truebluefan

ECHL Today

Johnstown Chiefs (10-10-2) at Cincinnati Cyclones (10-10-1) 7:30 p.m. ET
* Cory Urquhart had two goals, including the game winner, in Cincinnati's 3-1 win at Johnstown on Oct. 28.
* Johnstown defenseman Doug Andress has nine points (3g-6a) in his last eight games.
* Defenseman Rory Rawlyk has eight points (1g-7a) in his first seven games with the Cyclones.
* Johnstown rookie Maxime Boisclair has seven-game assist streak (9a), longest streak in ECHL this season.

Phoenix RoadRunners (13-10-0) at Texas Wildcatters (15-4-2) 7:05 p.m. CT
* Phoenix is 2-1-0 in its last three road games and 9-4-0 in its last 13 games.
* Wildcatters' Brandin Cote has three-game goal streak (3g) and four-game point streak (3g-1a).
* RoadRunners' Justin Aikins has two game-winning goals and three points (3g-0a) in his last two games.
* Texas rookie defenseman Mike Madill has 16 points, including his first professional goal on Saturday.


Premier 'AA' Hockey League Fast Facts
* Affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League marking 10th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.
* 310 former ECHL players have played in NHL.
* 164 have made NHL debut in the last five seasons, including goaltenders Barry Brust, Martin Houle, Joey MacDonald, Mike Smith and Mike Wall, center Drew Larman and right wing Jesse Schultz this season, and a record 47 in 2005-06.
* ECHL has been represented on last six Stanley Cup champions.
* Two NHL head coaches (Peter Laviolette & Jim Playfair) and 9 assistant coaches have ECHL experience.
* Affiliations with 24 of the 27 teams in the American Hockey League.
* ECHL has been represented on last 17 Calder Cup champions.
* For each of the past four seasons, ECHL has had more players called up to AHL than all other professional leagues combined. From 2002-06 the ECHL had 1,646 call ups, involving almost 1,000 players, including 416 call ups involving 263 players last season.
* Idaho Steelheads and City of Boise will host the 15th Annual ECHL All-Star Game presented by Rbk Hockey on Jan. 17 and the 10th Annual ECHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Rbk Hockey on Jan. 16 at Qwest Arena.
* ECHL and its member teams contributed more than $2.3 million for charity and relief funds in 2005-06.

truebluefan

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced on Thursday that it suspended Florida goaltender Craig Kowalski for one game and fined him an undisclosed amount as a result of his actions in ECHL Game #257 at Pensacola on Dec. 9.

Kowalski was assessed a minor penalty for leaving the crease and a Match penalty under Rule 28.6 - Leaving the Goal Crease.

Kowalski is suspended under Rule 21.1 - Match Penalty and fined under Rule 28.6 - Leaving the Goal Crease.

Kowalski missed Florida's game at Gwinnett (Dec. 10).

truebluefan

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced on Thursday that it has suspended Victoria center Darryl Lloyd for one game as a result of his actions in ECHL Game #250 against Long Beach on Dec. 8.

Lloyd was assessed a major penalty and a Game Misconduct under Rule 44 - Checking From Behind at 9:56 of the second period.

Lloyd is suspended under Rule 29 - Supplementary Discipline.

Lloyd missed Victoria's game against Long Beach (Dec. 9).

truebluefan

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced on Thursday that it has suspended Johnstown defenseman Adam Henrich for one game and fined him an undisclosed amount as a result of his actions in ECHL Game #256 against Reading and that it has fined him an undisclosed amount as a result of his actions in ECHL Game #265 against Bakersfield on Dec. 10.

Henrich was assessed a minor penalty for cross checking at 2:13 of overtime in the game on Dec. 9.

He is suspended and fined under Rule 29 - Supplementary Discipline.

At 19:20 of the third period on Dec. 10, Henrich was assessed a minor penalty for cross checking, a Misconduct under Rule 40.4 and a Game Misconduct under Rule 40.5.

Henrich is fined under Rule 29 - Supplementary Discipline.

Henrich will miss Johnstown's game at Cincinnati (Dec. 14).

truebluefan

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced on Thursday that it has fined Pensacola owner Mario Forgione an undisclosed amount as a result of his actions at the conclusion of ECHL Game #257 against Florida on Dec. 9.

truebluefan

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced on Thursday that it has suspended Reading forward James Hiebert for three games and fined him an undisclosed amount for his actions in ECHL Game #256 at Johnstown on Dec. 9.

Hiebert was assessed a Match penalty under Rule 61 - Slashing at 2:13 of overtime.

Hiebert is suspended and fined under Rule 29 - Supplementary Discipline.

Hiebert missed Reading's games against Trenton (Dec. 10) and Wheeling (Dec. 13) and will miss the game at Wheeling (Dec. 15).

truebluefan

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL and its member teams mourn the loss and express their condolences to the family and friends of Victoria Times Colonist sports editor Gavin Fletcher, who was killed Monday in a single-vehicle accident.

"Gavin interviewed me many times and I recognized and respected his professionalism, but we also appreciated his efforts and the support that he gave to the ECHL and the Victoria Salmon Kings," said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this most difficult time."

Fletcher is survived by wife Natalie and daughters Claudia, 6, and Sophia, five months.

A memorial service will be held Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Brechin United Church, 1998 Estevan Rd. in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The service will be followed by a reception from 2:30-4:30 p.m. at the Nanaimo Golf Club, 2800 Highland Blvd.

truebluefan

PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Phoenix RoadRunners of the ECHL, a proud affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes and the San Antonio Rampage, have announced that center Scott May has been loaned to the Iowa Stars of the American Hockey League.

May, 24, currently leads the RoadRunners and is tied for sixth overall in the ECHL scoring race with 13 goals and 31 points through 23 games. The White Rock, British Columbia and third-year pro has produced a team-high 10 multiple-point games this season and has already enjoyed three scoring streaks of four games or longer.

A former seventh round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, May has tallied four goals and five assists in 55 career AHL games between St. John's and Milwaukee from 2003-06.

The RoadRunners open a three-game series with the Texas Wildcatters at 6:05 p.m. Thursday at Ford Arena in Beaumont. Catch all the action live at phxroadrunners.com: Home beginning with "RoadRunners Countdown" at 5:45 p.m.

Phoenix returns to US Airways Center at 7:11 p.m. Thursday, December 21 as they welcome back the Victoria Salmon Kings. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Individual game tickets for the 2006-07 regular season start as low $7 in the lower section and can be purchased at the US Airways Center Box Office and at all Ticketmaster outlets including Ticketmaster.com. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.

truebluefan

Boise, ID - Steelheads' defensemen Darrell Hay and Kyle Peto each recorded two points, and the Steelheads gained an early 2-0 lead, before eventually falling 3-2 to the Utah Grizzlies at the E-Center in West Valley City, Utah on Wednesday night.

The Steelheads (12-9-1-1) have now lost six of their last seven games after starting the season 7-1-1-1. Furthermore, the Steelheads drop to 7-4-0-0 on the road, while the Grizzlies snap a two-game losing streak, improving to 6-14-1-2.

At 11:51 of the first period, the Steelheads used their first power play to open the game's scoring. Rookie winger Taggart Desmet skated into the top of the right circles and snapped the puck over the glove of Grizzlies' goaltender Rob McVicar (34 saves) for his third goal of the season. Peto and Hay picked up the helpers.

Less than three minutes later the Steelheads made the score 2-0 on defenseman Peto's man advantage marker, his second in as many nights. Peto took a feed from Derek Nesbitt and wristed a shot off a body in front and into the top right corner at 14:26. Again Hay got the second assist, while Nesbitt's assist extended his road scoring streak to eight games.

The Grizzlies answered with 1:53 left in the opening stanza on Andy Sertich's first of the campaign. Sertich fired a shot along the ice through a screen that beat Steelheads' goaltender John Daigneau (10 saves) five-hole. Danny Stewart and Travis Rycroft registered the helpers.

The second period saw the Grizzlies score twice in 32 seconds to tie the game and subsequently take their first lead. At the 16:51 mark, Grizzlies' forward Jake Riddle, who was playing in his first home game and third overall with the team, banked a shot from behind the goal line off Daigneau and just over the goal line to make it 2-2. Blake Robson and Gordon Burnett drew the assists. On an offensive face-off just moments later, Stewart won the puck to the Grizzlies' leading scorer Ryan Kinasewich, who ripped a shot past Daigneau for the 3-2 lead.

Through two periods, the Steelheads had 24 shots, while the Grizzlies had managed 11.

There was no scoring in the third period, as the Steelheads couldn't find a way to tie the game on any of their 12 shots. With Daigneau pulled in the final two minutes, McVicar was stellar robbing Greg Rallo and Nesbitt to preserve the win, his sixth of the season. The loss drops Daigneau to 1-2-0-0. The Grizzlies got off just two shots in the third period, as the final shots were 36-13 in favor of the Steelheads. The two, third period shots against and the Grizzlies shot total for the contest both set a season record for the Steelheads' stingiest performances.

The Steelheads take a week off before battling the Alaska Aces in Anchorage, beginning on Wednesday, December 20. The puck drops at 9:05 p.m. MST. Don't forget, Steelheads' single-game tickets can be purchased via www.idahosteelheads.com (using the all-new, print-at-home feature), by calling 331-TIXS or from the Qwest Arena box office.

truebluefan

West Valley City, Utah - The Utah Grizzlies (6-14-3) scored three unanswered goals after trailing 2-0 in the first period defeating the Idaho Steelheads 3-2 Wednesday night at the E-Center.

Idaho scored the games first two goals on the power-play with Taggart Desmet at 11:51 of the first and Kyle Peto at 14:26 of the second to take a 2-0 lead.

The Grizzlies responded at 18:07 of the first period with Andy Sertich scoring his first professional goal assisted by Danny Stewart and Travis Rycroft, making the score 2-1.

Utah tied the game at 2 at 16:51 of the second with Jake Riddle scoring his first Utah goal in his E-Center debut (rights acquired from Phoenix on December 2) assisted by Gordon Burnett and Blake Robson.

32 seconds later, at 17:23 of the second, the Grizzlies got the game-winner with Ryan Kinasewich (9) firing a shot from the slot right off of a face-off won by Danny Stewart.

Utah was outshot 36-13 in the game. Rob McVicar earned his sixth win of the season, stopping 34 of 36 shots.

The Grizzlies continue their three-game home stand Friday hosting Alaska. Face-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.