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Streaking Wranglers, Thunder Make Pacific Race Tighter

February 9, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


The race in the Pacific Division has tightened up as Las Vegas has won six games in a row and Stockton has won its last five games. Ontario leads the division at 25-17-4 (.587) while Las Vegas is 24-18-4 (.565) and Stockton is 23-20-5 (.531).

The defending National Conference champion Wranglers, who are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games, play at Ontario on Wednesday and Saturday while hosting Phoenix on Tuesday and Utah on Sunday. Stockton will host Ontario on Sunday after it entertains Idaho on Monday, Utah on Friday and Bakersfield on Saturday. Las Vegas has won its last five road games including a four-game road sweep of West Division leading Victoria while Stockton is 13-3-1 since naming Matt Thomas head coach on Dec. 29. The Reign are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games including 3-2-2 at home.

Shawn Limpright leads the Wranglers during the winning streak with seven points (3g-4a) while Justin Taylor (1g-5a) and rookies Mick Lawrence (3g-3a) and Adam Miller (3g-3a) have each added six points. Damian Surma leads the Thunder the last five games with six assists and seven points while Mike Lalonde has six points (3g-3a).

Stockton rookie Andrew Perugini is 5-0-0 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 1.00 and a save percentage of .967 during the winning streak and 8-0-0 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 1.73 and a save percentage of .941 save percentage in his last eight games. He needs one win to tie the team record for consecutive wins held by Devan Dubnyk, who won nine consecutive games from Mar. 9-Apr. 4, 2007.

During the Wranglers streak, Glenn Fisher is 3-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.33 and a save percentage of .962 during the current streak while Kevin Lalande is 3-0-0 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.27 and a save percentage of .929. Ontario's Jeff Zatkoff, who is 2-0-0 in his last three games, leads the league with a save percentage of .936 while ranking fourth with a goals-against average of 2.25.



American Conference - North Division


Cincinnati Cyclones

* Cyclones are 37.7 percent (23-for-61) on the power play in their last 11 games.

* Ryan Nie is 9-0-0 with a goals-against average of 2.77 since being acquired from Bakersfield.

* Cyclones play at Florida on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Dayton Bombers

* Christian Gaudet has a five-game point streak (3g-4a) and a three-game goal streak (3g).

* Greg Labenski has six points (4g-2a) in his last six games.

* Dayton hosts Wheeling on Friday and Saturday.

Elmira Jackals

* Mitch O'Keefe is 5-1-1 with a shutout and a goals-against average of 1.82 in his last six games.

* Pierre-Luc Faubert has a four-game point streak (2g-3a).

* Elmira hosts Trenton on Friday and Reading on Saturday.

Johnstown Chiefs

* Chiefs have won their last 11 games against Reading.

* Ian Keserich tied his career high with 44 saves in 2-1 win at Dayton on Sunday.

* Chiefs host Reading on Friday, Trenton on Saturday and Wheeling on Sunday.

Reading Royals

* Tyler Doig had his team-leading 12th multi-point game of the season with two points (1g-1a) on Saturday.

* Patrick Wellar scored the game-winning goal and had a team season-high four points (1g-3a) on Saturday.

* Reading plays at Johnstown on Friday and at Elmira on Saturday before hosting Trenton on Sunday.

Trenton Devils

* Trenton is 9-4-1 in games played on Saturday.

* Brad Snetsinger has a six-game point streak (2g-6a).

* Devils host Wheeling on Wednesday and play at Elmira on Friday, at Johnstown on Saturday and at Reading on Sunday.

Wheeling Nailers
* Wheeling leads the league in scoring with 3.96 goals per game.

* Rookie Elgin Reid leads ECHL defensemen with 12 goals and is fourth with 33 points.

* Nailers play at Trenton on Wednesday, at Dayton on Friday and Saturday and at Johnstown on Sunday.

American Conference - South Division

Charlotte Checkers

* Jeff Jakaitis made career-high 44 saves in 4-3 win against Florida on Sunday.

* Brad Ralph has a nine-game point streak (4g-7a).

* Charlotte plays at South Carolina on Tuesday, at Mississippi on Thursday and Friday and at Gwinnett on Sunday.

Florida Everblades

* Peter Metcalf leads league defensemen with 39 assists and 44 points.

*Kevin Baker leads the ECHL and has tied the team record with 40 goals.

* Everblades host Cincinnati on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Gwinnett Gladiators

* Gladiators have come from two goals down to post a win six times including Thursday against Charlotte.

* All four goals on Thursday were scored on special teams with three power-play goals and one shorthand goal.

* Gladiators play at Mississippi on Tuesday and host South Carolina on Saturday and Charlotte on Sunday.

Mississippi Sea Wolves

* Rookie Ryan Cruthers has eight points (4g-4a) in his last six games.

* Mathieu Melanson has nine points (4g-5a) in his last five games.

* Sea Wolves host Gwinnett on Tuesday and Charlotte on Thursday and Friday before visiting South Carolina on Sunday.

South Carolina Stingrays

* Michael Dubuc had his second four-goal game of the season on Saturday.

* South Carolina finished 6-6-0 in season series with Florida.

* Stingrays host Charlotte on Tuesday and Mississippi on Sunday and play at Gwinnett on Saturday.

National Conference - Pacific Division

Bakersfield Condors

* Bakersfield has scored a league-high seven shorthand goals at home.

* Mark Derlago has a four-game goal streak (4g) and 11 points (7g-4a) in his last 10 games.

* Condors play at Utah on Tuesday and Wednesday and at Stockton on Saturday while hosting Ontario on Friday.

Las Vegas Wranglers

* Las Vegas has won season-high six games in a row and is 8-1-0 in its last nine games.

* Kevin Lalande is 5-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.14 in his last six games.

* Wranglers host Phoenix on Tuesday and Utah on Sunday and play at Ontario on Wednesday and Saturday.

Ontario Reign

* Rookie Jeff Zatkoff leads the league with a save percentage of .936.

* Jon Francisco leads the team with four game-winning goals, 18 goals and 35 points.

* Reign host Las Vegas on Wednesday and Saturday and play at Bakersfield on Friday and at Stockton on Sunday.

Stockton Thunder

* Thunder lead the ECHL in attendance with 6,419 per game.

* Andrew Perugini is 8-0-0 with a .941 save percentage in his last eight appearances.

* Thunder host Idaho on Monday, Utah on Friday, Bakersfield on Saturday and Ontario on Sunday.

National Conference - West Division

Alaska Aces

* Alaska is 6-0-0 with two shootout wins and an overtime win in its last six home games.

* Brett Hemingway leads the Aces in the last 10 games with nine assists and 10 points.

* Alaska hosts Victoria on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Idaho Steelheads

* Matt McKnight has a five-game point streak (2g-4a).

* Bryan McGregor has a four-game point streak (3g-3a).

* Steelheads play at Stockton on Monday and host Phoenix on Friday and Saturday.

Phoenix RoadRunners

* Craig Kowalski is 3-0 in shootouts, stopping 15 of 16 shooters.

* Gino Guyer set career highs with three goals and four points on Friday.

* Phoenix plays at Las Vegas on Tuesday and at Idaho on Friday and Saturday.

Utah Grizzlies

* Rookie Tom May has a five-game goal streak (5g) and seven goals in his last seven games.

* Tim Verbeek leads the team with 21 goals, including 10 in his last 11 games.

* Grizzlies host Bakersfield on Tuesday and Wednesday and play at Stockton on Friday and at Las Vegas on Sunday.

Victoria Salmon Kings

* Victoria is third in the league on the penalty kill with 87.8 percent (209-for-238).

* Wes Goldie is 13th on the ECHL car/eer list with 235 goals in 460 regular season games.

* Salmon Kings play at Alaska on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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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 21 teams in 16 states and British Columbia in 2008-09.

* The league officially changed its name from East Coast Hockey League to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

* Affiliations with 24 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League marking 12th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

* 393 former ECHL players have played in NHL.

* 137 have played their first NHL game in the last four seasons.

* 38 former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Wheeling Nailers and ECHL All-Star defenseman Paul Bissonnette (Pittsburgh on Oct. 4), former Stockton Thunder and ECHL All-Star right wing Troy Bodie (Anaheim on Jan. 16), former Bakersfield Condors center Alexandre Bolduc (Vancouver on Nov. 27), former Florida Everblades defenseman Brett Carson (Carolina on Dec. 7), former South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Sean Collins (Washington on Dec. 6), former Las Vegas Wranglers and Wheeling Nailers goaltender John Curry (Pittsburgh on Nov. 26), former Greenville Grrrowl goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (Edmonton on Oct. 17), former Johnstown Chiefs center Andre Deveaux (Toronto on Nov. 27), former Dayton Bombers center Philippe Dupuis (Colorado on Dec. 12), former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Chris Durno (Colorado on Jan. 18), former Gwinnett Gladiators right wing Pat Dwyer, former Columbus Cottonmouths and Tallahassee Tiger Sharks left wing Mitch Fritz (New York Islanders on Oct. 30), former South Carolina Stingrays right wing Andrew Gordon (Washington on Dec. 23), former Augusta Lynx and Mississippi Sea Wolves goaltender Riku Helenius (Tampa Bay on Jan. 30), former Charlotte Checkers center Dwight Helminen (Carolina on Oct. 28), former Trenton Devils right wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (New Jersey on Oct. 22), former Gwinnett Gladiators defenseman Scott Lehman (Atlanta on Dec. 18), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Steve MacIntyre (Edmonton on Oct. 15), former Florida Everblades left wing Kenndal McArdle (Florida on Dec. 2), two-time All-Star and former Las Vegas Wranglers goaltender Mike McKenna (Tampa Bay on Feb. 3), former All-Star and Wheeling Nailers center Kurtis McLean (New York Islanders on Jan. 19), former Phoenix RoadRunners and Wheeling Nailers center Cam Paddock (St. Louis on Nov. 14), former Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Adam Pardy (Calgary on Oct. 9), former Idaho Steelheads left wing Warren Peters (Calgary on Dec. 7), former Charlotte Checkers center Jakub Petruzalek (Carolina on Feb. 5), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Corey Potter (New York Rangers on Dec. 7), former Augusta Lynx defenseman Kevin Quick (Tampa Bay on Jan. 13), former Charlotte Checkers, Columbia Inferno and Elmira Jackals defenseman Bryan Rodney (Carolina on Dec. 11), former Gwinnett Gladiators center Jared Ross (Philadelphia on Oct. 11), former Alaska Aces goaltender Marek Schwarz (St. Louis on Oct. 25), former Greenville Grrrowl and Stockton Thunder center Tim Sestito (Edmonton on Nov. 26), former Dayton Bombers and Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Tyler Sloan (Washington on Oct. 21), former Utah Grizzlies and ECHL All-Star center Trevor Smith (New York Islanders on Dec. 31), former Johnstown Chiefs and Mississippi Sea Wolves forward Radek Smolenak (Tampa Bay on Dec. 2), former Augusta Lynx defenseman Brett Skinner (New York Islanders on Oct. 27), former Las Vegas Wranglers and ECHL All-Star defenseman Tyson Strachan (St. Louis on Dec. 18), former Wheeling Nailers right wing Tim Wallace (Pittsburgh on Dec. 10) and former Idaho Steelheads center Tom Wandell (Dallas on Dec. 10).

* There were 72 former ECHL players on NHL opening-day rosters.

* Twenty-six former ECHL players made their NHL debut in 2007-08 including six who played in both the ECHL and the NHL: Chris Beckford-Tseu (Alaska and St. Louis), Adam Berti (Pensacola and Chicago), Joe Jensen (Wheeling and Carolina), Dan LaCosta (Elmira and Columbus), Jonathan Quick (Reading and Los Angeles) and Danny Taylor (Reading and Los Angeles).

* Record 47 former ECHL players played their first NHL game in 2005-06.

* ECHL is represented for the eighth consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2008 by Aaron Downey of the Detroit Red Wings.

* Former ECHL coaches working as head coaches in the NHL are Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals and Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders. 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. Peter Laviolette, who began his coaching career with the Wheeling Nailers, led Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006.

* There are 18 assistant coaches in the NHL who were players or coaches in the ECHL.

* There are 18 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2008-09 with referees David Banfield, Chris Ciamaga, Ghislain Hebert, 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, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers. Barton, Joannette, Leggo, McCauley, Nowak, Pollock, Rooney and Sharrers all worked the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* ECHL has affiliations with 23 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League and for the past 19 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 2,000 call-ups involving more than 1,000 players since 2002-03.

* Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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