Sports stats

ECHL ECHL

Texas Clinches Playoff Berth In Record Fashion

February 11, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Texas clinched a berth in the postseason after only 48 games, which is faster than any team in ECHL history, surpassing the 56 game mark by the Louisiana IceGators in 2001-02.

Texas travels north this week to play at Trenton on Tuesday, at Elmira on Thursday, at Johnstown on Friday and at Reading on Sunday.

In addition to securing their place in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, the Wildcatters extended their winning streak to a team record nine games with their 4-2 win at South Carolina on Feb. 9, breaking the mark of eight games set Jan. 17-Feb. 4, 1997 when the team played in Huntington, W.Va. Texas set a team record with eight consecutive road wins from Nov. 22-Dec. 29, 2007, surpassing the mark of six games set Nov. 12-Dec. 3, 1994.

Texas is 37-4-7 and continues to lead the ECHL with 81 points, which is 10 points ahead of North Division leader Cincinnati (34-8-3) and 12 points ahead of National Conference leader Las Vegas (31-9-7). In the South Division, the Wildcatters are 19 points in front of second-place South Carolina (30-17-2) and 20 points ahead of third-place Gwinnett (28-13-5).

The Wildcatters reached 80 points in 48 games which ties the league record set by Louisiana (39-6-3) in 2001-02. Louisiana set ECHL records in 2001-02 for wins (56), home wins (30), road wins (26), points (116), point percentage (.806) and fewest home losses (2). Louisiana had a 14-game winning streak from Nov. 23-Dec. 22 tying the league mark set by Knoxville from Dec. 28, 1993-Jan. 29, 1994. Alaska in 2005-06 tied the record for home wins (30) while finishing with the second-most points (113) and second-highest point percentage (.785). The Aces and Las Vegas each had 53 wins tying the record for second-most wins set by Florida in 1999-2000.

Returning after missing the 2005-06 season in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Wildcatters made their first postseason appearance since moving to Beaumont in 2003-04 and set team records with 41 wins, 21 home wins and 20 road wins while improving 46 points from 2004-05 which is the fifth-largest single-season point improvement in the 19-year history of the ECHL.



Cincinnati Extends Winning Streak To Record Nine Games



Extending its winning streak to a team record nine games, Cincinnati improved to 34-8-3 and increased its lead over Elmira in the North Division to seven points. The team record was set earlier this season with eight wins from Dec. 16-31, surpassing the mark of seven wins set in 1995-96 and tied in 1996-97.

The Cyclones, who are 18-2-1 in their last 21 games, will host Dayton on Wednesday before traveling to Trenton on Friday and Elmira on Saturday. Cincinnati has won its last seven home games, one win shy of its team record of eight consecutive home wins set in 1996-97, and is 13-0-2 in its last 15 home games and 18-3-3 overall at U.S. Bank Arena.

Elmira will host ECHL leader Texas on Thursday and Gwinnett on Friday before the Cyclones visit on Saturday. The Jackals have won their last five home games to improve to 15-5-1 at First Arena.

Reading has won seven of its last nine games to improve to 26-17-3 and move into third place in the division.

The Royals, who have won their last two home games to improve to 13-6-2 at the Sovereign Center, will host Dayton on Friday, Texas on Saturday and Gwinnett on Sunday.

Dayton is 21-18-8 and in fourth place, five points behind Reading and seven points in front of Johnstown. The Bombers will visit Cincinnati on Wednesday, Reading on Friday and Johnstown on Saturday. The Chiefs, who are 3-0-1 in their last four home games and 11-9-2 overall at Cambria County War Memorial, host Gwinnett on Wednesday, Texas on Friday and Dayton on Saturday.

Trenton is 18-25-5 and is two points behind Johnstown for the fifth and final postseason berth in the North Division. The Devils return home to host Texas on Tuesday, Cincinnati on Friday and Gwinnett on Saturday.



Utah Continues Hot Streak, Moves Up In Conference



Going 4-0-0 on its trip to California, Utah improved to 7-1-0 in the last eight games and 26-20-4 overall to move within five points of second-place Idaho in the West Division and to within three points of Fresno for fourth place in the National Conference.

The Grizzlies return home to host Bakersfield, which is 2-1-1 in the last four games and 6-3-3 in their last 12 games, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Idaho went 2-1-0 at Alaska to improve to 10-3-0 in their last 13 games and 27-15-7 overall, keeping pace in the West Division with Victoria, which is 29-12-5 after going 2-1-0 in California.

The Steelheads return home to host Phoenix on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday while Victoria hosts Fresno on Monday and Tuesday before traveling to Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday. Idaho has won its last four home games to improve to 15-5-5 at Qwest Arena while Victoria is 15-2-5 at home and 14-10-0 on the road.

Las Vegas has 69 points (31-9-7) and has a six-point lead on Victoria in the National Conference and a 10-point lead on Fresno in the Pacific Division. The Wranglers will visit Bakersfield on Tuesday and Stockton on Wednesday before returning home to host Victoria on Friday and Saturday.

Fresno, which is 12-3-3 in their last 18 games, plays at Victoria on Monday and Tuesday.



ECHL Surpasses Two Million Fans For 15th Straight Year



A record-setting crowd in Charlotte, more than 20,000 for three games in Gwinnett, over 12,000 in Fresno and the third sellout of the year in Florida helped the ECHL, which has surpassed two millions fans for the 15th year in a row, increase its average attendance to 4,033 per game.

Charlotte had its eighth sellout of the year with a team record crowd of 11,246 on Feb. 9 against Pensacola. The Checkers, who surpassed the crowd of 11,237 on Feb. 10, 2007 against Texas, have led the ECHL in sellouts each of the last two seasons with 11 in 2006-07 and 10 in 2005-06. Charlotte Bobcats Arena has a listed capacity of 6,800 for hockey, but can accommodate larger crowds.

Fresno had its second crowd of more than 10,000 this season with 12,590 on Feb. 9 while Florida had its third sellout of the year with 7,226 on Feb. 8. Gwinnett had 20,508 for its "Pink in the Rink" weekend, including 10,020 for its game on Feb. 9 which is the third time this season that the Gladiators have had a crowd of more than 10,000.

Cincinnati had its second-largest crowd of the season with 5,871 on Feb. 9 to raise its attendance to 2,402 per game, which is up more than 30 percent from last season. The Cyclones have had four crowds over 5,000 and they are averaging 3,758 per game since Jan. 1.

Elmira has had a league-leading 10 sellouts and is averaging 3,605 per game, which is 95.3 percent of capacity at the 3,784-seat First Arena and an increase of more than five percent from a year ago when the Jackals played in the now-defunct United Hockey League.

Victoria has had eight crowds over 5,000 and is averaging 4,687 per game, which is up 10.3 percent from last season when the Salmon Kings raised their attendance for the second straight year and had their first sellout at Save-On-Foods Centre.

Mississippi's attendance is up 10.7 percent from 2004-05, which is the last time the Sea Wolves were able play before Hurricane Katrina, while Augusta has increased its attendance by 8.9 percent to 2,785 per game.



2009 ECHL All-Star Game Awarded To The Reading Royals



The ECHL has awarded the 2009 ECHL All-Star Game to the Reading Royals, the City of Reading and the Sovereign Center.

The Royals had a near-capacity crowd of 6,746 for the 2005 All-Star Game and become the first team and city in 17 years to host the annual midseason game twice.

The game will be played on Jan. 21, 2009 with the 12th edition of the ECHL All-Star Game Skills Competition being held on Jan. 20, 2009. The All-Star festivities will also include the official induction ceremony for the second class, which will be announced later this year, into the ECHL Hall of Fame.

Reading is sixth in the ECHL in attendance with 5,271 per game and has never averaged less than 5,000 per game or ranked less than sixth in their seven seasons in the league.

Attended by representatives from both the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the game showcases the top prospects in the Premier 'AA' Hockey League. There have been 43 players from the ECHL All-Star Game who have gone on to play in the NHL, including 26 since 2002 when the format was changed to feature younger prospects.

The game has been available live to more than 80 million homes on the NHL Network each of the last six years as well as being rebroadcast on multiple regional sports networks. The audio broadcast has been carried each of the last three years on XM Satellite Radio as well as being available in all ECHL markets.

The Stanley Cup and the Patrick J. Kelly Cup will both be on display throughout the event, marking the ninth time in the last 10 years that the NHL championship trophy and the ECHL championship trophy have been displayed together at the All-Star Game.

Check out the ECHL Statistics



ECHL Stories from February 11, 2008


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