ECHL ECHL

Stockton, South Division boost ECHL attendance

February 6, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


More than 10,000 in Gwinnett, sellout crowds in Charlotte and Stockton and the largest crowd since 2002 in South Carolina allowed the ECHL to enjoy one of its best attendance nights in recent history on Saturday as the league's 12 games drew 76,306 for an average of 6,358 per game.

There were 129,562 fans at ECHL games on Friday and Saturday and the league is averaging 4,213 per game which is an increase of 8.7 percent from 2004-05 and 13.4 percent from 2003-04 and 18.9 percent from 2002-03.

The 10,376 at Gwinnett on Saturday is the second time there have been more than 10,000 at a Gladiators game this season as Gwinnett had a sellout crowd of 11,355 on Nov. 11. There have been 19 sellouts and six crowds of more than 10,000 in the league this year led by San Diego on Nov. 5 with 13,001 which is the largest crowd in the history of the Gulls.

Charlotte had a 9,644 on Saturday marking the third Saturday in a row that there has been a sellout crowd at Bobcats Arena which had 9,844 on Jan. 28 and 9,852 on Jan. 21. The listed capacity for the new facility is 6,800 but additional sections can be opened to accommodate larger crowds. The Checkers have had a league-leading six sellouts and rank third in the league with 5,818 per game which is an increase of more than 15 percent from 2004-05.

South Carolina had 9,082 on Saturday giving the Stingrays more than 17,000 fans in their last two games and 23,000 in the last three games to increase average attendance to 4,875 per game which is ninth in the league.

The 8,923 on Saturday in Stockton is recorded as a sellout as 1,194 retractable seats were not available for sale, giving the first-year member its third sellout crowd at Stockton Arena. The Thunder surpassed 100,000 fans in its first 16 games and continues to lead the league with 6,361 per game, the highest average since 2001-02 when Florida had 6,619 per game.

Aces Win Nine Straight, Lead League

Averaging 5.77 goals per game while outscoring its opponents 52-15, Alaska has won its last nine games and leads the ECHL with 75 points and a 36-6-3 record. The Aces have not lost back-to-back games since Nov. 4 and 5 and are 17-2-0 in the last 19 games, including a team record 11-game winning streak from Nov. 16-Dec. 10.

Alaska ends its five-game road trip with a game at Las Vegas on Tuesday and returns home to host Phoenix on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Aces are 3-0-0 against Las Vegas and 3-1-0 against Phoenix.

Alex Leavitt leads the Aces the last nine games with 13 assists and 18 points while Mike Scott (7g-9a), Ryan Gaucher (3g-12a), Joe Talbot (8g-7a) and Peter Metcalf (1g-10a) are all averaging over a point per game during the streak.

Metcalf (+33), Mike Scott (+32) and Alex Leavitt (+29) lead the ECHL in plus-minus rating while Leavitt has a league-leading 42 assists and leads ECHL rookies with 55 points in 45 games. Gaucher leads league defensemen with four game-winning goals while his 45 points are tied for the lead and his 35 assists rank second.

Matt Underhill is 8-0-0 with a goals against of 1.44 and a save percentage of .944 during the current streak to improve to 23-5-1. Underhill leads the league with 23 wins and four shutouts while ranking second with a goals against of 1.99 and a save percentage of .927.

IdahoÕs Bembridge Chases 50 Goals, 100 Points

Garett Bembridge of the Idaho Steelheads leads the league with 35 goals and 67 points in 45 games and he is on pace to become the first player to score 50 goals since 2000-01 and the first to reach 100 points since 2002-03.

Andrew Williamson of Toledo was the last player to reach 50 goals, scoring 52 goals in 66 games in 2000-01, while the last player to score 100 points was Buddy Smith of Arkansas, who had 104 points (30g-74a) in 72 games in 2002-03.

After not scoring a goal in the first three games of the season, Bembridge had back-to-back two-goal games and has scored a goal in 25 games, including a three-goal game and eight two-goal games. He has scored in 34 games including 18 multiple-point games and eight multiple-assist games. He scored a team record and ECHL season-high six points, including a team record-tying three goals, on Nov. 25 against Utah and had a team record-tying four assists on Dec. 27 at Utah. The Steelheads are 17-5-3 when he scores a goal and 22-8-4 when he scores a point.

Chris Minard of the Alaska Aces and rookie Kurtis McLean of the Wheeling Nailers are tied for second with 25 goals in 29 and 35 games, respectively. In 2004-05, Minard led the league with 49 goals, the most goals scored in the ECHL since Greg Pankewicz of Pensacola scored 46 in 2002-03 and the fourth-highest total since 2000-01.

Post All-Star, Gladiators Are Perfect

Undefeated after the All-Star break and 9-1-0 in the last 10 games, Gwinnett has moved into first place in the South Division with 65 points (30-9-5).

The Gladiators have won their last seven games, tying the team record for consecutive wins set Dec. 26-Jan. 7, and they have outscored their opponents 34-19 during the streak. Gwinnett is 6-0-0 in the last six home games and 14-1-0 in the last 15 home games to improve to 18-2-2 at home.

Gwinnett will host Greenville on Tuesday before traveling to Columbia on Friday and South Carolina on Saturday and closes out the week hosting Trenton on Sunday. Gwinnett is 2-4-1 against Greenville, making the Grrrowl the only team to have a winning record against the Gladiators, whose last loss was Jan. 20 at Greenville. Both of GwinnettÕs regulation losses at home have come against the Grrrowl, 5-4 on Nov. 18 and 4-1 on Jan. 13 which is also the last home loss for the Gladiators.

Scoring in every game since being reassigned by Atlanta of the National Hockey League, Brad Schell leads the Gladiators offensively the last six games with seven goals, eight assists and 15 points. Derek Nesbitt has a seven-game scoring streak (3g-7a) while All-Star Jeff Campbell has a six-game scoring streak (2g-11a) and two-time All-Star defenseman Troy Milam has 12 points (1g-11a) in the last seven games.

Sean Fields has won his last four starts to improve to 21-6-3 while lowering his goals-against average to 2.87 and raising his save percentage to .907 and Tuomas Tarkki has won his last three starts to improve to 3-2-1 while lowering his goals-against average to 3.13 and raising his save percentage to .903. Fields is tied for second in the league in wins and tied for third with a career-best two shutouts while he is tied for 14th in goals-against average.

RoadRunners Running Wild On The Road

Back-to-back wins at Pensacola on Thursday and Friday extended PhoenixÕs winning streak to five games and improved its record on the current season-long nine-game road trip to 5-1-0.

The five consecutive wins and five consecutive road wins are both team records for the first-year RoadRunners, who will play at Alaska on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is the first visit to Alaska for Phoenix which is 1-2-1 against the Aces. Phoenix has won its last six one-goal games, including two shootout wins and two overtime wins, to improve to 10-5-3 in one-goal games and 2-0 in overtime games and 2-3 in shootouts.

Michael Mole is 5-0-0 with two overtime wins and a shootout win in his last five starts and has lowered his goals-against average to 3.18 while raising his save percentage to .902. Mole leads the league with 1,945 minutes and is tied for second with two overtime wins while his 951 saves rank third.

Defenseman Paul Ballantyne returned to the ice for Phoenix and has a four-game assist streak (5a) and leads the team in assists and scoring the last four games (0g-5a) while Ben Knopp returned to the lineup at Pensacola and scored four points (3g-1a) in two games including the game winner on Friday. Justin Quenneville is second on the team the last five games with four assists and five points and he has scored 10 points (3g-7a) in 10 games since Phoenix acquired him in a trade with Bakersfield.

RoyalsÕ Kompon Extends Streak To 23 Games

Mike Kompon had an assist in ReadingÕs 3-1 win against Wheeling on Saturday to extend his ECHL season-high scoring streak to 23 games and his assist streak to nine games.

The scoring streak is the longest in the league since San DiegoÕs Sylvain Deschatelets had a 23-game streak (13g-24a) from Feb. 10-Mar. 31, 2004.

Kompon began the scoring streak with two assists on Nov. 26 at Trenton and has registered 37 points (6g-31a) in the 23 games. He ranks second in the league with 40 assists and is seventh in scoring with 52 points in 36 games.

Kompon was selected to the All-Star Game but was not able to play after being called up to Hershey of the American Hockey League where he scored a goal in three games. He has also played in the AHL with Manchester, registering one assist in two games.

Did You Know ... The Wheeling Nailers have had a starting goaltender named Andy for all 44 games in 2005-06 (Andy Chiodo, 10-5-1 and Andy Franck, 17-8-1).

Check out the ECHL Statistics



ECHL Stories from February 6, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central