The 2005–06 ECHL
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
is the
18th
18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19.
In mathematics
* Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...
season of the
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The E ...
, a professional
ice-hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ho ...
league based in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The season ran from late October 2005 to early June 2006. The
Brabham Cup
The Henry Brabham Cup is the trophy awarded annually by the ECHL to the team that finishes with the most points in the league during the regular season. The Brabham Cup has been awarded 33 times to 16 different franchises since its debut in 1989. ...
regular season champions and
Kelly Cup
The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...
playoff champions were the
Alaska Aces.
League changes
At the end of the
2004–05 season, the
Pee Dee Pride
The Pee Dee Pride, known as the Florence Pride for the 2003–04 ECHL season, were a professional minor-league hockey team that was based in Florence, South Carolina, where they played in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) from 1997 until 2005. ...
and
Louisiana IceGators franchises ceased operations, with the Florence-based Pride announcing a move to nearby Conway (in the Myrtle Beach area; the cities of Florence and Myrtle Beach are considered one market for television purposes) while awaiting completion of the new Atlantic Center Arena that eventually never happened. The ECHL eventually revoked the franchise at the 2009 Board of Governors meeting. The
Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs:
*Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984
*Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005
*Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013
*Peoria Rivermen (SP ...
franchise also ceased operations when the ownership acquired an
AHL franchise and
under the same name.
The league also approved of
Barry Kemp's
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...
, expansion franchise rights to be transferred to play in
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
, in May 2004. After an apparent fallout among the Bloomington Partners and the nearby Peoria Rivermen transferring to the AHL, the Bloomington ECHL franchise was sold to Legacy Partners, LLC, headed by
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
' majority owner
Robert Sarver
Robert Gary Sarver (born October 31, 1961) is an American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Value Partners, a real estate development company, and the former owner of the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and RCD Mallorca.
Early life and edu ...
and the franchise was relocated as the
Phoenix RoadRunners as the only expansion team for the season.
The
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies were an ECHL hockey team in Atlantic City, New Jersey from 2001 to 2005. The team's venue was the historic Boardwalk Hall, which seats 6,979.
In 2001, the franchise played its inaugural season in Atlantic Cit ...
were sold and relocated to
Stockton, California
Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...
, as the
Stockton Thunder
The Stockton Thunder were a minor league professional ice hockey team that was based in Stockton, California, and a member of the ECHL. The Stockton Arena was their home ice, with a capacity of 9,737. The team was an affiliate team of the New Yor ...
. The
Utah Grizzlies
The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah.
Franchise history
The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars ...
' new ownership also bought the former
Lexington Men O' War
The Lexington Men O' War were a minor league professional ice hockey team and member of the ECHL. The name Man o' War is from a thoroughbred race horse that was bred in Lexington, and also the name of a highly traveled road in Lexington. The Men ...
franchise that had been dormant since 2003 after the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
's
Grizzlies ceased operations.
Just prior to the start of the season, the
Texas Wildcatters
The Texas Wildcatters, who took their name from Texas wildcatters, were a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Beaumont, Texas. They played their home games at the Ford Arena. The franchise previously played in Huntin ...
and the
Mississippi Sea Wolves
The Mississippi Sea Wolves are a professional hockey team based in Biloxi, Mississippi, and play in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Sea Wolves are members of the FPHL. They are a revival of a team by the same name that played in the ECHL, ma ...
were both forced to sit out the season due to damage caused by Hurricanes
Katrina
Katrina or Katrine may refer to:
People
* Katrina (given name)
* Katrine (given name)
Meteorology
* List of storms named Katrina, a list of tropical cyclones designated as Katrina
** Hurricane Katrina, an exceptionally powerful Atlantic hurrican ...
and
Rita
Rita may refer to:
People
* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
Places
* Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...
. The Wildcatters were given permission to re-enter the league for the
2006–07 season, while the Sea Wolves were allowed to return for the
2007–08 season.
While most leagues adopted the entire NHL rule change package for 2005–06 (based on the 2004–05 AHL rule changes), the ECHL kept the shootout at five players, and kept the automatic icing rule which has been used in the league.
All-Star Game
The
ECHL All-Star Game The ECHL All-Star Game is an exhibition ice hockey game that traditionally marks the midway point of the ECHL's regular season, with many of the league's star players playing against each other. The starting lineup for the teams, including the start ...
was held at the
Save Mart Center
Save Mart Center at Fresno State is a multi-purpose arena, on the campus of California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), located in Fresno, California. An open house was held for the community on November 5, 2003, with the official ribbon ...
in
Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...
, and was hosted by the
Fresno Falcons
The Fresno Falcons were a minor league hockey team. They were charter members of several long standing leagues in the western United States including the Pacific Southwest Hockey League and the West Coast Hockey League. In their final years, they ...
. The National Conference All-Stars defeated the American Conference All-Stars 7–6, with Fresno's Luke Curtin named Most Valuable Player.
Regular season
Final standings
''Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L= Losses; OTL = Overtime Losses; SOL = Shootout Losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; Green shade = Clinched playoff spot; Blue shade = Clinched division; (z) = Clinched home-ice advantage''
American Conference
National Conference
Scoring leaders
''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes''
Leading goaltenders
''Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average''
Kelly Cup playoffs
American Conference
Bracket
Division quarterfinals
Division semifinals
Division finals
Conference finals
National Conference
Bracket
Division semifinals
Division finals
Conference finals
Kelly Cup finals
ECHL awards
See also
*
ECHL All-Star Game The ECHL All-Star Game is an exhibition ice hockey game that traditionally marks the midway point of the ECHL's regular season, with many of the league's star players playing against each other. The starting lineup for the teams, including the start ...
*
Kelly Cup
The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...
References
External links
ECHL website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2005-06 ECHL season
ECHL seasons
ECHL season, 2005-06