Around the League: Playoff Edition

The Utah Grizzlies face off tonight against the Las Vegas Wranglers. Utah's gone 10-4 against Vegas in the regular season, but the two teams haven't met in over 2 months and in that period, the Wrangers have pushed themselves out of the bottom of the barrel and into the 5th seed of the National Conference.

Lucky for us, Colley's on top of it. We snagged this quote from the Deseret News: "They've probably been the second-best team in the league the second half of the year," said Colley. "They've been playing great hockey."

Yes, they have. That's what worries us. It sounds like Utah hopes to pick up at least one of the games in Vegas, then bring the series to home ice where they've been doing incredibly well in the last half of the season. Can't argue with that.

We also can't argue with Adrian Denny's observation regarding the new playoff format in his blog today: "In the ECHL’s newly formatted best-of-five first round, the team with the better regular season record was able to choose when they wanted their home-ice advantage to fall. I think this format and schedule is going to be a brutal failure and will change next season league-wide." Seriously, ECHL: What up with that?

The Grizzlies also released their playoff roster yesterday. No word on lines, but we're thinking we'll see something similar to the last regular season game, which was played in Victoria. We kind of suck at doing lines in the proper order and we're not too sure about the defense, but:

Perry-Hunter-Kinasewich
Sixsmith-Crowder-May
Galbraith-MacMillan-McJannet
Nikiforov/Carroll

Kilburg-Clarke
Maxwell-Suda
Vandermeer-Sorteberg

And it sounds like Mikko Koskinen will start in goal for the Grizzlies. Mikko went 6-0 for Utah since his debut on ECHL ice.

You can check out both playoff away games against Vegas free of charge at Legends Pub and Grill. They'll also be doing some food specials for the games. We went to Legends earlier in the season and had a blast, so check it out if you're in the area.

Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes loves hockey.

You can view all of the team playoff rosters in the Kelly Cup Playoff area of ECHL.com. Make sure you have your ECHL playoff bracket on hand tonight. Here are the first round matchups:


American Conference Quarterfinals
#1 Charlotte Checkers vs. #8 Toledo Walleye

The Charlotte Checkers are no strangers to the playoffs as they start their 13th run for the Kelly Cup against 8th place Toledo. The Walleye aren't chump change either as they made the American Conference Finals in 2006. Toledo holds a 3-2-0 regular season record against the Checkers who've gone 2-2-1 against the Walleye.


#2 Kalamazoo Wings vs. #7 Reading Royals

Kalamazoo has the better regular season record between these two teams going 5-0-1 against the Royals. Reading has advanced to the playoffs 5 times in their 9 seasons, but Larry Courville is making his playoff debut as head coach of the Royals. Kalamazoo is also new to the Kelly Cup, but not to the playoffs as they made the IHL Turner Cup playoffs last year.


#3 Elmira Jackals vs. #6 Florida Everblades

The Jackals have made their 3rd straight push to the postseason, but the Everblades aren't lacking in playoff experience: Florida has advanced to the postseason every year, giving them 12 years in playoff experience. Elmira has gone 2-0-0 against the Everblades this season, but both games have been on their home ice. The Jackals and the Everblades will meet on Florida ice for the first time in the postseason.


#4 South Carolina Stingrays vs. #5 Cincinnati Cyclones

The South Carolina Stingrays are the defending Kelly Cup champs. They'll face off against 5th place Cincinnati, who won the Cup in 2008. Neither team is new to the playoffs having met in the American Conference Finals the last two years. This is the third consecutive year the two have met in the playoffs. The Cyclones went 3-1-0 against South Carolina in the regular season, while the Stingrays are 1-2-1 against Cincinnati.



National Conference Quarterfinals
#2 Bakersfield Condors vs. #7 Victoria Salmon Kings

The last time these two teams met was March 20, and that contest ended with a 3-2 score in favor of the Condors. The Salmon Kings are hoping that’s not the result of this five-game series. Anaheim is sending some reinforcements to Bakersfield though, so they’ll have their work cut out for them.

These two teams have a fairly even record against each other in the regular season. Bakersfield was 6-4-1 against the Salmon Kings in the regular season, while Victoria went 5-5-1 against the Condors. Victoria is in the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. The Condors have six consecutive playoff years under their belt.


#3 Alaska Aces vs. #6 Stockton Thunder

From ECHL.com: “Alaska is in the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. The Aces are 6-0 all-time in first-round series.” Stockton is in the playoffs for the fourth time. Once again, these two teams are pretty even against each other for the regular season. Stockton was 5-1-4 against the Aces in the regular season while Alaska was 5-5-0 against the Thunder. Our advice to Stockton: try to win in regulation.


#4 Utah Grizzlies vs. #5 Las Vegas Wranglers

After getting really sick of each other at the beginning of the season, these teams have had a two month break. Not that we think that will change the intensity of the match up. Utah went 10-4-0 against the Wranglers this season. Las Vegas was 4-9-1 against the Grizzlies. So don’t be surprised if the Wranglers feel like they have something to prove.

This is Utah’s fourth time in the playoffs in five years, while it’s Vegas’s fifth time in six years.


****#1 Idaho Steelheads receive a bye


Ontario Reign . . .

Thanks for a great All-Star Game! Playoffs next year, guys – do it.

Around the League: ECHL 3/29/10

This week we stumbled upon an interview by a local North Carolina sports news show of ECHL defenseman TJ Reynolds of the Charlotte Checkers, and we had to share it. It covers everything from scoring to the Kelly Cup to travel in the ECHL.

TJ Reynolds leads the league in PIM with 248 minutes spent in the box. (Lance Galbraith is about a game misconduct away from the the first place spot with 239 PIM.) When asked about the stat Reynolds responded, "Well, I don't know if it's something to be proud of or not . . . I play tough, I stick up for my teammates, and every team has a few guys that helps the other guys out."

After learning about his league leading PIM, it wasn't long before Reynolds was asked about his personal speciality: fighting, and more particularly how fights on the ice actually start. In the course of the conversation, the topic of whether or not Reynolds’ mother approved of his magnanimous statistic: "No, she doesn't like it at all. She doesn't like me fighting." Best answer ever.

If you have five spare minutes, definitely give this a watch. It's a fun take on the ECHL we generally don't get to see.

And the rest of your ECHL headlines . . .


American Conference
EAST:

The Elmira Jackals (35-25-6-3) clinched a playoff spot last week, now they have a chance to clinch the division title on their home ice.

The Reading Royals (35-28-1-5) are in the midst of a 5 game winning streak and their playoff chances look a lot like the Grizzlies' (if a, then b - but if not b, then c, OR if not c or a, then possibly d . . .)

Dave Caruso of the Trenton Devils (32-29-4-5) picked up the ECHL Goaltender of the Week award for March 22-28. Caruso went 3-0-0 and got the Devils' first shutout last week.

The Johnstown Chiefs (17-41-7-4) are raising money to help out one of their greats who was recently admitted to a medical center: Galen Head scored 601 points in 8 seasons with Johnstown.


NORTH:

Andrew Fournier of the Kalamazoo Wings (40-20-6-3) was named the ECHL Player of the Week for March 22-28. Fournier had 8 points (4g, 4a) in 4 games - nicely done.

We just really liked this headline from the Cincinnati Cyclones (42-24-1-2): Cyclones Lose To Kalamazoo at Home...Finally...6-3 - apparently it's the first Cyclone loss to Kalamazoo on home ice this season.

The Toledo Walleye (35-28-2-4) announced their first season attendance in their new hometown: 226,575. That's an average of 6,300 fans per game.

The Wheeling Nailers (32-32-2-4) took some time off of hockey this week to help out the Soup Kitchen of Wheeling.


SOUTH:

TJ Reynolds of the Charlotte Checkers (41-21-4-3) did a great interview for Fox News Got Game about his team and his league leading PIM.

The South Carolina Stingrays (38-19-6-6) signed former Grizzlies' goalie Beau Erickson to a contract last week.

The Florida Everblades (37-24-4-5) clinched a playoff spot last week with their win against Charlotte.

Coach Jeff Pyle of the Gwinnett Gladiators (31-30-4-3) coached his 500th game with the Gladiators on Sunday. That's a lot of hockey!



National Conference
PACIFIC:

The Bakersfield Condors (35-28-4-1) are one point away from clinching a playoff spot. However, the ECHL standings show it as a done deal.

Jason Pitton rejoined the Stockton Thunder (32-27-2-7) this week after a stint in the AHL.

The Las Vegas Wranglers (32-29-4-4) defeated the Aces in overtime 8-7 last Thursday. That's a lot of goals!

The Ontario Reign (30-29-3-7) won their last home game of the season and are hoping for a push to the playoffs on the road.


WEST:

The Idaho Steelheads (47-16-1-4) won the Brabham Cup which is the trophy awarded to the ECHL team that finishes with the most points in the regular season.

The Alaska Aces (33-27-4-4) had a 10 game unbeaten streak going last week, but it was snapped by Ontario on Friday.

The Utah Grizzlies (32-28-4-5) announced their player awards for their Awards Banquet this week. Are we surprised that Snatch was voted Fan Favorite . . . not so much.

Taylor Ellington of the Victoria Salmon Kings (33-30-4-2) was called up to the AHL's Moose on Monday.

Around the League: ECHL 3/22/10

Las Vegas is not a town to shy away from an award, so the Wranglers were particularly pleased when they swept the ECHL Player honors for March 8-14.

Vegas goalie Jimmy Spratt picked up the ECHL Goaltender of the Week award. Spratt went 4-0-0 this week with a GAA of 2.75 and a SV% at 0.923 during that run. In 3 of the 4 games played, he saved over 30 shots including at 38 save performance on March 10. Spratt has tallied one shutout during his first season in Vegas. This was his first time receiving the award.

Center Adam Miller scored an even 6 goals and 6 assists for 12 points this week and grabbed himself the ECHL Player of the Week award. Miller also tallied his second hat trick of the season in his first 5 point game (3g, 2a). This increased his current scoring streak to 11 games which ties the current Vegas record. Miller also received the award earlier this season for the week of November 30 to December 6.

For the Grizzlies, this is far from good news as Utah has been desperately clinging to the final playoff spot throughout the weekend. With teams like Vegas passing them in the standings, the Grizzlies are in for a hard push to the finish line.

And now for the rest of your ECHL headlines . . .


American Conference
EAST:

Left Winger Maxime Gratchev has returned from the AHL to the Elmira Jackals (35-22-4-3) who are close to clinching a playoff spot.

Goalie Matt Dalton of the Reading Royals (33-27-1-4) picked up his first professional shut out last weekend.

The Trenton Devils (28-29-4-5) lost three straight this week and put themselves 6 points outside of a playoff spot.

The Johnstown Chiefs (16-39-7-4) have lost their last 4 and currently sit at 2-7-1 in their last 10.


NORTH:

Patrick Asselin of the Kalamazoo Wings (38-19-5-3) streteched his scoring streak to 7 games over the weekend.

The Cincinnati Cyclones (40-23-1-2) have clinched a playoff spot in the American North.

Tony Romano of the Toledo Walleye (33-27-2-4) is currently in the midst of a 4 game scoring streak and has accumulated 9 points in 6 games.

The Wheeling Nailers (31-31-2-4) were able to keep their playoff hopes afloat with a win on Sunday with Mitch Ganzak scoring the power play game winner.


SOUTH:

Jason Fredricks of the South Carolina Stingrays (38-18-6-6) netted his first professional goal on Saturday in their loss to the Everblades.

Ryan Munce of the Charlotte Checkers (38-20-4-3) is undefeated in regulation in his last eight starts and currently ranks third in the ECHL with 22 wins.

The Florida Everblades (35-22-4-5) beat the division leader Stingrays in the teams' final meeting of the season.

The Gwinnett Gladiators (30-28-4-3) are now over .500 on home ice for the first time since November.



National Conference
PACIFIC:

The Bakersfield Condors (34-26-4-1) will be assured a playoff spot if they win twice against Utah this week.

Chris D'Alvise of the Stockton Thunder (30-26-2-7) picked up his 30th goal of the season in their loss to Utah this Sunday.

The Las Vegas Wranglers (31-28-4-3) swept the ECHL weekly awards as goaltender Jimmy Spratt and center Adam Miller were given the honors.

Andrew Martens of the Ontario Reign (29-27-3-7) tallied 4 points in their loss to Idaho on Sunday.


WEST:

Forward Marty Flichel accumulated his 400th point with the Idaho Steelheads (45-15-1-4) last week.

The Alaska Aces (31-26-4-4) picked up their first road win since February on Friday against the Wranglers.

The Victoria Salmon Kings (32-28-4-2) signed forward Mark Magnowski to a contract last Wednesday.

The Utah Grizzlies (30-28-3-5) are barely holding on to a playoff spot after collecting four out of six points in Stockton this weekend.

Around the League: ECHL 3/15/10

We're a little late to the game on this one, but we simply had to post about it.

Thomas Beauregard, who currently sits at 6th of the goal leaders in the ECHL, was traded to the last place Johnstown Chiefs from the Wheeling Nailers and has refused to report to his new team.

The Johnstown Chiefs are moving to South Carolina next season, and the trade with Wheeling was part of their effort to rebuild for 2010-2011. The Chiefs gave up a promising Jordan Morrison in the trade that they hoped would be a boost to the struggling team but ended up without a star player. The Chiefs had three options: they could suspend Beauregard without pay, trade him before the deadline, or wait to see if their newly acquired star decided to grow a pair and join the team. Apparently, Beauregard was stunned by the trade, but if there's one thing we've learned in Utah this season, it's that no one is too great or too essential to be traded. Period. However, it doesn't sound like Beauregard got that memo . . .

Fortunately, the Johnstown Chiefs were willing to man up when Beauregard didn't. They passed him off to the Elmira Jackals before the March 12 team deadline.

And now for the rest of your ECHL headlines . . .


American Conference
NORTH:

The Cincinnati Cyclones (39-21-1-2) are closing in on a playoff berth, which could happen with a win over Johnstown on Thursday.

Former Grizzly Patrick Asselin, now of the Kalamazoo Wings (36-18-5-3), extended his current scoring streak to 5 games with an assist on Friday.

The Toledo Walleye (31-26-2-4) may have lost their last 4 games, but goalie Richards is keeping them afloat.

The Wheeling Nailers (29-29-2-4) played their last game at Johnstown's War Memorial this weekend.


EAST:

Tyler Donati of the Elmira Jackals (34-21-4-2) has set the new team season scoring record with 94 points.

Stefano Gillati of the Reading Royals (31-27-1-3) was named ECHL player of the week for March 1-7.

Jeff Prough currently leads the Trenton Devils (28-26-4-5) in points tallying 10 in his last 5 games.

Thomas Beauregard refused to report to the Johnstown Chiefs (16-36-7-4) after being traded by the Nailers. Seriously, dude? (He's since been traded to the Jackals.)


SOUTH:

The South Carolina Stingrays (37-17-6-6) are guarenteed a playoff spot in the American Division.

The Charlotte Checkers (35-20-4-3) have acquired Trevor Hendrix and Mike Bartlett from the Johnstown Cheifs in exchange for future considerations.

The Florida Everblades (34-21-4-5) picked up Parker Van Buskirk in a trade with the Stingrays - think this means we'll be seeing Parker back in Utah soon? (kidding . . . kind of.)

Tim Miller of the Gwinnett Gladiators (28-28-4-3) pushed his scoring streak into the double digits over the weekend to a career best of 10 games.



National Conference
PACIFIC:

The Bakersfield Condors (32-25-4-1), who have held the top spot in the Pacific Division for most of the season, were swept this weekend by the Wranglers.

The Las Vegas Wranglers (30-26-4-3) are currently in the midst of a 4 game winning streak, including a sweep of the Condors at home.

Rookie Chris D'Alvise of the Stockton Thunder (28-24-2-7) is turning out to be priceless for his team.

Jon Rheault of the Ontario Reign (27-26-3-6) picked up his first hat trick with the team on Sunday.


WEST:

The Idaho Steelheads (42-13-1-4) have clinched the division title in the National West.

The Victoria Salmon Kings (31-26-4-2) added forward Jeff Lynch to their roster last Friday.

The Alaska Aces (29-26-3-4) have added two new faces to their roster: winger Jarrett Konkle and goalie Josh Johnson.

The Utah Grizzlies (28-25-3-5) will be hosting the Hanson Brothers, most well known from the movie Slap Shot, on March 27.

Around the League: ECHL 3/1/10

The Ontario Reign are on a mission.

After digging themselves into a hole in the middle of the season, the coach instructed the team to move past their slump and concentrate on the playoffs. And they did, winning six straight in a row and pulling off their longest winning streak of the season.

Right now the Reign sit a point above Las Vegas in the standings and are the hottest thing on ECHL ice. The Reign haven't been able to win back to back weekend games all season, but over the past two weekends, they've swept their opponents to keep their streak alive. Ontario next match is particularly important; they'll be playing the Las Vegas Wranglers, the same team they've pulled ahead of in the standings.

The next weekend is definitely one to watch for the Pacific Division. We're even interested to see the outcome.

And now for the rest of your ECHL headlines . . .

American Conference
EAST:

Goaltender Andy Chiodo of the Elmira Jackals (31-19-3-2) has been reassigned to the AHL.

The Reading Royals (27-24-1-3) hit a new team record last week: a 7 game road losing streak.

Special Olympics New Jersey athletes skated with the Trenton Devils (24-23-4-5) last Tuesday.

Johnstown Chiefs (15-34-5-3) won their first home game in the last five on Saturday, but lost when they hit the road on Sunday.


NORTH:

Matt Pierce of the Cincinnati Cyclones (36-19-1-2) tied a club record this week of 7 goals in the opening marker of the contest.

The Kalamazoo Wings (31-17-4-3) are currently in the midst of a double-digit unbeaten streak; they have gone unbeaten in their last 11 home games.

The Toledo Walleye (29-24-1-3) recently broke their record for the top professional attendance season.

The Wheeling Nailers (27-27-2-3) are having a little trouble at the end of the season; they are currently 1-7-2-0 in their last 10.


SOUTH:

The South Carolina Stingrays' (35-15-5-6) Shane Connelly is the Reebok Hockey ECHL goaltender of the week.

Kevin Baker of the Florida Everblades (30-19-4-5) tallied his first hat trick of the season last week with a game winning goal against South Carolina.

The Charlotte Checkers (30-19-3-3) held their first ever midnight game last week, but were shut out 7-0 on home ice by the Walleye.

Sam Roberts of the Gwinnett Gladiators (26-24-4-2) is the top points leader of defenseman in the ECHL with 34. His fellow Gladiator Drew Paris comes in 2nd with 33.


National Conference
PACIFIC:

The Bakersfield Condors (30-19-4-1) have held the top spot in their division for over 20 consecutive weeks.

Mark Pavli answered a few questions for the Stockton Thunder (25-22-2-6) this week. Woo!

The Ontario Reign (24-25-3-4) are currently on a 6 game winning streak; that's their longest win streak this season.

The Las Vegas Wranglers (24-25-4-2) won two out of three in their weekend series against Stockton.


WEST:

Richard Bachman and Evan Barlow have returned to the Idaho Steelheads (37-12-1-4) from the AHL.

Defensman Jimmy Sharrow has returned to the Victoria Salmon Kings (30-21-4-2) this week after a stint in the AHL.

James Sixsmith of the Utah Grizzlies (26-23-2-5) was named ECHL Player of the Week for February 22-28.

The Alaska Aces (26-26-3-2) were swept by Idaho in their series this weekend.

Around the League: ECHL 2/22/10

Bakersfield has been selected to host the 2011 ECHL All-Star Classic. This is the first time the All-Star game will be held in Bakersfield, who will be celebrating 16 years of ECHL hockey next season. The 2011 All-Star game is scheduled for January 26.

Bakersfield, who ranks in the top 20% of minor league hockey attendence nationwide and 5th in the ECHL, is an ideal setting for the 2011 Classic due to it's enthusiastic hockey fan base. Not only will Bakersfield receive the honor of hosting the match, but the competition draws fans from across the nation and generates over $1 million in revenue for the hosting town. This will be the second consecutive All-Star Classic to be held in a National Division city; the 2010 game was hosted by Ontario.

Three Utah Grizzlies attended this year's All-Star Classic in Ontario: Ryan Kinasewich, AJ Perry, and Vic Bartley. DVDs of this season's game can be purchased at the ECHL's website for $15.

And now for your other ECHL headlines . . .

American Conference
NORTH:

The Cincinnati Cyclones (35-17-1-2) are currently pushing double digits with an unbeaten streak of 10 games.

Forward Andrew Fournier of the Kalamazoo Wings (27-17-4-3) celebrates 100 games in his professional career.

Evan Rankin of the Toledo Walleye (28-23-1-3) scored five goals on February 19, against Charlotte. Ouch!

The Wheeling Nailers (27-25-2-2) are currently in the midst of a 4 game losing streak.


EAST:

League points leader Tyler Donati picked up his first career hat trick and is in the middle of a 9 game goal-scoring streak for the Elmira Jackals (30-18-3-2). That's the longest since Tom May's 10 game streak last season.

Olivier Labelle returned to the Reading Royals (25-23-1-3) lineup this week after being on the IR since January 23, and missing 8 games.

Matt Volkes of the Trenton Devils (22-23-4-5) scored four goals in the Devils' fourth straight win on February 21.

The Johnstown Chiefs (14-32-5-3) have partnered with the Johnstown Area Heritage Association for a Heritage Day which offers discounted tickets to visitors to the museum.


SOUTH:

The Carolina Stingrays (35-15-4-5) president is moving up to the AHL. Darren Abbott will take over as the AHL Monarch's president in February.

The Florida Everblades (28-19-4-5) currently hold the season record for games going to shootouts at 11 so far this season.

It's kind of old news by now, but the Charlotte Checkers (29-17-3-3) have officially received approval to move to the AHL next season.

The Gwinnett Gladiators (25-23-3-2) are holding their second blood drive of the season. The slogan? "Give Blood. Play Hockey. (Or just donate. It's less painful)"


National Conference
PACIFIC:

The Bakersfield Condors (28-18-4-1) have been selected to host the 2011 ECHL All-Star Game.

Brad Rowbotham of the SC Hockey Franchise Corporation signed an asset puchase agreement acquiring the Stockton Thunder (24-18-2-6) on Monday.

The Las Vegas Wranglers (22-24-4-2) signed defenseman Mat Deschamps to a contract this week.

The Ontario Reign (21-25-3-4) have won their last 3 games. Nice job for the Reign.


WEST:

Ashton Rome has returned to the Idaho Steelheads (34-12-1-4) from the AHL's Toronto Marlies.

The Victoria Salmon Kings (30-19-4-2) enjoyed their time this past week playing at the E-Center, which hosted the Winter Games in 2002.

Frank Doyle of the Alaska Aces (26-23-3-2) has signed a PTO with the AHL's Worcester Sharks.

Ryan Kinasewich, who currently ranks third in both point and goal leaders in the ECHL, returned to the Utah Grizzlies (24-21-2-5) this week from the AHL's Sound Tigers. Welcome back, Kinasewich!

Around the League: ECHL 2/15/10

The Johnstown Chiefs aren't doing so hot. Currently they sit at last place in the league (even behind the Ontario Reign) with a 14-25-5-3 record, bringing attendance down even lower than could be considered normal for the struggling franchise. With economic concerns on their shoulders, the hockey club is looking to relocate by the 2010-2011 season.

Greenville was once home to the Grrowl who captured the Kelly Cup in 2002. That franchise folded after the 2005-06 season, but the arena remains available. With facilities in place, the move seems a reasonable enough plan, even though the Chiefs are reluctant to move. The team has called Johnstown their home since 1988 and would like to remain, but the financial issues they face needed more drastic action to occur.

And headlines from the rest of the ECHL . . .

American

NORTH:

The Cincinnati Cyclones (34-17-0-1) are currently on a 3 game winning streak, which isn't surprising as their coach just claimed his 163rd victory last week.

The Kalamazoo Wings (26-16-4-2) are getting ready to host the 2010 USA Curling National Championships.

The Toledo Walleye (26-21-1-3) have picked up a defenseman named Zarb in a trade with Florida. We just really like that name . . .

Lane Caffaro of the AHL's Penguins was reassigned to the Wheeling Nailers (26-23-2-2) last Monday.


EAST:

The Elmira Jackals (27-18-3-2) had their unbeaten streak snapped for the first time in 4 weeks by the Devils Sunday night.

Olivier Labelle was moved from the 7-day to the 21-day IR by the Reading Royals (25-21-1-3); Yannick Riendeau has been assigned to the team.

The Trenton Devils (19-23-4-5) took time to teach students about being health conscious for the Face-Off for Fitness program.

The Johnstown Chiefs (14-29-5-3) have requested to be moved to Greenville, SC for the 2010-2011 season.


SOUTH:

The South Carolina Stingrays (32-15-4-5) were more than happy to step up and help out the Johnstown Chiefs with a band-aid charity project.

The Charlotte Checkers (28-16-3-3) will be getting new AHL neighbors in the Albany River Rats, which will be moving to Charlotte for the 2010-2011 season.

Shea Guthrie is having a great season with the Florida Everblades (26-19-3-5) and former college teammate Phil Paquet.

The Gwinnett Gladiators (25-21-3-2) and their fans braved the weather and held their annual Pink in the Rink weekend.

National

PACIFIC:

Matt Pope of the AHL's Moose was reassigned to the Bakersfield Condors (27-16-4-1) by Vancouver and is already making an impact.

The Stockton Thunder (23-18-2-5) get to play poker for charity in their downtime.

Orpik and Bernhardt of the Las Vegas Wranglers (21-23-3-2) were recalled by the AHL's Rampage last week.

The Ontario Reign (18-25-3-4) are in trouble; currently at the bottom of the conference, they were shut out by the Condors 7-0 on Sunday for their third straight loss.


WEST:

The Idaho Steelheads (31-11-0-4) extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games with their win on Saturday against Utah.

Wes Goldie of the Victoria Salmon Kings (29-18-4-1) became the club's all-time leader in games played with 266th game on Thursday.

Netminder Frank Doyle of the Alaska Aces (24-23-2-2) was named Goaltender of the Month for January 2010. Stefanishion was traded to the Checkers.

Ryan Kinasewich and Dylan Hunter, top scorers for the Utah Grizzlies (22-20-2-5), have been loaned to Bridgeport, Milwaukee of the AHL.

Ryan Kinasewich plays in Bridgeport