LAS VEGAS – Special teams and ace goaltending made all the difference Saturday night as the Wranglers battled the Stockton Thunder for a 4-3 shootout win, putting an end to a three-game losing streak in front of 6,008 fans.
 
The Wranglers took an early lead on a shorthanded goal from center Chris Francis.
 
The 1-0 score held through the first period until a double minor penalty on the heels of another Wranglers penalty kill midway through the second put the Thunder on the five-on-three man advantage. After almost five minutes on the man disadvantage,
 
Wranglers goaltender Mitch O’Keefe held Stockton scoreless until the final eight seconds of five-on-four, when Thunder center Harrison Reed notched a power play goal for the 1-1 tie. A second power play opportunity less than three minutes later gave the Thunder their first lead of the night off the stick of center Eric Hunter, and the period ended with Stockton up 2-1.
 
Midway through the third, the Wranglers capitalized on their own five-on-three man advantage as Francis recorded his second power play goal of the night to tie the game 2-2.
 
Less than a minute later, center Scott Campbell regained the 3-2 Vegas lead on a five-on-four power play continuation, but a third Stockton power play goal four minutes later once again knotted the game.
 
The 3-3 score held through overtime, which ended with almost two minutes of three-on-three action, and in six rounds of shootouts, the Wranglers earned the 4-3 win on goals from center Judd Blackwater, forward Andrew Sarauer and center Eric Lampe.
 
O’Keefe stopped 41 of 44 shots in the victory.
 
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PRINCETON, N.J. – The ECHL Board of Governors held its Pre-Season Meeting last week in Atlanta, Georgia. The following items were approved by the Board. Format for 2013 Kelly Cup Playoffs The top eight teams in both the Eastern Conference and Western Conference will advance to the 2013 Kelly Cup Playoffs. All four rounds of the playoffs will be played in a best-of-seven format. In the Eastern Conference, postseason berths will be awarded to the first-place team in each division and the next five teams in the conference, based on points. The division winners will be seeded first, second and third and will play the eighth-place finisher, the seventh-place finisher and the sixth-place finisher, respectively, while the fourth-place finisher and the fifth-place finisher will meet. The conference semifinals will have the winner of the first-place and eighth-place matchup meeting the winner of the fourth-place and fifth-place game while the winner of the second-place and seventh-place game will face the winner of the third-place and sixth-place matchup. In the Western Conference, postseason berths will be awarded to the first-place team in each division and the next six teams in the conference, based on points. The division winners will be seeded first and second and will play the eighth-place finisher and the seventh-place finisher, respectively, while the third-place finisher will meet the sixth-place finisher and the fourth-place finisher will meet the fifth-place finisher. The conference semifinals will have the winner of the first-place and eighth-place matchup playing the winner of the fourth-place and fifth-place game while the winner of the second-place and seventh-place game will face the winner of the third-place and sixth-place matchup. 3-day and 7-day Injured Reserve replaced by two Reserve List spots The 3-day and 7-day Injured Reserve slots have been replaced by two Reserve List spots. There is no minimum stay on these lists, but a team is limited to no more than 20 Players on its active roster at any time. The 21-day Injured Reserve list remains. There is no limit to the number of players a team may have on the 21-day Injured Reserve. Mid-Season Board of Governors Meeting The Mid-Season Board of Governors Meeting will be held in conjunction with the ECHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition, January 22-23, 2013, in Loveland, Colorado.  
Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League Fast Facts  
• Watch games live on America One Sports , the “Official Broadband & Mobile Broadcaster” of the ECHL.
• The ECHL celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2012-13 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 23 teams in 16 states in 2012-13.
• The league officially changed its name from East Coast Hockey League to ECHL on May 19, 2003.
• 490 players have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including 23 in 2011-12.
• The ECHL has had 298 players reach the NHL since 2002-03 when it changed its focus to become the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. The ECHL had 97 players reach the NHL in its first 10 seasons and 215 in the first 15 years.
• 234 ECHL players have played their first game in the last seven seasons for an average of more than 33 per year.
• ECHL had a record 81 players on NHL opening-day rosters in 2011-12, surpassing the 79 from 2010-11 and marking the ninth year in a row that there have been over 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters.
• ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 30 NHL teams in 2012-13, marking the 16th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.
• 31 coaches with an ECHL background are working behind the benches of teams in the NHL including Anaheim Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau , Pittsburgh Penguins head coach and 2011 Jack Adams Award winner Dan Bylsma , New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano , Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan , Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette and Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel . It is the seventh consecutive season that there have been 11 or more coaches with an ECHL background working in the NHL. 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.
• 26 former ECHL officials are scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2012-13 with referees Darcy Burchell, Francis Charron, Ghislain Hebert, Jean Hebert, Marc Joannette, Trent Knorr, Mike Leggo, Dave Lewis, T.J. Luxmore, Wes McCauley, Jon McIsaac, Dean Morton, Dan O’Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Graham Skilliter, Justin St. Pierre and Ian Walsh, and linesmen Steve Barton, Matt MacPherson, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak, Bryan Pancich and Jay Sharrers.
• ECHL was represented for the 12th year in a row on the Stanley Cup champion in 2012 with Los Angeles Kings assistant coach Jamie Kompon, players Dwight King, Jordan Nolan and Jonathan Quick, manager of communications/broadcasting Jeremy Zager and scouts Steve Greeley, Mark Mullen and Mark Yannetti. Quick was named the recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the second consecutive year a former ECHL player won the award.. There were 43 former players and 13 coaches on the 16 teams competing in the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the seventh year in a row that there have been at least 30 former ECHL players and the ninth consecutive season that over 25 players with ECHL experience have competed in the NHL postseason.
• ECHL was represented in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game by Dan Girardi of the New York Rangers, Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings and Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins.  
• Former ECHL broadcasters working in the NHL include John Ahlers and Steve Carroll of the Anaheim Ducks, Tom Callahan of the Nashville Predators, Dave Goucher of the Boston Bruins, Chris Kerber of the St. Louis Blues, Jack Michaels of the Edmonton Oilers, Dave Mishkin of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Bob McElligott of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
• Ryan Stanzel and Jeremy Zager, who were both recipients of the ECHL Media Relations Director of the Year award, are working in the communications department for the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. Former ECHL assistant director of communications Joe Siville works in the communications department for the Philadelphia Flyers.
• ECHL has affiliations with 24 of the 30 teams in the American Hockey League in 2012-13 and for the past 23 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup Champion .
• In the last seven seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 3,500 call-ups involving more than 1,800 players and in 2011-12 there were 10 times as many call-ups from the ECHL to the AHL than all other professional leagues.
• The ECHL averaged 4,281 fans per game in 2011-12, marking the eighth consecutive season and the 20th time in the last 22 years that the ECHL has averaged over 4,000 fans.
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KALAMAZOO, Mich – The Kalamazoo Wings, proud member of the ECHL, two-time defending North Division Champions, reigning Eastern Conference Champions and National Hockey League affiliate to the Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils and American Hockey League’s Albany Devils, announce that goaltender Riley Gill has been selected as the ECHL Goaltender of the Month for February.
 
In seven appearances, Gill finished February with a record of 5-1-0-1, including a 4-0-0 record in four starts on the road, with one shutout, a 2.63 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.
 
Appearing 34 games for Kalamazoo this season, Gill is 20-10-1-3 with one shutout, a 2.89 goals-against average and a save percentage of .906.
 
In his career, Gill has made 61 ECHL appearance between with Victoria and Kalamazoo posting a record of 34-17-2-6 with four shutouts, a 2.85 goals-against average and a save percentage of .909. Prior to turning pro, he played four seasons at Western   Michigan University where he ended his career with the highest save percentage (.915), most shutouts (8) and second-best goals-against average (2.94) in school history.
 
Gill joins former K-Wings netminder Ryan Nie (October 2009) as the only other member of the organization to receive the Goaltender of the Month.
 
This is Gill’s second ECHL Goaltender of the Month award, back in October 2010 the third-year pro receive the accolade as a member of the Victoria Salmon Kings. 
 
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PRINCETON, N.J. – The ECHL announced on Wednesday that the Board of Governors has approved the Expansion Membership application of the San Francisco Bulls for admission to the ECHL.
 
San Francisco is scheduled to begin play in October 2012 when the Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League will celebrate its 25th season, making it the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.
 
The San Francisco ownership is by Pat Curcio and his wife Elouise, who have relocated to San Francisco from Salt Lake City. Curcio will serve as president, general manager and head coach for the Bulls. The team will play its home games at the Cow Palace, located less than 10 miles from downtown San Francisco.
 
The Cow Palace opened in 1941 and has welcomed more than 50 million visitors through its doors. The arena, which has a capacity for hockey of approximately 11,000, was home to the San Jose Sharks during their first two seasons in the National Hockey League from 1991-93 and also was home to the San Francisco Spiders of the International Hockey League in 1995-96.
 
“San Francisco is a good addition to our Western Conference and a logical rival for our California teams in particular,” said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna. “We look forward to working with Pat as he assembles his front office team and works toward the October 2012 opening at the iconic Cow Palace.”
 
“We are so excited and proud to provide professional hockey to the San Francisco Bay area,” said Curcio. “The on-ice product will be very entertaining and the Cow Palace is the perfect venue for our team.”
 
“The Cow Palace is excited to host high quality, professional ice hockey again,” said Cow Palace CEO Joe Barkett. “It is an iconic venue that is well suited for an enjoyable and convenient fan experience. The San Francisco Bulls will offer great family entertainment for the San Francisco Bay area.”  
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