2004-05 ECHL season

The 2004-05 ECHL Season was the 17th season of the ECHL. This season marked uncharted territory for the ECHL as they established their first Canadian franchise, the Victoria Salmon Kings.

The league also adopted a "Mason-Dixon" format, as the conferences were split on the Mason-Dixon line, with the National Conference teams being north of the famed line, and American Conference teams south of the line, creating a "North vs South" format.

The ECHL All-Star Game was held at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania and was hosted by the Reading Royals. The National Conference All-Stars defeated the American Conference All-Stars 6:2, with Idaho's Frank Doyle named Most Valuable Player.

At the end of the season the Pee Dee Pride and Louisiana IceGators franchises ceased operations, with the Florence-based Pride announcing a move to nearby Conway (in the Myrtle Beach area), awaiting completion of the new Atlantic Center Arena. The Peoria Rivermen moved to the AHL, and the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies relocated to Stockton, California.

As a result of the NHL Lockout, players who would be in the AHL found themselves in the ECHL for another year, while some NHL stars found work in the ECHL, some as a way to return to their hometowns (or their wives'), and others to give back to the league which gave them a start. Scott Gomez (Alaska) chose to return home to his Anchorage roots, Curtis Brown played for his wife's hometown in San Diego, while Jeremy Stevenson, who played his first professional season as a Greensboro Monarch ten years ago, returned to the Carolinas as a member of a rival club, the South Carolina Stingrays. Stevenson's NHL teammate Shane Hnidy, who played 21 games with the former Baton Rouge Kingfish as a rookie, also rediscovered his roots, playing for the Florida Everblades. Hnidy and Stevenson would find themselves playing against each other in the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Bates Battaglia joined his younger brother Anthony on the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL for the 2004-05 season on February 21, 2005. This was the first time that he had played on the same team with his younger brother.

Regular Season

Final Standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L= Loses; T = Ties; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against; PTS = Points; Green shade = Clinched Playoff Spot; Blue shade = Clinched Division; (z) = Clinched Home-Ice Advantage

American Conference

East Division	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA
Columbia Inferno	72	38	22	12	88	199	186
South Carolina Stingrays	72	39	24	9	87	230	219
Charlotte Checkers	72	39	26	7	85	226	219
Greenville Grrrowl	72	39	28	5	83	210	204
Pee Dee Pride	72	31	36	5	67	203	219
Augusta Lynx	72	28	35	9	65	188	237

South Division	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA
Pensacola Ice Pilots (z)	72	51	16	5	107	248	178
Florida Everblades	72	42	20	10	94	237	192
Gwinnett Gladiators	72	40	24	8	88	241	202
Mississippi Sea Wolves	72	39	24	9	87	223	215
Louisiana IceGators	72	26	40	6	58	192	266
Texas Wildcatters	72	17	44	11	45	178	260

National Conference

North Division	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA
Reading Royals	72	43	22	7	93	220	161
Trenton Titans	72	42	21	9	93	220	161
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies	72	42	22	8	92	205	189
Toledo Storm	72	41	26	5	87	203	194
Peoria Rivermen	72	38	26	8	84	213	177
Wheeling Nailers	72	38	29	5	81	171	173
Johnstown Chiefs	72	22	36	14	58	191	258
Dayton Bombers	72	23	40	9	55	175	225

West Division	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA
Alaska Aces (z)	72	45	19	8	98	233	187
Long Beach Ice Dogs	72	43	20	9	95	220	181
Idaho Steelheads	72	42	23	7	91	223	183
Bakersfield Condors	72	40	22	10	90	232	205
Fresno Falcons	72	39	25	8	86	204	217
San Diego Gulls	72	35	29	8	78	206	222
Las Vegas Wranglers	72	31	33	8	70	201	199
Victoria Salmon Kings	72	15	52	5	35	178	298

Scoring Leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Scott Gomez	AK	61	13	73	86
Carl Mallette	TOL	64	30	50	80
Jamie Johnson	AUG	72	22	58	80
Chris Minard	AK	69	49	29	78
Joe Tenute	SC	68	34	41	75
Wes Mason	LA	72	31	39	70
Brian McCullough	PEO	71	39	30	69
Kris Goodjohn	GWT	69	21	48	69
Evan Cheverie	LB	72	29	39	68
Scott Bertoli	TRE	70	27	41	68

Leading Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; Mins = Minutes Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player	Team	GP	Mins	W	L	T	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Dany Sabourin	WHL	27	1578	19	6	1	44	5	.942	1.67
Barry Brust	REA	42	2413	27	9	4	79	4	.928	1.96
Alfie Michaud	PEO	48	2712	27	13	5	92	6	.929	2.04
Tyler MacKay	FL	27	1601	18	7	2	56	2	.921	2.10
Chris Madden	LB	28	1598	19	5	2	57	5	.941	2.14

Kelly Cup Playoffs

1st Round

American Conference Quarterfinals

Pensacola vs. Greenville
Date	Away	Home
April 14	5	4	OT
April 15	3	2	OT
April 16	3	2	OT
April 19	0	4
Greenville wins series 3–1

Columbia vs. Charlotte
Date	Away	Home
April 13	0	2
April 15	2	4
April 16	1	3
April 17	2	5
April 20	4	3	OT
Charlotte wins series 3–2

Florida vs. South Carolina
Date	Away	Home
April 13	4	7
April 15	4	3
April 16	5	2
April 18	4	3	OT
Florida wins series 3–1

Gwinnett vs. Mississippi
Date	Away	Home
April 13	1	5
April 15	2	3	OT
April 16	1	8
April 18	1	3
Gwinnett wins series 3–1

North Division Semifinals

Reading vs. Toledo
Date	Away	Home
April 14	1	0
April 16	0	1
April 17	2	0
April 19	5	2
Reading wins series 3–1

Trenton vs. Atlantic City
Date	Away	Home
April 13		4
April 15		2	OT
April 17	4	3	OT
Trenton wins series 3–0

West Division Semifinals

Alaska vs. Bakersfield
Date	Away	Home
April 12	2	5
April 13	1	3
April 14	2	3
April 16	3	4	OT
April 18	2	6
Alaska wins series 3–2

Long Beach vs. Idaho
Date	Away	Home
April 13	2	3
April 15	3	2
April 16	4	2
April 17	3	0
Long Beach wins series 3–1

2nd Round

American Conference Semifinals

Gwinnett vs. Charlotte
Date	Away	Home
April 24	1	2	OT
April 25	4	3	OT
April 27	1	4
April 28	0	3
Charlotte wins series 3–1

Florida vs. Greenville
Date	Away	Home
April 22	1	4
April 25	3	4	OT
April 26	2	1	OT
Florida wins series 3–0

National Conference Division Finals

North Division Reading vs. Trenton
Date	Away	Home
April 22	2	4
April 23	2	1
April 27	2	3	OT
April 29	3	4
Trenton wins series 3–1

West Division Alaska vs. Long Beach
Date	Away	Home
April 22	2	1	OT
April 23	4	2
April 25	1	3
Alaska wins series 3–0

Conference Finals

American Conference Florida vs. Charlotte
Date	Away	Home
May 2	4	6
May 4	5	4
May 6	2	1
May 8	1	4
May 10	0	5
May 13	1	0	OT
Florida wins series 4–2 and Gingher Memorial Trophy

National Conference Alaska vs. Trenton
Date	Away	Home
May 3	0	6
May 4	7	1
May 7	3	4	OT
May 8	4	3	OT
May 10	0	3
May 13	1	2	OT
May 16	2	0
Trenton wins series 4–3 and Bruce Taylor Trophy

Kelly Cup Finals

Florida vs. Trenton
Date	Away	Home
May 21	7	0
May 22	2	1
May 27	5	4	OT
May 28	6	3
May 30	2	5
June 1	4	1
Trenton wins series 4–2 and Kelly Cup

ECHL Awards

Patrick Kelly Cup:	Trenton Titans
Henry Brabham Cup:	Pensacola Ice Pilots
Gingher Memorial Trophy:	Florida Everblades
Bruce Taylor Trophy:	Trenton Titans
John Brophy Award:	Nick Vitucci (TOL)
CCM TACKS Most Valuable Player:	Scott Gomez (AK)
Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player:	Leon Hayward (TRE)
Reebok Hockey Goaltender of the Year:	Chris Madden (LB)
CCM Tacks Rookie of the Year:	Joe Tenute (SC)
Defenseman of the Year:	Ray DiLauro (WHE)
Leading Scorer:	Scott Gomez (AK)
Reebok Hockey Plus Performer Award:	Aaron Philips (PEN)
Sportsmanship Award:	Kris Goodjohn (GWT)

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