ECHL ECHL

Streaking Condors Lead Pacific

Published on November 23, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Sweeping a weekend series from defending National Conference champion Alaska, Bakersfield extended its winning streak to four games and its home winning streak to six games while improving to 7-1-0 in their last eight games and 12-6-0 overall. The Condors are in first place in the Pacific Division and second in the league with 24 points while ranking second with 12 wins and sixth in winning percentage with .667.

The Condors, who host Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday, are second in the league on the penalty kill with 87.4 percent (90-for-103) and tied for second with five shorthand goals.

Bakersfield's Dan Sexton leads league rookies and ranks second overall with 13 goals while his 13 assists are second among rookies. Sexton, who has a two-game goal streak (5g) and a three-game point streak (5g-4a), has 26 points which ranks him second among rookies and fourth overall. Sasha Pokulok of the Condors leads ECHL defensemen with eight goals while he is tied for third with three power-play goals and tied for second with 14 points.

Justin Pogge of the Condors is 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 3.00 in his last two starts while rookie teammate Timo Pielmeier is 2-0-0 with a shootout win and a goals-against average of 2.40 in his last two starts. Pogge, who has been called up to the National Hockey League by the Anaheim Ducks two times this season, is 6-2-0 and tied for third in wins and tied for fourth with one shutout while his goals-against average of 2.69 ranks seventh. Pielmeier is 6-4-0 and tied for the league lead in shootout percent with 1.000 (3-for-3) and wins with six.

Winning four in a row and going 5-0-1 in the last six games and 6-2-2 in the last 10, Charlotte has improved to 9-3-2. The Checkers are in second place in the South Division with 20 points and rank fourth in the league with a winning percentage of .714. Charlotte plays at Gwinnett on Thursday and Saturday before hosting the Gladiators on Sunday. The Checkers rank third in the league with 4.21 goals per game.

Michel Leveille of the Checkers is tied for fifth with 10 goals and tied for eighth with 21 points. Miika Wiikman is 3-1-1 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 1.98 and a save percentage of .930 while Frank Doyle is 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 3.00.

Utah swept its weekend series with Las Vegas to extend its winning streak to five games and its home winning streak to four games while improving to 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and 11-4-0 overall. The Grizzlies are in second place in the West Division with 22 points, five points behind Idaho which is 13-3-1 and leads the league in wins. Utah hosts Alaska on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday while Idaho, which has won its last two games to improve to 7-3-0 in its last 10 games, travels to Stockton (5-8-3) for games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Utah leads the league on the power play with 27.6 percent while ranking second in goals-against average with 2.67 and fourth in scoring with 4.20 goals per game. Grizzlies rookie Mitch O'Keefe is 7-1-0 and tied for the league lead with two shutouts while ranking second with seven wins and a goals-against average of 2.03.

Idaho is first in goals-against average with 2.41. Steelheads rookie Richard Bachman is 8-2-1 and leads the league in wins while ranking third in goals-against average with 2.22 and tied for fourth with one shutout. Idaho's Rejean Beauchemin is 4-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.41. Mathieu Tousignant of the Steelheads is tied for third among rookies with 10 assists and tied for sixth with 15 points while teammate Tyler Spurgeon is tied for fourth with 17 assists and tied for eighth with 21 points.

Kalamazoo is 11-2-1 and leads the league with a winning percentage of .821 and leads the American Conference and the North Division with 23 points. The K-Wings, who are 6-0-1 on the road, play at Cincinnati on Wednesday and Friday before hosting Florida on Saturday and Sunday. Kalamazoo leads the league with 4.43 goals per game and is fourth with a goals-against average of 2.86.

Kalamazoo's Ryan Nie is 5-0-1 and leads the league with a goals-against average of 1.81 and a save percentage of .942 while Jeremy Duchesne is 4-0-0 and Julien Ellis is 2-2-0. Trent Daavettila of the K-Wings is tied for fourth among league rookies with eight goals and is tied for eighth with 14 points.

Reading won two of three on the road at Florida to improve to 7-3-0 in its last 10 games and 9-5-2 overall. The Royals are in second place in the East Division with 20 points, one point behind Elmira (9-4-3). Reading plays at Johnstown on Wednesday and Saturday while hosting Trenton on Friday and the Chiefs on Sunday.

Stefano Giliati leads the Royals with 17 points and is tied for the team goal lead with Ben Gordon, who has eight goals and 15 points. Daniel Steiner leads the team with 12 assists and is second with 15 points in 10 games.

Attendance Increases For Third Week In A Row



The largest crowd ever in Utah and the largest weekday crowd in more than 10 years in Cincinnati helped the ECHL raise its average attendance for the third week in a row to 4,453 which is almost nine percent higher than the first six 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.

Eight returning teams are ahead of their average attendance from a year ago led by Cincinnati, which had 8,944 for its annual "Education In Hockey Day" game on Nov. 17, at 85.5 percent. The Cyclones are fifth in the league with 5,759 per game which is up 212 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.

Utah set a single-game record with 9,304 on Nov. 20 and raised its average attendance to 4,355 per game which is up 19.1 percent from a year ago while Kalamazoo is averaging 3,458 per game, an increase of more than eight percent from last season when they competed in the International Hockey League.

Elmira had two more sellouts to raise its league-leading total to six. The Jackals, who have sold out all but two games this season, are averaging 3,930 per game which is 103.9 percent of capacity at First Arena and up 17.9 percent from last season. 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.

Stockton leads the league with 6,365 per game which is up 2.3 percent from 2008-09. The Thunder have led the ECHL in attendance each of their first four seasons and are trying to tie the league record of five years set by Florida from 2000-05. Toledo ranks second with 6,209 which is up more than 58 percent from 2006-07 when the team played its last season in the Toledo Sports Arena.

Gwinnett is third with 5,772 per game, which is up 3.8 percent from a year ago, while Ontario is fourth at 5,761 per game.

American Conference - North Division

Cincinnati Cyclones

* Cincinnati has the league's best penalty kill with 88.4 percent (61-for-69).
* Matt Pierce leads ECHL rookies with 12 goals and six power-play goals.
* Cyclones host Kalamazoo on Wednesday and Friday before playing at Wheeling on Saturday and Sunday.

Kalamazoo Wings
* Kalamazoo is undefeated in regulation on the road (6-0-1).
* Ryan Nie leads the league with a goals-against average of 1.82 and a save percentage of .942.
* K-Wings play at Cincinnati on Wednesday and Friday before hosting Florida on Saturday and Sunday.

Toledo Walleye

* Toledo has four or more goals in seven of its 15 games (6-0-1).
* Defenseman Jamie Milam has a four-game point streak (1g-3a).
* Walleye host Florida on Friday and South Carolina on Saturday and Sunday.

Wheeling Nailers

* Wheeling will play Florida for the first time ever on Wednesday.
* Defenseman Mitch Ganzak recorded his first professional multi-point game with two goals at Elmira on Nov. 21.
* Nailers host Florida on Wednesday and Cincinnati on Saturday and Sunday while playing at Elmira on Friday.

American Conference - East Division

Elmira Jackals

* Elmira has six sellouts this season after capacity crowds against Wheeling on Nov. 20 and 21.
* Tyler Donati has a league season-high 12-game point streak (8g-13a).
* Jackals play at Trenton on Saturday between home games against Wheeling on Friday and Trenton on Sunday.

Johnstown Chiefs

* Johnstown has scored a power-play goal in its last seven games going 14-for-40 (35 percent).
* Defenseman R.J. Anderson had first career hat trick and career best and team season-high five points (3g-2a) at South Carolina on Nov. 22.
* Chiefs host Reading on Wednesday, South Carolina on Friday and Reading on Saturday before playing at Reading on Sunday.

Reading Royals

* Seven of Reading's nine wins have been come-from-behind victories, including games at Florida on Nov. 18 and 20.
* Ben Gordon leads the Royals with six multi-point games, including a pair of two-point efforts against Florida on Nov. 18 and 20.
* Royals play at Johnstown on Wednesday and Saturday and host Trenton on Friday and Johnstown on Sunday.

Trenton Devils

* Trenton did not allow a power-play goal (7-for-7) at Cincinnati on Nov. 18, the sixth time the Devils have not allowed a power-play goal.
* Gerald Coleman is 2-0-0 with a .940 (79-for-84) in his last two starts.
* Devils host Trenton on Saturday and play at Reading on Friday and at Elmira on Sunday.

American Conference - South Division

Charlotte Checkers
* Charlotte is 46.7 percent (7-for-15) on the power play in its last three games.
* Michel Leveille has four-game goal streak (4g) and a four-game point streak (4g-6a).
* Checkers play at Gwinnett on Thursday and Saturday before hosting the Gladiators on Sunday.

Florida Everblades
* Florida had its largest home crowd of the season with 6,003 against Reading on Nov. 21.
* Jacob Micflikier is tied for the league lead with 13 power-play points.
* Everblades play at Wheeling on Wednesday, at Toledo on Friday and at Kalamazoo on Saturday and Sunday.

Gwinnett Gladiators

* Gwinnett is unbeaten in regulation against South Division opponents (7-0-2).
* Danny Taylor has started nine straight games (5-2-2).
* Gladiators host South Carolina on Tuesday and Charlotte on Thursday and Saturday before playing at Charlotte on Sunday.

South Carolina Stingrays

* South Carolina has scored 35 percent (19g) of its 56 goals in regulation in the second period.
* Todd Ford is second in the league with 698 minutes played and third with 311 saves.
* Stingrays play at Gwinnett on Tuesday, at Johnstown on Friday and at Toledo on Saturday and Sunday.

National Conference - Pacific Division

Bakersfield Condors
* Bakersfield has won six straight games at home and seven of its last eight overall.
* Dan Sexton had three points in each of his last games (5g-4a).
* Condors host Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday.

Las Vegas Wranglers
* Adam Miller and Mick Lawrence are tied for the team lead with five goals each.
* Michael Ouzas leads the league with 873 minutes and 407 saves.
* Wranglers visit Bakersfield on Friday and Saturday.

Ontario Reign
* Ontario is tied for second in the league with five shorthand goals.
* Mike Howe scored his first goal of the season in an 8-2 win over Stockton on Nov. 20.
* Reign play at Victoria on Friday and Saturday.

Stockton Thunder
* Stockton is first on the power play on the road with 33.3 percent (13-for-39).
* Judd Blackwater leads the ECHL with six power-play goals.
* Thunder host Idaho on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

National Conference - West Division

Alaska Aces
* Alaska scored its league-leading eighth shorthand goal at Bakersfield on Nov. 21.
* Alaska has allowed a shorthand goal in three consecutive games.
* Aces play at Utah on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Idaho Steelheads
* Idaho is 12-0-1 when Tyler Spurgeon registers at least one point.
* Richard Bachman has won his last four starts to improve to 8-2-1.
* Steelheads visit Stockton on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Utah Grizzlies
* Utah is 11-4-0 and has matched its best start since 2005-2006.
* Mitch O'Keefe is 7-1-0 and ranks second in the league in wins and goals-against average with 2.03.
* Grizzlies host Alaska on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Victoria Salmon Kings

* Victoria has killed off 13 of its opponents' last 15 power plays (86.6 percent).
* Wes Goldie leads the team with six goals after scoring twice at Idaho on Nov. 18.
* Salmon Kings host Ontario on Friday and Saturday.

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ECHL Stories from November 23, 2009


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