2008–09 ECHL season

The 2008-09 ECHL season will be the 21st of the ECHL. The league is expected to welcome one new franchise, the Ontario Reign, which will relocate from Beaumont, Texas and will play at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA. [ [http://www.ontarioprohockey.com/news/team/index.html?article_id=4 Ontario Set To Reign The Inland Empire] ] Two teams, the Columbia Inferno and the Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz, will voluntary suspend operations for the season with plans on returning in the 2009-10 season. The Myrtle Beach franchise were originally planning to return to operations, but their home arena had not been completed in time for the Board of Governors Meeting during the All-Star Break. [ [http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news&cat=1&id=14123 ECHL Concludes Mid-Season Board of Governors Meeting] ] The league announced that they were immediately terminating the Pensacola Ice Pilots franchise, because the team's owners did not intend on fielding a team for the 2008-09 season or any season after that. The team was a founding member of the ECHL as the Nashville Knights and moved to Pensacola, Florida after the 1995-96 season. [ [http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news&cat=1&id=15515 Pensacola Membership Terminated] ]

The league will also see the return of the Fresno Falcons to Selland Arena, after the team spent its first five seasons in the ECHL at the Save Mart Center on the campus of California State University, Fresno campus. [ [http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news&cat=1&id=11702 Falcons Return To Selland Arena in 2008-09] ] .

League Realignment

On June 23, the ECHL announced the new divisional alignment of its 23 franchises. The league saw three teams vacate the South Division of the American Conference shrinking the division from nine to six teams and added a franchise to the Pacific Division of the National Conference increasing the division total from four teams to five. There will be thirteen teams in the American Conference, which stretches from New York south to Florida and from Mississippi east to New Jersey, and ten teams in the National Conference which stretches from Alaska south to Arizona. [http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news&cat=1&id=15517 ECHL Board of Governors Annual Meeting] ]

American Conference

North Division

*Cincinnati Cyclones
*Dayton Bombers
*Elmira Jackals
*Johnstown Chiefs
*Reading Royals
*Trenton Devils
*Wheeling Nailers

South Division

*Augusta Lynx
*Charlotte Checkers
*Florida Everblades
*Gwinnett Gladiators
*Mississippi Sea Wolves
*South Carolina Stingrays

National Conference

Pacific Division

*Bakersfield Condors
*Fresno Falcons
*Las Vegas Wranglers
*Ontario Reign
*Stockton Thunder

West Division

*Alaska Aces
*Idaho Steelheads
*Phoenix Roadrunners
*Utah Grizzlies
*Victoria Salmon Kings

Regular Season

League Standings

"Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L= Loses; OTL = Overtime loses; SOL = Shootout loses; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against; PTS = Points; Green shade = Clinched Playoff Spot; Blue shade = Clinched Division; (z) = Clinched Home-Ice Advantage" ;American Conference

Playoff Format

On June 23, the league announced its new playoff format for the 2008-09 season. The playoffs would feature a total of sixteen teams (eight from each conference) and four rounds of play. The top four finishers in each division will be seeded based on regular season point totals. The Division Semifinals will have the first seed meeting the fourth seed and the second seed meeting the third seed in a best-of-seven series. The winners of the Division Semifinals will advance to the Division Finals which is a best-of-seven series. The Division Finals winners will advance to the Conference Finals which is a best-of-seven series. The winner of the American Conference and the winner of the National Conference will meet in the Kelly Cup Finals, a best-of-seven game series. Home-ice advantage will be determined by regular season points. This format is similar to that used by the American Hockey League for the Calder Cup playoffs.

Kelly Cup Playoffs

Bracket

16TeamBracket | RD1= Division Semifinals
RD2= Division Finals
RD3= Conference Finals
RD4= Kelly Cup Finals
group1= American Conference
group2= National Conference
group3=
subgroup1= North Division
subgroup2= South Division
subgroup3= Pacific Division
subgroup4= West Division
team-width=

RD1-seed01= N.1
RD1-team01=
RD1-score01=
RD1-seed02= N.4
RD1-team02=
RD1-score02=

RD1-seed03= N.2
RD1-team03=
RD1-score03=
RD1-seed04= N.3
RD1-team04=
RD1-score04=

RD1-seed05= S.1
RD1-team05=
RD1-score05=
RD1-seed06= S.4
RD1-team06=
RD1-score06=

RD1-seed07= S.2
RD1-team07=
RD1-score07=
RD1-seed08= S.3
RD1-team08=
RD1-score08=

RD1-seed09= P.1
RD1-team09=
RD1-score09=
RD1-seed10= P.4
RD1-team10=
RD1-score10=

RD1-seed11= P.2
RD1-team11=
RD1-score11=
RD1-seed12= P.3
RD1-team12=
RD1-score12=

RD1-seed13= W.1
RD1-team13=
RD1-score13=
RD1-seed14= W.4
RD1-team14=
RD1-score14=

RD1-seed15= W.2
RD1-team15=
RD1-score15=
RD1-seed16= W.3
RD1-team16=
RD1-score16=

RD2-seed01=
RD2-team01=
RD2-score01=
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RD2-seed03=
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RD2-seed05=
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RD2-seed07=
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RD3-seed01=
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RD3-seed03=
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RD4-seed01=
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* N. is short for North Division
* S. is short for South Division
* P. is short for Pacific Division
* W. is short for West Division

References

External links

* [http://www.echl.com ECHL Official site]