idaho Steelheads center Aaron Gagnon (Dallas on Oct. 16), former Victoria Salmon Kings defenseman Shaun Heshka (Phoenix on Nov. 7), former Wheeling Nailers right wing Nick Johnson (Pittsburgh on Jan. 21), former Florida and 2008 ECHL All-Star goaltender Anton Khudobin (Feb. 4 with Minnesota), former Wheeling Nailers right wing David Laliberte (Philadelphia on Oct. 31), former Wheeling Nailers center Mark Letestu (Pittsburgh on Nov. 14), former Stockton Thunder right wing Colin McDonald (Edmonton on Nov. 27), former Stockton Thunder center Ryan O'Marra (Edmonton on Nov. 10), former Reading Royals right wing Scott Parse (Los Angeles on Oct. 24), former Florida Everblades and 2008 ECHL All-Star goaltender Justin Peters (Carolina on Feb. 6), former Charlotte Checkers center Tom Pyatt (Montreal on Nov. 5), former Johnstown Chiefs defenseman Jay Rosehill (Toronto on Oct. 1), former Bakersfield Condors right wing Dan Sexton (Anaheim on Dec. 5), former Bakersfield Condors center MacGregor Sharp (Anaheim on Nov. 19), former Idaho Steelheads left wing Francis Wathier (Dallas on Oct. 21), former South Carolina Stingrays center Kyle Wilson (Washington on Dec. 15), former Cincinnati Cyclones right wing J.T. Wyman (Montreal on Nov. 24) and former Charlotte Checkers and Idaho Steelheads goaltender Matt Zaba.
- 4 players have played in the ECHL and the NHL this season: Kyle Calder with Bakersfield and Anaheim, Dan Sexton with Bakersfield and Anaheim, MacGregor Sharp with Bakersfield and Anaheim and Matt Zaba with Charlotte and the New York Rangers.
- The ECHL has had 243 players reach the NHL since 2002-03 when it changed its focus to become the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. The ECHL had 97 players reach the NHL in its first 10 seasons and 215 in the first 15 years.
- 179 ECHL players have played their first game in the last five seasons for an average of more than 35 per year.
- ECHL had a record 78 players on NHL opening-day rosters, surpassing the 71 from a year ago and marking the seventh year in a row that there have been over 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters.
- Every ECHL team has an affiliation with an NHL team and the league has affiliations with 28 of the 30 NHL teams, marking the 13th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.
- 29 coaches with an ECHL background are working behind the benches of teams in the NHL including Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau, New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon, Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette, Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Claude Noel and St. Louis Blues interim head coach Davis Payne while former ECHL player Dan Bylsma is head coach of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. It is the fifth consecutive season that there have been 11 or more coaches with an ECHL background working in the NHL. Boudreau, who coached Mississippi for three seasons winning the Kelly Cup championship in 1999, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2007-08 becoming the first former ECHL coach to receive the award.
- 20 former ECHL officials are working as part of the NHL officiating team in 2009-10 with referees David Banfield, Francis Charron, Chris Ciamaga, Ghislain Herbert, Marc Joannette, Mike Leggo, Wes McCauley, Dean Morton, Dan O'Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Justin St. Pierre and Ian Walsh, and linesmen Steve Barton, Bryan Pancich, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers.
- ECHL was represented for the ninth year in a row on the Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, player Ruslan Fedotenko, equipment managers Dana Heinze and Dave Zeigler, athletic trainers Chris Stewart and Scott Adams and scout Derek Clancey. There were 43 former players and 14 former coaches on 15 of the 16 teams competing in the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the fourth year in a row that there have been at least 30 former ECHL players and the sixth consecutive season that over 25 players with ECHL experience have competed in the NHL postseason.
- Former ECHL and current Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was the recipient of the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL and was also presented the William Jennings Trophy with teammate Manny Fernandez as the goaltenders finishing the season having surrendered the fewest goals. Thomas was also named First Team All-NHL after registering a career-high 36 wins while leading the NHL with a goals-against average of 2.10 and a save percentage of .933 to help the Bruins finish with the most wins (53) and points (116) since 1971-72.
- ECHL was represented in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game by Mark Streit of the New York Islanders and Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins while former ECHL players Dan Ellis, Jonathan Quick and Tomas Vokoun were all selected as recipients of the NHL's "Three Stars" award in 2008-09.
- Former ECHL broadcasters working in the National Hockey League include John Ahlers and Steve Carroll of the Anaheim Ducks, Tom Callahan of the Nashville Predators, Dave Goucher of the Boston Bruins, Chris Kerber of the St. Louis Blues, Dave Mishkin of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bob McElligott and John Michael of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Rob Simpson, who is a producer/host for The NHL Network.
- Ryan Stanzel and Jeremy Zager, who were both recipients of the ECHL Media Relations Director of the Year award, are working in the communications department for the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. Former ECHL assistant director of communications Joe Siville and Kelly Murray are now with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals, respectively, while former ECHL director of communications Jason Rothwell is the creative director for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
- ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League and for the past 20 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup Champion.
- In the last six seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 2,500 call-ups involving more than 1,300 players and in 2008-09 there were 10 times as many call-ups from the ECHL to the AHL than all other professional leagues.
- The ECHL averaged 4,258 fans per game in 2008-09 and is the only minor professional hockey league to increase average attendance each of the last two seasons. It is the fifth consecutive season and the 17th time in the last 19 years that the ECHL has averaged over 4,000 fans and the league drew over 3 million fans for the 16th year in a row and reached the 3 million mark in the fewest number of games since 2005-06.
- There have been more than 75 million fans who have attended over 17,000 games since the ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states.
- Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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