CLOVIS, Ca. – The ECHL’s West Division race is tightening up down the stretch both at the top and bottom of the division as Victoria and Alaska fight for the division lead, while Phoenix and Utah battle to stay out of the cellar and avoid being the lone team in the conference left out of the post season. Idaho is right in the middle of the pack still hoping to move up. Here is a look at the division and how we got here. Victoria – The Salmon Kings improved through December and January after a so-so start and moved out to a fairly solid lead in both the conference and in the division, but have been struggling of late going just 2-6-1-1 over their last ten games and three of their last four on the road in Alaska. Wes Goldie has continued to lead the Kings on offense all season and has scored a whopping 39 goals so far. Talented Olivier Filion has added the assist touch and worked well with Goldie. Pesky Darryl Lloyd has added a dash of toughness to round out the offense of late and has chipped in 13 goals, 13 assists and 109 penalty minutes. On defense the Kings are noticeably missing recent AHL callup Dylan Yeo who moved up to Manitoba (AHL). Patrick Colombe has stepped up admirably on the backline with a +15 rating and Tim Wedderburn has been solid as well with a +14, but the loss of Yeo has corresponded to the recent troubles in Victoria.
Victoria%27s Julien Ellis
The Kings have been steady in goal with Julien Ellis and Todd Ford performing admirably with .937 and .924 save percentages respectively. The Salmon Kings are in a slump but they are losing games by slim margins. They need to find a way to reduce their goals against by a goal or two a game and they’ll be right back on track to a conference title.
Prospect Watch – Defender Aaron Brocklehurst was recently acquired from the Florida Everblades to help bolster the Kings blueline which has been depleted by injury and callup. Brocklehurst spent time this year in the AHL with Lake Erie and is in his first pro season. Brocklehurst is a Nanaimo, BC native (about 60 miles north of Victoria on Vancouver Island) He spent the last four seasons playing for the St. Cloud State Huskies in Minnesota. Brocklehurst led all St. Cloud State defenseman in goals, assists, and points, ranking fourth overall on the Huskies in scoring.
Alaska – The Aces have been on fire of late and have won three of four against Victoria this past weekend to make up some ground on the division leaders. As in seasons past, the Aces have their sights set on the post season and are jockeying for the best possible position. Colin Hemingway and Cam Keith have been steady producers up front for the Aces all year long and have contributed 58 and 54 points respectively. Veteran pest Lance Galbraith has had the hot hand of late with a hat trick against the Salmon Kings this past weekend. The Aces also have claimed rights to Matt Stefanishion who was declared a free agent after the Fresno Falcons ceased operations. He has been with Hartford (AHL)since early December, but will be a huge addition to the lineup if he finds his way to the Aces. Bryan Miller has been the stalwart on defense with a +10 rating and has contributed on offense as well with 33 points. Aces vet Matt Shasby has also contributed 28 points from the backline as well. Jean-Phillipe Lamoureaux has had the majority of the action in goal for the Aces and has been solid, playing in 38 games with a 2.41 goals against average (gaa). Kevin Regan is a recent addition and has gotten the call frequently with 6 starts since his recent arrival from Providence (AHL) in early February.
Prospect Watch – Defenseman Ryan Turek, originally drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the fourth round with the 94
th overall pick in 2006, Turek spent the last three years, including the first half of this season, playing for Michigan State. Ryan helped the Spartans win their first NCAA championship in 21 years back in 2007, as well as reaching the West Regional Final in 2008.
Idaho – The Steelheads have quietly been making up some lost ground in the West and have moved to within four points of the division leading Salmon Kings and are an impressive 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
As he did last season Marty Flichel, in his third year with Idaho and is once again leading the team in scoring with 41 points on 13 goals and 28 assists. Newcomer Brian McGregor is right behind with 39 points followed by Ben Nelson with 38. McGregor has notched 12 points in his last 8 games, while Marty Flichel has notched 11 points in his last 10 to lead the Idaho offense out of it’s early season doldrums. Darrel Hay has led the Steelhead defensive corps in his third year in Idaho with a few stints in the AHL thrown in. He has a solid plus 4 and has chipped in 21 points so far. Kory Scoran has also contributed up front with 24 points.
Idaho%27s Matt Climie
Veteran Rejean Beauchemin and rookie Matt Climie have been splitting the goaltending duty so far and are pretty even in all statistical categories with a goals against average under 3.00, keeping the Steelheads in every game. Prospect watch – Veteran Garret Bembridge returned recently from Iowa and has managed callups to the AHL on a frequent basis throughout his career, he’s getting a little long in the tooth but may still get his shot due to some solid play. Climie is in rookie season. He played with Bemidji State (NCAA) where he holds the all time record for shutouts with 12. Climie had a start in preseason for the Dallas Stars and turned in a shutout at the NHL prospects tournament.
Utah – The Grizzlies have been in the middle of the pack all season long and are continuing to hover around the .500 mark going 3-3-0-4 in their last 10 games. They have consistently stayed out of the cellar this year ahead of Phoenix but have made no progress at moving up. Grizzly veteran Ryan Kinasawich is always a factor for Utah. it is no surprise that he is leading the team in scoring with 49 points in just 32 games, making him a threat every time he touches the ice. Veteran Tim Verbeek is second in scoring with 32 points, which is a huge drop off from Kinasewich, but he is still scoring on a regular basis. Offense has not been the problem this year so far. The Grizzlies have given up 177 goals so far this year, the most in the conference. Currently they are down to just five defensemen due to injuries and callups. This has been a struggle all year long. Evan Stoflet has been the most consistent player on defense with a plus 9 rating. The roster has been a revolving door and just haven’t had a chance to gel as a unit so far. Hopefully they can right the ship before the playoffs as they did last year and make an impressive run. If this team can solve their problems in this area they could go far. Michael Mole has done his best in goal this year. Mole has a whopping 36 starts but hasn’t had the help he needs in front of him to keep the gaa down (3.38).
Prospect Watch – Rookie forward Vladimir Nikiforov recently returned to Utah from AHL Bridgeport and notched 18 points in 29 games earlier this year for the Grizzlies. Nikiforov was named to the ECHL all star team but couldn’t attend the game due to his callup to Bridgeport. Rookie forward Tom May replaced him in the all-star game and may get a look from the next level as well after putting up good numbers so far.
Phoenix – The Roadrunners presently are the lone team out of the playoffs in the conference and have fallen a point behind the streaking Bakersfield Condors. They are clearly still in the race but need to sort things out in a hurry or they will have a tough time making the postseason despite having several games in hand on the Condors. They are also still within reach of Utah trailing by just 4 points. In contrast to Utah, the Roadrunners are having trouble scoring, but the defense has been mostly solid. Veteran Kimbi Daniels has led the way for the Roadrunners in scoring and added a real spark to the team dynamic in Phoenix, but it hasn’t been enough to keep the club on a winning track for a sustained period as they hover near .500. Daniels has averaged nearly a point a game notching 46 points in 46 appearances. Daniels has registered at least one point in 30 of the 46 games played and leads the RoadRunners with 14 multiple-point efforts on the season. It’s a big drop from there in scoring to Mitch Carefoot at 29. The recent callup of Ashton Rome to Worcester has left a big hole in the Phoenix front line. John McNabb is currently riding a three-game goal scoring streak. The 10-year veteran has points in four out of his last five games and has collected seven goals and seven assists in 23 games since signing with the RoadRunners. The addition of Jim Jorgensen from Gwinnett has helped solidify a solid defensive corps. Gord Burnett has also turned in a steady production of toughness to help keep things in control at the back. In goal, Craig Kowalski has done admirably and has seen much of the action but was recently called up to AHL Norfolk. Rookie netminder Kyle
Phoenix%27s Kyle Jones
Jones, recently snapped a personal 11-game winless streak and earned his first victory last Friday, but will need to step up his game from his current 4.11 gaa if he is to fill in for Kowalski‘s from time to time.
Prospect Watch – Mitch Carefoot has had flashes of offensive brilliance this year and attended AHL camp with Milwaukee in preseason. Phoenix has been productive this year with five players currently up in the AHL. Contact the author at
Mike.Canady@prohockeynews.com Contact the photographer at
chirs.canady@prohockeynews.com.
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