ECHL ECHL

Steelheads Off To Record Start

Published on November 30, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Bakersfield, Idaho and defending Kelly Cup champion South Carolina all extended their winning streaks and continue to lead the ECHL.

Idaho extended its winning streak to five games to improve to 16-3-1 and lead the league with 33 points and a winning percentage of .825. The Steelheads have won a team record and league season high seven road games in a row to improve 11-1-1 on the road. Idaho returns home to host Alaska on Thursday and Friday before traveling to Utah on Saturday.

The Steelheads lead the league with a goals-against average of 2.15 and are tied for second on the penalty kill with 86.0 percent (80-for-93). Idaho is 12-0-1 when it scores first and 8-0-1 in one-goal games.

Idaho's Rejean Beauchemin is 6-1-0 with a shutout and leads the league with a goals-against average of 1.86 and a save percentage of .929 while rookie teammate Richard Bachman is second with a goals-against average of 2.12 and tied for fourth with a save percentage of 916. Bachman is 9-2-1 with a shutout and leads the league with nine wins while ranking fourth with 734 minutes.

Evan Barlow of the Steelheads is tied for second among league rookies with five power-play goals and tied for fourth with 10 goals and 20 points.

Bakersfield closed out its six-game home stand with a perfect 6-0-0 record to extend its winning streak to six games and its home winning streak to eight games. The eight consecutive home wins are a league season high and tie the team record set Mar. 14-Apr. 8, 2006 while the six wins in a row are one shy of the team mark set Mar. 4-17, 2007.

The Condors are in first place in the Pacific Division with a 14-6-0 record and are third in the league with 28 points and a winning percentage of .700. Bakersfield, which plays at Stockton on Friday and Saturday, is third in the league on the penalty kill with 86.0 percent (98-for-114) and is tied for third with a goals-against average of 2.85.

Bakersfield's Sasha Pokulok leads league defensemen with eight goals while his 14 points tie him for fourth and his three power-play goals tie him for third.

Condors rookie Timo Pielmeier is 4-0-0 with a shootout win, a goals-against average of 1.96 and a save percentage of .933 in his last four starts. Pielmeier is 8-4-0 and tied for the league lead in shootout percentage with 1.000 while his eight wins tie him for second and his goals-against average of 2.78 is ninth.

South Carolina has won its last four games to improve to 13-6-4 and move into first place in the South Division with 30 points while Florida is 4-0-1 in its last five games and in second place at 11-7-3 and 25 points. Charlotte is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games and in third place at 11-4-2 and 24 points. The Checkers have scored 51 goals in their last 10 games and lead the league with 4.35 goals per game.

The Stingrays play at Gwinnett on Friday before hosting Elmira on Saturday and Sunday while Florida concludes its seven-game road trip with a game at Toledo on Wednesday and games at Cincinnati on Friday and Saturday. Charlotte hosts Gwinnett on Wednesday and Elmira on Friday before traveling to Gwinnett on Sunday.

Jacob Micflikier of the Everblades leads the league with 12 power-play assists and 15 power-play points and is tied for the ECHL lead with 22 assists and 31 points.



Charlotte's Doig Scores Game Winner On Penalty Shot In Overtime

Tyler Doig scored the game winner on a penalty shot to give Charlotte a 5-4 overtime win against Gwinnett on Nov. 29.

Since statistical records of penalty shots began being tracked in 1995-96 there has never been a game-winning goal scored on a penalty shot in overtime.

The last time that there was a penalty shot in overtime was in the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs by Tyler Haskins of Utah on Apr. 14, 2008 against Fresno. The last time there was a penalty shot in overtime in a regular season game was Feb. 10, 2008 by Chad Denny of Gwinnett against Columbia.

There have been seven penalty shots in overtime in regular season games since 1995-96.

Elmira Sets League Record With Eight Shots Allowed

The Elmira Jackals set the ECHL record for fewest shots allowed when they held the Trenton Devils to eight shots on goal in a 6-1 win on Nov. 29.

The Jackals broke the record held by Trenton, which held Bakersfield to nine shots on Feb. 17, 2004 and Greenville, which held Arkansas to nine shots on Mar. 7, 2000.

Elmira allowed four shots in the first period, three shots in the second and one in the third as goaltender Michael-Lee Teslak made seven saves.

The ECHL record for fewest shots in a period is zero on 16 different occasions with the most recent being Oct. 25, 2008 by Ontario against Las Vegas.

Attendance Still Ahead Of Last Season

The fifth-largest crowd in Bakersfield history and the fourth sellout of the season in Toledo helped the ECHL average 4,355 per game which is up more than seven percent from the first seven weeks of 2008-09.

The only minor professional hockey league to increase average attendance each of the last two seasons, the Premier 'AA' Hockey League has averaged more than 4,000 fans each of the last five seasons and 17 times in the last 19 years while drawing more than 3 million fans for 16 straight seasons.

To purchase tickets for any ECHL game go to ECHL.com/tickets.shtml.

Six returning teams are ahead of their average attendance from last season led by Cincinnati at 63.1 percent. The Cyclones are fifth in the league with 5,064 per game which is up more than 174 percent from 2006-07. Cincinnati led minor professional hockey with a 36 percent attendance increase from 2006-07 to 2007-08 and ranked second with 23 percent from 2007-08 to 2008-09.

Elmira leads the league with six sellouts and ranks second among returning teams and third overall with a 14.0 percent increase. The Jackals are averaging 3,799 per game which is 100.4 percent of capacity at First Arena. Elmira has had 25 sellouts since joining the ECHL and tied for the league lead in 2008-09 with five sellouts after leading the ECHL the first season in 2007-08 with 14 sellouts.

Toledo moved back into the league lead with 6,111 per game which is up more than 55 percent from 2006-07 when the team played its last season in the Toledo Sports Arena. Stockton is second with 5,995 per game and Ontario is third with 5,761 per game. Stockton has led the ECHL in attendance each of their first four seasons and is trying to tie the league record of five years set by Florida from 2000-05.

Utah's average attendance is up 7.7 percent from a year ago while Kalamazoo is averaging 3,357 per game, an increase of more than five percent from last season when they competed in the International Hockey League, and Alaska's average is up more than 2.5 percent from a year ago.



National Conference - Pacific Division

Bakersfield Condors
* Bakersfield went 6-0-0 on its six-game homestand and has won eight in a row at Rabobank Arena.
* Marty Raymond won his 200th game behind the Condors' bench on Nov. 28.
* Condors visit Stockton on Friday and Saturday.

Las Vegas Wranglers
* Las Vegas is 4-2-1 in one-goal games.
* Ryan Weston scored his first goal as a Wrangler in 3-2 loss at Bakersfield on Nov. 28.
* Wranglers host Victoria on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Ontario Reign
* Ontario ranks fourth in the league on the penalty kill at home with 87.0 percent (47-for-54).
* Jon Rheault scored a shorthand goal at Victoria on Nov. 27, his first game back from a stint in the American Hockey League.
* Reign visit Utah on Wednesday and Friday and host Victoria on Sunday.

Stockton Thunder
* Stockton ranks second in attendance with an average of 5,995 per game.
* Judd Blackwater is tied for the ECHL lead with six power-play goals.
* Thunder host Bakersfield on Friday and Saturday.

National Conference - West Division

Alaska Aces
* Alaska leads the league with nine shorthand goals.
* John Lammers has three goals and four assists in two games since returning to the Alaska lineup.
* Aces play at Idaho on Thursday and Friday.

Idaho Steelheads
* Idaho is seeking its second six-game winning streak of the season when it plays Alaska on Thursday.
* Ashton Rome had Steelheads' first hat trick of the season in a 5-1 win at Stockton on Nov. 28.
* Steelheads host Alaska on Thursday and Friday and visit Utah on Saturday.

Utah Grizzlies
* Utah is 8-0-0 when scoring first and 7-0-0 when leading after one period.
* Vlady Nikiforov was awarded two penalty shots on the same play during first period against Alaska on Nov. 27, believed to be the first time in professional hockey history it has occurred.
* Grizzlies host Ontario on Wednesday and Friday before hosting Idaho on Saturday.

Victoria Salmon Kings
* Victoria is 5-2-1 in its last eight games.
* David Shantz has an 0.50 goals-against average and a .979 save percentage (47 of 48 shots) in his last two games.
* Salmon Kings play at Las Vegas on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and visit Ontario on Sunday.

American Conference - North Division

Cincinnati Cyclones
* Cincinnati is fifth in the league with an average attendance of 5,064.
* Scott Reynolds leads the league with five shorthand points (2g-3a) after picking up a shorthand assist against Kalamazoo on Nov. 27.
* Cyclones host Kalamazoo on Wednesday and Florida on Friday and Saturday.

Kalamazoo Wings
* Kalamazoo was held under three goals for the first time this season in 4-1 loss to Cincinnati on Nov. 25.
* Ben Simon has a six-game point streak (3g-6a).
* K-Wings play at Cincinnati on Wednesday and at Toledo on Friday and Saturday.

Toledo Walleye
* Toledo had its fourth sellout of the season with 7,454 against Florida on Nov. 27.
* J.C. Sawyer leads the team and ECHL defensemen with 14 assists and 21 points.
* Walleye host Florida on Wednesday and Kalamazoo on Friday and Saturday before playing at Wheeling on Sunday.

Wheeling Nailers
* Wheeling is 95.6 percent (22-for-23) on the penalty kill in its last three games.
* Thomas Beauregard is tied for third in the league with 12 goals.
* Nailers play at Johnstown on Wednesday and Friday and host Johnstown on Saturday and Toledo on Sunday.

American Conference - East Division

Elmira Jackals
* Elmira set ECHL record for fewest shots allowed with eight in 6-1 win over Trenton on Nov. 29.
* Defenseman Brennan Turner leads the league in plus-minus rating with +18.
* Jackals play at Charlotte on Friday and at South Carolina on Saturday and Sunday.

Johnstown Chiefs

* Johnstown has the second-best winning percentage (.650) in the American Conference over the last 10 games.
* Rookies Connor Shields (10g-6a) and Troy Schwab (5g-11a) led the team in November with 16 points each.
* Chiefs host Wheeling on Wednesday and Friday before playing at Wheeling on Saturday.

Reading Royals
* Reading has lost 10 straight (0-8-2) at Johnstown dating back to 2008 after losses on Nov. 25 and 28.
* Ryan Cruthers has a four-game point streak (2g-3a) and at least one point in 10 of his last 11 games (5g-11a).
* Royals host Trenton on Saturday between games at Trenton on Friday and Sunday.

Trenton Devils

* Trenton had season-high 42 shots at Reading on Nov. 27 and then set ECHL record for fewest shots with eight at Elmira on Nov. 29.
* Trevor Kell scored the game winner and had three points (1g-2a) in 3-2 win over Elmira on Nov. 28.
* Devils host Reading on Friday and Sunday and play at Reading on Saturday.

American Conference - South Division

Charlotte Checkers
* Charlotte has won six straight games at home.
* Ryan Munce stopped league season-high 55 shots in 5-3 win at Toledo on Nov. 28.
* Checkers host Gwinnett on Wednesday and Elmira on Friday before playing at Gwinnett on Sunday.

Florida Everblades

* Florida is 5-0-2 in its last seven road games.
* Jacob Micflikier is tied for the league lead with 22 assists and 31 points.
* Everblades play at Toledo on Wednesday and at Cincinnati on Friday and Saturday.

Gwinnett Gladiators
* Gwinnett is first in the league on the power play with 23.7 percent (23-for-97).
* Tom Zanoski has a three-game goal-scoring streak (3g) and is tied for third in the league with 12 goals.
* Gladiators play at Charlotte on Wednesday before hosting South Carolina on Friday and Charlotte on Sunday.

South Carolina Stingrays
* South Carolina was 26.0 percent (6-for-23) on the power play and went 4-0-0 last week.
* Matt Fornataro has three-game goal streak (3g) and a three-game assist streak (5a).
* Stingrays play at Gwinnett on Friday before hosting Elmira on Saturday and Sunday.

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