ECHL ECHL

Wheeling Qualifies For Postseason For First Time Since 1997-98

March 15, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Winning 3-0 at Reading on March 9, Wheeling became the first team from the Eastern Conference and the third team overall to qualify for the 2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs. It is the first postseason appearance for the Nailers since 1997-98 when Wheeling lost in the Northern Conference Finals.

Wheeling is 27-4-3 at home and 48-14-3 overall and leads the ECHL with 99 points. The Nailers have set team records for wins (48), points (99) and road wins (21) while tying the team record for home wins (27). The league records for points (116), winning percentage (.806), wins (56), home wins (30) and road wins (26) were all set by Louisiana in 2001-02.

The Nailers' 40-point increase from 2002-03 to 2003-04 is the fourth-highest point increase from one season to the next surpassing the 39-point increase by Greensboro from 2001-02 to 2002-03 (54 points to 93 points) and only three points from tying Arkansas, which had a 43-point increase from 1999-2000 to 2000-01 (39 points to 82 points), for third place. The greatest single season point increase is 50 points by Knoxville from 1992-93 to 1993-94 (44 points to 94 points) which broke Knoxville's record of 49 points from 1989-90 to 1990-91 (48 points to 97 points).

Wheeling's team record and ECHL season-high 12-game winning streak ended with a 4-3 shootout loss to Atlantic City on March 12. The loss also snapped a 14-game home winning streak for the Nailers, a streak that tied the league season high set by San Diego from December 30 to February 21. The Nailers lost 6-2 at Johnstown on March 13 ending an eight-game road winning streak that tied the team record while also being the longest road winning streak in the ECHL in 2003-04.

Wheeling is looking to win its fourth Henry Brabham Cup, the trophy awarded annually to the regular-season point champion of the ECHL. Wheeling won the Brabham Cup as the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds in 1989-90 and as the Wheeling Thunderbirds in 1992-93 and 1994-95.


ECHL Trade Deadline Is Tuesday, March 16 at 3 p.m. ET


Idaho Clinches Berth In 2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs
With its 3-2 win against Long Beach on March 10, Idaho became the third team from the Pacific Division and the fourth team overall to qualify for the postseason. The Steelheads join San Diego and Las Vegas in the Pacific Division and Wheeling from the Northern Division in the 2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Alaska can clinch the final Pacific Division playoff berth with a win at South Carolina on Tuesday.

Louisiana is 45-17-2 with 92 points and can become the first team in the Central Division to secure a Kelly Cup Playoff spot on Wednesday. The IceGators need only one point to qualify for the postseason for the ninth time in their nine-year history. Six points separates four teams vying for the other three playoff berths in the Central Division. Mississippi is 36-19-7 and in second place with 79 points while Pensacola is 34-20-8 and in third place with 76 points. Gwinnett is 34-19-7 and in fourth place with 75 points, two points ahead of Columbus with 73 points and a 34-23-5 record. Gwinnett has two games in hand on Columbus, Mississippi and Pensacola.

Mississippi hosts Pensacola on March 16 before traveling to Louisiana on March 19 and Texas on March 20 and 21. Pensacola plays at Mississippi on March 16, at Texas on March 19 and at Louisiana on March 20. Gwinnett will host Augusta on March 16, Florence on March 19 and Columbia on March 21 while traveling to Augusta on March 20. Columbus hosts Louisiana on March 17, Greenville on March 19 and Florence on March 20.

Columbus is looking for its first postseason berth in three seasons in the ECHL while the Gladiators are looking to qualify for the playoffs in their first season in Gwinnett. Mississippi and Pensacola are both looking to make their third straight Kelly Cup Playoff appearance.

Looking for its second consecutive division title, Columbia leads the Southern Division with 81 points and a 37-19-7 record. Florida is in second place with 74 points and a 32-23-10 record, three points ahead of Greensboro (35-25-1) and South Carolina (34-24-3) and five points ahead of fifth place Charlotte (31-25-7). Greensboro and South Carolina each have four games in hand on Florida and two games in hand on both Columbia and Charlotte.

Columbia hosts Charlotte on March 16 before traveling to Roanoke on March 19, Greenville on March 20 and Gwinnett on March 21. Greensboro will host Greenville on March 17 before visiting Florida for games on March 19 and 20. South Carolina hosts Alaska on March 16 and 19 before visiting Roanoke on March 20 while Charlotte will play at Columbia on March 16 and at Augusta on March 19 before hosting Alaska on March 20.

Columbia has qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs each of its first two seasons advancing to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2004. Florida has qualified for the postseason in each of its first five seasons while South Carolina has not missed the playoffs in its 10-year history. Greensboro is trying to make its second straight and the second postseason appearance in its five seasons while Charlotte is trying to return to the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2001-02.

Five teams are battling for the four remaining playoff spots in the Northern Division. The fourth place and the fifth place finishers in the Northern Division will play a Wild Card Game on April 5 with the winner advancing to meet the first place finisher in the best-of-five Northern Division Semifinals. Atlantic City is in second place with 87 points and a 41-15-5 record, one point ahead of Peoria with 86 points and a 39-17-8 record and six points ahead of Johnstown with 82 points and a 38-19-6. Reading is in fifth place with 71 points and a 31-22-9 record, two points ahead of Trenton with 69 points and a 31-24-7 record. The defending Kelly Cup Champion, Atlantic City has three games in hand on Peoria, two games in hand on Johnstown and one game in hand on both Reading and Trenton. Reading and Trenton each have two games in hand on Peoria and one game in hand on Johnstown which has one game in hand on Peoria.

Atlantic City hosts Johnstown on March 17 and Peoria on March 19 before visiting Trenton on March 21. Peoria will visit Reading on March 16, Trenton on March 17 and Atlantic City on March 19. Johnstown, which has set team records for points (82) and home wins (24), will travel to Atlantic City on March 17 and Cincinnati on March 20 before returning home on March 21 to host Dayton. Reading, which is 0-5-1 in its last six home games and 0-7-1 in its last eight games, hosts Peoria on March 16 before traveling to Toledo on March 17 and Trenton on March 19 and 20.

The Boardwalk Bullies have qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs each of their first two seasons in Atlantic City, winning the ECHL Championship in 2003 and advancing to the Northern Conference Finals in 2002. Peoria has never missed the postseason in its seven-year history while Johnstown is looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2001-02. Trenton has not missed the Kelly Cup Playoffs in each of its first four seasons while Reading has not advanced to the postseason in each of its first two years in the ECHL.


Dumont Three Assists From ECHL Career Record
Mississippi's Louis Dumont needs three assists to tie Chris Valicevic for the ECHL career assist lead.

Dumont has 457 assists in 624 games while Valicevic had 460 assists in 590 games from 1993-2002. Dumont is the all-time leading scorer in league history with 743 points (286g-457a) and his 286 career goals rank him seventh, 11 goals behind Darryl Noren, who scored 295 goals in 549 games from 1990-2000.

In his 10th season in the ECHL, Dumont is sixth in the league with 73 points and leads Mississippi with 30 goals while ranking second on the team with 73 points.

Selected to the ECHL 15th Anniversary Team in 2003, Valicevic was voted the ECHL's Most Valuable Player in 1998-99 and was selected ECHL Defenseman of the Year four straight seasons from 1995-96 to 1998-99. Named First-Team All-ECHL five years in a row from 1995-96 to 1999-2000, Valicevic played in seven ECHL All-Star Games, the most by any player in league history.

ECHL Career Regular Season Assist Leaders
1. 460 - Chris Valicevic, 1993-2002 (590 games)
2. 457 - Louis Dumont, Mississippi, 1994-Present (624 games)



Eight Players Have Multiple Hat Tricks
There were five hat tricks in the ECHL last week including three on March 13 by Reggie Berg of Florida, Lance Galbraith of Idaho and Paul Rosebush of Bakersfield. It was the second hat trick of the season for Berg and Galbraith making them the seventh and eighth ECHL players this season to have more than one hat trick.

Idaho has scored a league-leading six hat tricks while Florida and Peoria both have four hat tricks. Dayton is the only team that has not scored a hat trick. Atlantic City, Columbus, Louisiana and Peoria have not allowed a hat trick while Bakersfield has allowed a league-high seven hat tricks.

In the first 966 games of the season there have been 68 hat tricks, including five games with four goals and one game with five goals, and there have been 16 days where multiple hat tricks have been scored. The ECHL has had 11 days with two hat tricks and four days with three hat tricks. The ECHL had six hat tricks scored on February 14 which ties the league record set on October 23, 1993 and tied on February 26, 1994 and February 23, 1996.


ECHL Has Record 103 Shutouts
With seven shutouts last week, the ECHL has 103 shutouts this season breaking the record of 99 shutouts in 2002-03. There has been a shutout every 9.7 games in 2003-04 compared to a shutout every 10.3 games last season.

Wheeling's Joe Exter posted the first two shutouts of his professional career with a 3-0 win at Reading on March 9 and a 1-0 win at Atlantic City on March 10. Wheeling has 11 team shutouts, breaking the ECHL record of 10 shutouts set by Louisiana in 2001-02, and the Nailers' Tyler MacKay and Nick Boucher are tied for the ECHL lead with four shutouts each.

Jason Saal of Augusta had two shutouts last week and has moved into a tie for the ECHL lead with four shutouts. After winning 5-0 at South Carolina on March 9, Saal made 28 saves in regulation and two saves in overtime before stopping four of five shooters in the shootout for a 1-0 win against Florence on March 13. Florence's Sebastien LaPlante had 38 saves in regulation, three saves in overtime and stopped two of four shooters in the shootout to pick up his first shutout of the season. Saal has moved into third place on the ECHL career list with 16 shutouts, two behind Daniel Berthiaume and three behind leader Marc Magliarditi, who has 19 career shutouts.

Peoria's Levente Szuper has three shutouts after posting back-to-back 2-0 wins at Toledo on March 12 and 13.

The other goaltenders with four shutouts are Atlantic City's Scott Stirling, Columbia's Josh Blackburn, Columbus' Jason Tapp, Johnstown's Cory Campbell, and Louisiana's Derek Gustafson.


Reading Has Largest Crowd In Team History
Reading drew the largest crowd in its three-year history, Florida had its seventh sellout crowd of the season, and Johnstown had its fifth sellout of the year as the ECHL raised its attendance for the 11th consecutive week. Reading's standing-room only crowd of 7,235 on Friday was the second sellout of the season and the 16th sellout in team history.

Florida, which drew 7,173 on Friday and 6,523 on Saturday, leads the league in both total attendance (196,456) and average attendance (6,139). There have been 36 sellout crowds in the ECHL and 14 teams have had a sellout crowd led by Idaho which has a league-leading nine sellouts. The ECHL has drawn over 3.7 million for seventh time in its history and is on pace to draw 4,287,672. Alaska, which had a crowd of 5,447 for its final regular season home game on Saturday, has experienced one of the biggest turnarounds raising its total attendance from 109,767 in 2002-03 to 156,257 and increasing its average attendance over 42 percent from 3,049 to 4,340.



Northern Division
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
 * Scott Stirling leads the ECHL with a 1.84 goals against average and six shootout wins.
* Atlantic City leads the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.25 goals per game.
* Bullies host Johnstown on Wednesday and Peoria on Friday before traveling to Trenton on Sunday.

Cincinnati Cylones
 * Garrett Prosofsky has four goals, four assists and is +6 in three games in March.
* Cyclones are 11-2-0 when leading after the first period and 10-12-3 in one-goal games.
* Cincinnati travels to Dayton on Wednesday, hosts Toledo on Friday and Johnstown on Saturday before visiting Toledo on Sunday.

Dayton Bombers
 *Jason Deskins leads the ECHL with six shorthand goals and has 11 points (4g-7a) in his last 10 games.
* Miguel Delisle is tied for the ECHL lead with 11 power-play goals.
* Dayton hosts Cincinnati on Wednesday, Wheeling on Friday and Toledo on Saturday before traveling to Johnstown on Sunday.

Johnstown Chiefs
 * Steve Hildenbrand has three game-winning goals and 14 points (7g-7a) in seven games in March.
* David Currie is 3-1-0 with a 2.75 goals against average and a shutout in his last four games.
* Johnstown travels to Atlantic City on Wednesday and Cincinnati on Saturday while hosting Dayton on Sunday.

Peoria Rivermen
 * Levente Szuper is 6-0-0 with a 1.67 goals against average and two shutouts in six games in March.
* Rivermen rank third in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.44 goals per game.
* Peoria travels to Reading on Tuesday, Trenton on Wednesday and Atlantic City on Friday.

Reading Royals
 * Reading's road power play ranks third in the ECHL with 22.2 percent (39-for-176).
* Royals are 0-5-1 at home in March after starting the season 21-1-3 at home.
* Reading hosts Peoria on Tuesday before traveling to Toledo on Wednesday and Trenton on Friday and Saturday.

Toledo Storm
 * Morten Ask leads the team with 30 assists and 51 points and is +9 in 62 games.
* Jim Abbott is tied for sixth among ECHL rookies with 23 goals and ranks seventh with 49 points.
* Toledo hosts Reading on Wednesday and Cincinnati on Sunday while traveling to Cincinnati on Friday and Dayton on Saturday.

Trenton Titans
 * Titans' home penalty kill ranks second in the ECHL with 89.1 percent (115-for-129).
* Matt Zultek has seven goals in his last 10 games and ranks second in the ECHL with 16 power-play goals.
* Trenton hosts Peoria on Wednesday, Reading on Friday and Saturday and Atlantic City on Sunday.

Wheeling Nailers
 * Joe Exter is 7-1-0 with a 2.20 goals against average and two shutouts in 12 games with Wheeling.
* Nailers rank second in the ECHL in scoring with 3.66 goals per game.
* Wheeling travels to Dayton on Friday.


Southern Division
Charlotte Checkers
 * Checkers' road power play leads the ECHL with 89.4 percent (143-for-160).
* Dusty Jamieson has four goals and three assists in six games in March.
* Charlotte travels to Columbia on Tuesday and Augusta on Friday while hosting Alaska on Saturday.

Columbia Inferno
 * Tim Smith leads the league with 79 points and ranks third with 52 assists.
* Columbia leads the ECHL in scoring with 3.83 goals per game.
* Inferno hosts Charlotte on Tuesday before traveling to Roanoke on Friday, Greenville on Saturday and Gwinnett on Sunday.

Florence Pride
 * Wes Goldie ranks third in the ECHL with 34 goals and is tied for third with 14 power-play goals.
* Sebastien LaPlante is 3-1-1 with a 1.78 goals against average and a shutout in his last five games.
* Florence travels to Gwinnett on Friday and Columbus on Saturday.

Florida Everblades
 * Brian McCullough ranks second in the ECHL with 36 goals and 77 points.
* Reggie Berg tallied his second hat trick of the season in Saturday's 5-4 win against Greenville.
* Florida hosts Greensboro on Friday and Saturday.

Greensboro Generals
 * Jamie Hodson is 12-8-0 and ranks second in the ECHL with a .933 save percentage.
* Geno Parrish ranks second among ECHL defensemen with 49 assists.
* Greensboro hosts Greenville on Wednesday before traveling to Florida on Friday and Saturday.

Greenville Grrrowl
 * Mike Nelson and Mark Concannon each have seven points (2g-5a) in their last five games.
* Grrrowl are 6-for-26 on the power play (23.1 percent) in six games in March.
* Greenville travels to Greensboro on Wednesday and Columbus on Friday while hosting Columbia on Saturday and Alaska on Sunday.

Roanoke Express
 * Rookie Carl Mallette has a 10-game point streak (7g-9a) dating back to February 7.
* David Belitski is 3-0-1 with a 1.71 goals against average in his last four games.
* Roanoke hosts Alaska on Wednesday, Columbia on Friday and South Carolina on Saturday and travels to Augusta on Sunday.

South Carolina Stingrays
 * Kirk Daubenspeck is 13-6-1 with a 2.45 goals against average and two shutouts in 20 home games.
* South Carolina's road power play leads the ECHL with 24.8 percent (38-for-153).
* Stingrays host Alaska on Tuesday and Friday before traveling to Roanoke on Saturday.


Central Division
Augusta Lynx
 * Jason Saal is 4-1-1 with a 2.09 goals against average and two shutouts in six games in March.
* Terry Marchant has a four-game assist streak (4a) dating back to March 3.
* Augusta travels to Gwinnett on Tuesday before hosting Charlotte on Friday, Gwinnett on Saturday and Roanoke on Sunday.

Columbus Cottonmouths
 * Cottonmouths ranks second in the ECHL on the penalty kill with 88.2 percent (254-for-288).
* J-F Plourde has a nine-game point streak (5g-6a) dating back to February 21.
* Columbus hosts Louisiana on Wednesday, Greenville on Friday and Florence on Saturday.

Gwinnett Gladiators
 * Kevin Doell is tied for second among ECHL rookies with 26 goals and ranks third with 61 points.
* Trevor Prior is 5-1-3 with a 2.49 goals against average in his last nine games.
* Gwinnett hosts Augusta on Tuesday, Florence on Friday and Columbia on Sunday while traveling to Augusta on Saturday.

Louisisna IceGators
 * Louisiana leads the ECHL on the power play with 23.2 percent (76-for-328).
* IceGators rank second in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.34 goals per game.
* Louisiana travels to Columbus on Wednesday before hosting Mississippi on Friday and Pensacola on Saturday.

Mississippi Sea Wolves
 * Jim Baxter leads ECHL defensemen with five power-play goals and ranks second with 60 points (16g-44a).
* Sea Wolves ranks second in the ECHL in scoring with 3.55 goals per game.
* Mississippi hosts Pensacola on Tuesday before traveling to Louisiana on Friday and Texas on Saturday and Sunday.

Pensacola Ice Pilots
 *Corey Neilson ranks second in the ECHL with 53 assists and leads ECHL defensmen with 70 points.
* Brian Eklund leads the ECHL with 32 wins, 3,236 minutes and 1,915 saves.
* Pensacola travels to Mississippi on Tuesday, Texas on Friday and Louisiana on Saturday.

Texas Wildcatters
 * Davis Parley ranks second in the ECHL with 1,502 saves and ranks fourth with a .929 save percent.
* Rookie John Snowden leads the team with 10 goals and ranks second with 21 points in 28 home games.
* Texas hosts Pensacola on Friday and Mississippi on Saturday and Sunday.


Pacific Division
Alaska Aces
 * Aces rank third in the ECHL on the power play with 87.7 percent (286-for-326).
* Lance Mayes is 2-1-0 with a 1.34 goals against average and a shutout in three games in March.
* Alaska travels to South Carolina on Tuesday and Friday, Roanoke on Wednesday, Charlotte on Saturday and Greenville on Sunday.

Bakersfield Condors
 * Paul Rosebush tallied his first hat trick of the season in Saturday's 5-4 loss against Las Vegas.
* Kevin Riehl leads the team with 37 assists, 56 points and 15 power-play points (4g-11a).
* Bakersfield hosts Idaho on Wednesday and Long Beach on Friday before visiting Long Beach on Saturday and San Diego on Sunday.

Fresno Falcons
 * Kris Porter has six points (3g-3a) in his last five games and leads the team with 42 points (15g-27a).
* Falcons rank second in the ECHL in penalty minutes with 26.9 penalty minutes per game.
* Fresno hosts Long Beach on Wednesday and San Diego on Saturday.

Idaho Steelheads
 * Scott Kabotoff is 3-0-0 with a 1.92 goals against average in four games with the Steelheads.
* Lance Galbraith tallied his second hat trick of the season in Saturday's 4-3 win against Long Beach.
* Idaho travels to Bakersfield on Wednesday and Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday.

Las Vegas Wranglers
 * Marc Magliarditi is 17-4-1 with a 2.22 goals against average and a shutout in 23 home games.
* Dave Cousineau is tied for the ECHL rookie lead with 11 power-play goals and is tied for second among defensemen with four game-winning goals.
* Las Vegas hosts Idaho on Friday and Saturday and travels to Long Beach on Sunday.

Long Beach Ice Dogs
 * Alex Kim has nine points (2g-7a) in five games in March and leads the team with 43 points (21g-22a).
* T.J.Aceti is 4-2-1 with a 3.18 goals against average in his last eight games.
* Long Beach travels to Fresno on Wednesday and Bakersfield on Friday while hosting Bakersfield on Saturday and Las Vegas on Sunday.

San Diego Gulls
 * Mark Pederson leads the ECHL with 42 goals and 18 power-play goals and ranks third with 76 points.
* Greg Barber leads ECHL rookies with 28 goals and 42 assists and ranks second with 26 power-play points (11g-15a).
* San Diego hosts Fresno on Friday and Bakersfield on Sunday while traveling to Fresno on Saturday.

Check out the ECHL Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 15, 2004


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