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Utah's May Is 10th Player With Nine-Game Goal Streak

February 16, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Utah rookie Tom May has scored a goal in nine consecutive games.

He is the first player since Brett N. Smith of Phoenix, who had 10 goals from Nov. 25-Dec. 16, 2006, and only the 10th player in the last 17 years to have a nine-game goal streak.

The 23-year-old May began his streak on Jan. 16 at Ontario and he has scored nine goals, including two game winners, and 12 points (9g-3a) in the nine games. He is second on the team with 17 goals and tied for second with two game-winning goals while ranking third with 30 points in 43 games.

Mathieu Benoit of Charlotte was the last ECHL player to have a 10-game goal streak, scoring 14 goals from Dec. 23, 2000-Feb. 2, 2001. Benoit was only the second player since 1992-93 to reach the 10-game plateau.

The ECHL record is 16 games by Darren Schwartz of the Wheeling Thunderbirds, who had 25 goals from Jan. 14-Feb. 21, 1993.The second-longest streak is 13 games by Kirby Lindal of Raleigh from Dec. 12, 1992-Jan. 24, 1993 while the third-longest is 12 games by Joe Gurney of Johnstown from Nov. 6-26, 1988 and the fourth-longest is 11 games by Rick Judson of Toledo, who had 13 goals from Dec. 9, 1995-Jan. 5, 1996.



National Conference - West Division

Alaska Aces
* Alaska is 16-4-1 all-time against the RoadRunners.
* Aces are 5-2-0 against Ontario with every game decided by two goals or less.
* Alaska plays at Phoenix on Saturday and at Ontario on Sunday.

Idaho Steelheads
* Bryan McGregor had a goal and three assists in 4-2 win against Phoenix on Saturday.
* Kris Sparre had Idaho's first hat trick of the season in 6-1 win at Stockton on Feb. 9.
* Steelheads host Las Vegas on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Phoenix RoadRunners
* RoadRunners are 6-5-0 in their last 11 road games.
* John McNabb has a three-game goal streak (3g) and a three-game point streak (3g-0a).
* RoadRunners play at Las Vegas on Monday and at Ontario on Friday before hosting Alaska on Saturday.

Utah Grizzlies
* Rookie Rob Hennigar has scored in 12 of his last 14 games (5g-19a).
* Rookie Peter Mannino has a goals-against average of 2.08 and a save percentage of .969 in his last two games.
* Grizzlies host Bakersfield on Monday and Wednesday and Stockton on Friday and Saturday.

Victoria Salmon Kings
* Victoria leads the ECHL on the road penalty kill with 90.9 percent (110-for-121).
* Chris St. Jacques has four points (2g-2a) in his last three games.
* Victoria plays at Ontario on Wednesday and at Bakersfield on Saturday and Sunday.

National Conference - Pacific Division

Bakersfield Condors
* Condors have won their last three games and are 5-1-0 in their last six games.
* Chad Painchaud has an eight-game point streak (6g-5a).
* Condors play at Utah on Monday and Wednesday and host Victoria on Saturday and Sunday.

Las Vegas Wranglers
* Wranglers are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games.
* Rookie Mick Lawrence has seven assists and 12 points in his last seven games.
* Wranglers host Phoenix on Monday and play at Idaho on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Ontario Reign
* Reign are fifth in the league in attendance with 5,393 per game.
* Kellen Briggs is 2-0-0 with an overtime win and a goals-against average of 1.49 in his last two starts.
* Reign will host Victoria on Wednesday, Phoenix on Friday and Alaska on Sunday.

Stockton Thunder
* Stockton leads the ECHL in attendance with 6,269 fans per game.
* Rookie Ryan Huddy has 26 goals, three shy of the Thunder record of 29 goals by Mike Lalonde in 2005-06.
* Stockton plays at Utah on Friday and Saturday.

American Conference - North Division

Cincinnati Cyclones
* Cincinnati has been in first place longer than any other North Division team over the last three seasons (239 days).
* Cyclones are 12-4-0 in their last 16 games.
* Cincinnati hosts Dayton on Friday and Saturday.

Dayton Bombers
* Bombers have won their last four games against South Division teams.
* Defenseman Greg Labenski has five goals and eight points in his last four games.
* Bombers host South Carolina on Wednesday and play at Dayton on Friday and Saturday.

Elmira Jackals
* Jackals raised their attendance to 3,300 per game with 7,357 for two games last week.
* Brandon Roach leads the team in the last seven games with six points (3g-3a).
* Jackals play at Johnstown on Saturday and Sunday.

Johnstown Chiefs
* Brett Beauchamp had his first multiple-point game with two assists on Sunday.
* Ian Keserich is 4-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.75 in his last four starts.
* Johnstown hosts South Carolina on Friday and Elmira on Saturday and Sunday.

Reading Royals
* Reading has held its opponent to one goal or less four times and three have been since Larry Courville was named head coach on Jan. 6.
* Kirk MacDonald has an eight-game point streak (9g-6a).
* Reading plays at Trenton on Wednesday and hosts Wheeling on Saturday and South Carolina on Sunday.

Trenton Devils
* Jeremy Akeson has five assists and seven points in his last five games.
* Brad Snetsinger has nine assists and 13 points in his last nine games.
* Devils host Reading on Wednesday, Wheeling on Friday and Sunday and South Carolina on Saturday.

Wheeling Nailers
* Wheeling is second in the ECHL with 3.80 goals per game.
* Rookie Elgin Reid leads league defenseman with 13 goals and is fourth with 34 points.
* Wheeling plays at Trenton on Friday and Sunday and at Reading on Saturday.

American Conference - South Division

Charlotte Checkers
* Mike Bayrack leads the team with 31 assists and 46 points in 45 games.
* Jeff Jakaitis had season-high 54 saves in 2-1 overtime loss at Gwinnett on Sunday.
* Checkers host Florida on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Florida Everblades
* Everblades lead the ECHL with eight shutouts.
* Kevin Baker has a 12-game point streak (12g-12a).
* Florida plays at Charlotte on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and at Gwinnett on Sunday.

Gwinnett Gladiators
* Gladiators are 7-2-2 all-time in specialty jerseys after 2-1 overtime win against Charlotte on Sunday.
* Scott Marchesi scored the game winner on Sunday and is tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals.
* Gwinnett plays at Mississippi on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and hosts Florida on Sunday.

Mississippi Sea Wolves
* Ryan Cruthers leads the team with 26 goals and 51 points in 47 games.
* Jeremy Hall has a four-game point streak (2g-5a) and a four-game assist streak (5a).
* Sea Wolves host Gwinnett on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

South Carolina Stingrays
* Stingrays are tied for second in the league with 12 shorthand goals.
* Jonathan Boutin is 4-2-0 since being acquired from Victoria.
* Stingrays play at Dayton on Wednesday, at Johnstown on Friday, at Trenton on Saturday and at Reading on Sunday.

Former ECHL Player Bylsma Named Interim Penguins Coach

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League announced on Sunday that they have named former ECHL player Dan Bylsma as interim head coach.

The 38 year old will coach his first game for Pittsburgh on the road on Monday against the New York Islanders, who are coached by former ECHL player and coach Scott Gordon.

The Wheeling Nailers are the ECHL affiliate of Pittsburgh of the NHL and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. There have been 396 former ECHL players who have played in NHL including 41 who have made their debut this season and 140 in the last four years.

Former ECHL coaches working as head coaches in the NHL are Gordon and Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals. 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.

Bylsma has been head coach of Wilkes-Barre Scranton in the American Hockey League which is 35-16-1-2 including an active eight-game winning streak. The Penguins said that they would announce further plans for the Wilkes-Barre/Scarnton staff, which includes former ECHL player Todd Reirden as an assistant coach, on Tuesday.

Bylsma began his professional career with Greensboro in the ECHL and had 60 points (25g-35a) in 60 games as a rookie in 1992-93 and 30 points (14g-16a) in 25 games in 1993-94. Selected in the sixth round (109th overall) by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, Bylsma played nine seasons in the NHL with Anaheim and Los Angeles and had 62 points (19g-43a) in 429 career NHL games.

He began his coaching career as an assistant coach with Cincinnati in the AHL in 2004-05 and the following season worked as an assistant coach for the New York Islanders of the NHL before joining Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as an assistant coach in 2006-07.

Reirden played in the ECHL each of his first two professional seasons and had 60 points (9g-51a) and 145 penalty minutes in 91 regular season games and nine points (2g-7a) and 14 penalty minutes in 14 postseason games for Jacksonville, Raleigh and Tallahassee from 1994-96. He played five seasons in the NHL from 1998-2004 and had 46 points (11g-35a) and 181 penalty minutes in 183 regular season games with Atlanta, Edmonton, Phoenix and St. Louis and one assist in five Stanley Cup Playoff games with St. Louis.

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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.

* 396 former ECHL players have played in NHL.

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

* 41 former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Idaho Steelheads right wing Jay Beagle (Washington on Feb. 11), 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 Las Vegas Wranglers goaltender Brent Krahn (Dallas on Feb. 14), 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 South Carolina Stingrays and ECHL All-Star goaltender Michal Neuvirth (Washingtons on Feb. 14), 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 while former ECHL player Dan Bylsma is the interim head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. 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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