News release
19 June 2007
PRINCETON, N.J. The ECHL held its Annual Board of Governors Meeting in Henderson, Nev. on June 14-15.
The following items were approved by the Governors
Gwinnetts Chapman Re-Elected Chairman Of The Board
Steve Chapman of the Gwinnett Gladiators was unanimously re-elected to serve a second term as Chairman of the Board of Governors. Chapman was named ECHL Executive of the Year in 2005 and 2006 becoming the first person in league history to win the award twice.
Division, Conference Alignments Finalized
The following division and conference alignments were unanimously approved by the Board for 2007-08
North Division (7 teams) - Cincinnati, Dayton, Elmira, Johnstown, Reading, Trenton and Wheeling
South Division (9 teams) - Augusta, Charlotte, Columbia, Florida, Gwinnett, Mississippi, Pensacola, South Carolina and Texas
West Division (5 teams) - Alaska, Idaho, Phoenix, Utah and Victoria
Pacific Division (4 teams) - Bakersfield, Fresno, Las Vegas and Stockton
The Board unanimously approved the format for the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs as follows.
In the National Conference, playoff berths will be awarded to the first-place team in each division as well as to the next six-best teams, based on regular-season point totals. The division winners will be seeded first and second in order of points and the next six-best teams will be seeded third through eighth in order of points. Teams will not be re-seeded and all series will be best-of-seven games.
In the South Division, playoff berths will be awarded to the first-place team as well as to the next seven-best teams, based on regular-season point totals. The division winner will be seeded first and the next seven-best teams will be seeded second through eighth in order of points. In the Division Semifinals and the Division Finals, teams will be re-seeded according to the same criteria as the Division Quarterfinals. The Division Quarterfinals, Division Semifinals and Division Finals will all be best-of-five series. The South Division winner will advance to the American Conference Finals to meet the winner of the North Division in a best-of-seven series.
In the North Division, playoff berths will be awarded to the first-place team as well as to the next four-best teams, based on regular-season point totals. The fourth seed and the fifth seed will play a best-of-three series in the Division Quarterfinals with the winner advancing to meet the division leader in the Division Semifinals, a best-of-seven series that will also have the second seed playing the third seed. The winners will advance to the best-of-seven Division Finals with the winner advancing to the American Conference Finals to meet the winner of the South Division in 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 in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, including the Finals, will be determined by points.
National Conference Quarterfinals (Best-of-Seven Series)
No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 8 Seed
No. 2 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 7 Seed
Winner of No. 1 Seed/No. 8 Seed vs. Winner of No. 4 Seed/No. 5 Seed
Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 7 Seed vs. Winner of No. 3 Seed/No. 6 Seed
South Division Quarterfinals (Best-of-Five Series)
No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. No. 8 Seed
South Division Semifinals (Best-of-Five Series)
Teams will be re-seeded according to the same criteria as Conference Quarterfinals with division leader seeded first and remaining teams seeded in order of regular-season points
South Division Finals (Best-of-Five Series)
Teams will be re-seeded according to the same criteria as Conference Semifinals
North Division Quarterfinals (Best-of-Three Series)
North Division Semifinals (Best-of-Seven Series)
No. 1 Seed (Division Winner) vs. Winner of No. 4 Seed/No. 5 Seed
North Division Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)
Winner of No. 1 Seed/Quarterfinals Winner vs. Winner of No. 2 Seed/No. 3 Seed
American Conference Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)
North Division Winner vs. South Division Winner
2008 Kelly Cup Finals (Best-of-Seven Series)
National Conference Champion vs. American Conference Champion
Reno Group Receives Extension To Finalize Arena Project
The Board unanimously approved a request from Reno for a one-year extension to its Home Arena Pending as the ownership group continues its work toward an arena project.
The ECHL announced that the membership of the Long Beach Ice Dogs has been terminated, effective immediately. The termination of the membership comes as a result of the Long Beach ownership group being unable to continue to operate in 2007-08.
2008 ECHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition will be hosted by Stockton Thunder, City of Stockton and Stockton Arena on Jan. 22-23, 2008.