2006–07 Victoria Salmon Kings season
Introduction The '''2006–07 Victoria Salmon Kings season''' is the Salmon Kings' 3rd season in the ECHL. On July 18, 2006, before the start of the 2006-07 season, the Salmon Kings' Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Dan Belisle signed an affiliation agreement with the Vancouver Canucks and its AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Through the affiliation agreement, the Canucks assigned goaltender Julien Ellis; forwards Marc Andre-Bernier, F.P. Guenette and defenseman Patrick Coulombe, while the Moose assigned defensemen Matt Kelly and forward Shaun Heshka. Along with this move, Dan Belisle also signed Wes Goldie, Milan Gajic, Kiel McLeod, and Mike Stutzel to ECHL contracts to play for the Salmon Kings. Through these moves, the Salmon Kings hoped to become a powerhouse in its third season. However, under their new head coach Tony MacAuley, the team struggled through the first half of the season, which caused Belisle to fire MacAuley, after three months behind the bench. Dan Belisle would then hire assistant coach Mark Morrison to become the fourth head coach in Salmon Kings' history. Belisle's other mid-season move included a big trade with the Pensacola Ice Pilots and traded Adam Taylor, and David Wrigley, for Jordan Krestanovich and his brother, Derek Krestanovich. Through these mid-season moves, the Salmon Kings started to respond going on a late-season run and finishing their remaining regular season games on a nine-game winning streak. With the nine-game winning streak, the Salmon Kings completed their season with a 36-32-1-3 record and finished 7th overall in the National Conference to play against the Alaska Aces in their first playoff appearance. The Salmon Kings would eventually win Game 1 by a score of 3-2, but the Aces managed to win their next 4 out of 5 games to win the series 4-2.One of the season highlights for the Salmon Kings, was forward Wes Goldie who led the team and the National Conference with 41 goals.
Standings ===Division standings=== West Division GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA Alaska Aces (STL) 724916 3 4'''105'''270176 Idaho Steelheads (DAL) 724224 2 4'''90'''240208 Victoria Salmon Kings (VAN) 723632 1 3 '''76'''239249 Phoenix RoadRunners (PHX) 722740 2 3'''59'''201255 Utah Grizzlies (Independent) 722242 4 4'''52'''184294===Conference standings=== National Conference GP W L OTL SOL PTS GF GA Las Vegas Wranglers (CGY) 724612 6 8 '''106'''231187 Alaska Aces (STL) 724916 3 4'''105'''270176 Bakersfield Condors (Independent) 724119 3 9'''94'''270236 Idaho Steelheads (DAL) 724224 2 4'''90'''240208 Stockton Thunder (EDM) 723824 5 5'''86'''225197 Fresno Falcons (SJ) 723429 5 4'''77'''195197 Victoria Salmon Kings (VAN) 723632 1 3 '''76'''239249 Phoenix RoadRunners (PHX) 722740 2 3'''59'''201255         Long Beach Ice Dogs (BOS) 722742 0 3'''57'''209267 Utah Grizzlies (Independent) 722242 4 4'''52'''184294
Schedule and results ===Regular season=== 2006–07 Game log October: 1–3–0–1 (Home: 1–1–0–1 ; Road: 0–2–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 1  October 20  Victoria  3–5  Alaska     Belitski  6,451  0–1–0–0  0 2  October 21  Victoria  2–4  Alaska     Belitski  5,389  0–2–0–0  0 3  October 25  Idaho  4–0  Victoria    Bridges  4,883  0–3–0–0  0 4  October 27  Idaho  6–5  Victoria  SO  Belitski  4,168  0–3–0–1  1 5  October 28  Idaho  3–7  Victoria    Bridges  4,162  1–3–0–1  3 November: 6–5–0–0 (Home: 3–3–0–0 ; Road: 3–2–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 6  November 3  Victoria  2–4  Las Vegas    Ellis  5,892  1–4–0–1  3 7  November 4  Victoria  5–4  Las Vegas  OT  Ellis  5,089  2–4–0–1  5 8  November 7  Victoria  3–2  Las Vegas  SO  Bridges  3,645  3–4–0–1  7 9  November 9  Fresno  3–6  Victoria    Ellis  3,520  4–4–0–1  9 10  November 11  Fresno  5–2  Victoria     Bridges  4,416  4–5–0–1  9 11  November 12  Fresno  3–4  Victoria     Ellis  3,723  5–5–0–1  11 12  November 16  Stockton  3–4  Victoria  OT  Ellis  3,418  6–5–0–1  13 13  November 17  Stockton  6–3  Victoria    Ellis  4,381  6–6–0–1  13 14  November 24  Victoria  3–7  Utah    Bridges  4,533  6–7–0–1  13 15  November 25  Victoria  5–3  Utah    Ellis  4,015  7–7–0–1  15 16  November 29  Alaska  6–1  Victoria    Ellis  3,834  7–8–0–1  15 December: 3–10–0–0 (Home: 3–4–0–0 ; Road: 0–6–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 17  December 1  Alaska  3–0  Victoria    Ellis  3,647  7–9–0–1  15 18  December 2  Alaska  9–6  Victoria     Ellis  3,598  7–10–0–1  15 19  December 6  Long Beach  5–4  Victoria    Bridges  3,396  7–11–0–1  15 20  December 8  Long Beach  2–3  Victoria     Ellis  3,650  8–11–0–1  17 21  December 9  Long Beach  1–3  Victoria    Ellis  3,854  9–11–0–1  19 22  December 12  Victoria  2–4  Phoenix    Ellis  2,959  9–12–0–1  19 23  December 15  Victoria  2–4  Long Beach    Ellis  1,770  9–13–0–1  19 24  December 16  Victoria  4–6  Bakersfield    Ellis  5,805  9–14–0–1  19 25  December 17  Victoria  1–3  Fresno    Bridges  3,913  9–15–0–1  19 26  December 21  Victoria  2–4  Phoenix    Ellis  2,972  9–16–0–1  19 27  December 23  Victoria  2–4  Phoenix    Ellis  3,629  9–17–0–1  19 28  December 29  Alaska  2–3  Victoria    Ellis  4,874  10–17–0–1  21 29  December 30  Alaska  5–4  Victoria    Ellis  4,440  10–18–0–1  21 January: 8–8–0–0 (Home: 2–2–0–0 ; Road: 6–6–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 30  January 1  Alaska  2–3  Victoria  SO  Ellis  4,435  11–18–0–1  23 31  January 3  Victoria  6–4  Long Beach    Ellis  1,034  12–18–0–1  25 32  January 5  Victoria  1–4  Fresno    Bridges  4,155  12–19–0–1  25 33  January 6  Victoria  4–6  Bakersfield    Bridges  7,093  12–20–0–1  25 34  January 7  Victoria  1–3  Fresno    Bridges  3,098  12–21–0–1  25 35  January 9  Victoria  3–1  Las Vegas    Bridges  3,836  13–21–0–1  27 36  January 12  Victoria  2–3  Alaska    Bridges  4,532  13–22–0–1  27 37  January 13  Victoria  1–5  Alaska    Bridges  4,711  13–23–0–1  27 38  January 14  Victoria  2–7  Alaska    Bridges  5,031  13–24–0–1  27 39  January 19  Bakersfield  8–1  Victoria    Bridges  4,219  13–25–0–1  27 40  January 20  Bakersfield  5–6  Victoria  SO  Bridges  4,813  14–25–0–1  29 41  January 22  Bakersfield  4–2  Victoria    Bridges  3,426  14–26–0–1  29 42  January 24  Victoria  3–1  Long Beach    Bridges  1,393  15–26–0–1  31 43  January 26  Victoria  4–3  Bakersfield    Bridges  6,973  16–26–0–1  33 44  January 27  Victoria  6–5  Bakersfield  OT  Vincent  4,806  17–26–0–1  35 45  January 28  Victoria  6–3  Long Beach    Bridges  2,633  18–26–0–1  37 February: 6–5–0–0 (Home: 5–3–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 46  February 2  Idaho  1–3  Victoria    Bridges  4,197  19–26–0–1  39 47  February 3  Idaho  6–2  Victoria    Bridges  3,875  19–27–0–1  39 48  February 7  Victoria  1–2  Idaho    Bridges  3,385  19–28–0–1  39 49  February 9  Victoria  6–3  Idaho    Ellis  4,444  20–28–0–1  41 50  February 10  Victoria  0–2  Idaho    Ellis  5,055  20–29–0–1  41 51  February 14  Stockton  0–4  Victoria    Ellis  3,628  21–29–0–1  43 52  February 16  Stockton  3–6  Victoria    Ellis  3,869  22–29–0–1  45 53  February 17  Stockton  3–4  Victoria  OT  Ellis  4,417  23–29–0–1  47 54  February 21  Las Vegas  5–0  Victoria    Ellis  3,571  23–30–0–1  47 55  February 23  Las Vegas  2–3  Victoria  SO  Ellis  4,103  24–30–0–1  49 56  February 24  Las Vegas  3–0  Victoria    Ellis  4,266  24–31–0–1  49 March: 9–1–0–0 (Home: 4–1–0–0 ; Road: 5–0–1–2) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 57  March 2  Victoria  3–1  Fresno    Ellis  4,832  25–31–0–1  51 58  March 3  Victoria  4–3  Fresno  SO  Ellis  5,143  26–31–0–1  53 59  March 7  Victoria  1–2  Stockton  OT  Ellis  3,645  26–31–1–1  54 60  March 9  Victoria  4–5  Stockton  SO  Ellis  6,045 26–31–1–2  55 61  March 10  Victoria  3–4  Stockton  SO  Bridges 8,536  26–31–1–3  56 62  March 15  Utah  3–6  Victoria    Ellis  4,144  27–31–1–3  58 63  March 17  Utah  3–2  Victoria    Ellis  5,070  27–32–1–3  58 64  March 18  Utah  1–4  Victoria     Bridges  4,847  28–32–1–3  60 65  March 23 Long Beach  1–5  Victoria    Bridges  4,699  29–32–1–3  62 66  March 24  Long Beach  1–4  Victoria  SO  Bridges  4,801  30–32–1–3  64 67  March 28  Victoria  7–1  Utah    Bridges  2,940  31–32–1–3  66 68  March 30  Victoria  4–3  Utah  OT  Bridges  5,906  32–32–1–3  68 69  March 31  Victoria  5–1  Utah    Ellis  6,088  33–32–1–3  70 April: 3–0–0–0 (Home: 3–0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 70  April 4  Phoenix   4–6  Victoria    Ellis  4,212  34–32–1–3  72 71  April 6  Phoenix   1–4  Victoria     Bridges  5,349  35–32–1–3  74 72  April 7  Phoenix   1–6  Victoria    Ellis  7,006  36–32–1–3  76'''''Legend''''':===Playoffs=== 2007 Kelly Cup playoffs National Conference quarter-final vs. (2) Alaska Aces: Alaska won series 4–2 #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Series 1  April 9  Victoria  3–2  Alaska    Ellis  3,713  1–0 2  April 10  Victoria  1–7  Alaska    Ellis  4,112  1–1 3  April 12  Alaska  5–2  Victoria    Ellis  2,850  1–2 4  April 13  Alaska  5–2  Victoria    Bridges  3,395  1–3 5  April 14  Alaska  4–9  Victoria    Bridges  3,457  2–3 6  April 16  Victoria  2–5  Alaska    Ellis  4,937  2–4'''''Legend''''':
Player stats ===Skaters===''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes'' Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM  72  41  33  74  -4  65  63  24  41  65  +9  70  65  32  31  63  +5  116  67  13  42  55  -8  28  61  16  36  52  -9  61  70  9  29  38  -11  94 †  54  12  25  37  +4  14  62  7  27  34  +4  61  40  18  15  33  +4  32  59  9  15  24  -3  40  72  9  13  22  +1  33 †  52  7  13  20  -4  60  59  11  8  19  -7  152  61  5  12  17  -22  149 †  51  3  12  15  +10  105 †  26  5  7  12  +5  17 ‡  15  3  7  10  -4  12  27  4  4  8  -20  40  30  2  5  7  -13  34 ‡  15  1  5  6  -8  12  19  2  3  5  -1  66  23  0  5  5  -9  34 ‡  36  1  2  3  -9  110  6  0  3  3  +6  2  3  0  1  1  +1  4  12  0  1  1  -8  2‡  2  0  0  0  +1  2  3  0  0  0  0  6  5  0  0  0  0  6  8  0  0  0  -5  27 Playoffs Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM  6  6  2  8  -3  0  6  2  5  7  -6  2  6  1  6  7  -4  2  5  1  3  4  -3  6  6  0  4  4  -6  4  6  2  1  3  -7  10  5  1  2  3  -6  21  6  2  0  2  -2  4  6  1  1  2  -8  8  6  1  1  2  -2  4  6  0  2  2  -8  0  6  0  2  2  -3  5  4  0  1  1  -1  9  1  0  0  0  -2  0  3  0  0  0  0  5  6  0  0  0  -3  4===Goaltenders===''Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts'' Regular season Player GP Min W L OT SOL GA GAA Sv% SO   31  2190  21  14  1  1  117  3.21  .912  1   33  1897  14  16  0  1  105  3.32  .905  0   2  92  1  0  0  0  6  3.93  .924  0   3  183  0  2  0  1  13  4.25  .865  0 Playoffs Player GP Min W L GA GAA Sv% SO   4  213  1  3  15  4.23  .864  0   4  147  1  1  12  4.91  .852  0†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Victoria. Stats reflect time with the Salmon Kings only. ‡Denotes player no longer with the team. Stats reflect time with Salmon Kings only.
Transactions ===Trades=== October 30, 2006 To Victoria Salmon KingsPhil Cole To Augusta LynxFree Trade November 28, 2006 To Victoria Salmon KingsJordan Krestanovich  Derek Krestanovich To Pensacola Ice PilotsDavid WrigleyAdam Taylor January 31, 2007 To Victoria Salmon KingsPaul Ballantyne To Phoenix RoadRunnersGreg Hornby February 2, 2007 To Victoria Salmon KingsFree Trade To Pensacola Ice PilotsRich Meloche===Free agents acquired=== '''Player'''  '''Former team''' Wes Goldie  Sorel Mission (LNAH) Warren McCutcheon  Manitoba Bisons (CWUAA) Seamus Young  Trenton Titans Mike Stutzel  Tappara Tampere (FNL) Marc-Andre Bernier  Columbia Inferno Matt Kelly  Belleville Bulls (OHL) Darryl Lloyd  Youngstown Steelhounds (CHL) Gustav Engman  Columbia Inferno James DeMone  Columbia Inferno Ryan Jorde  Fort Wayne Komets (UHL) Patrick Coulombe  Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)Robin Gomez  Manchester Phoenix (EIHL)Shaun Heshka  Everett Silvertips (WHL) David Belitski  Heilbronn Falcons (GerObL) Bryan Bridges  Reading Royals Julien Ellis  Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) Alexandre Vincent  Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) Justin Spencer  Colgate University (NCAA) Brad Cook  Columbia Inferno Adam Keefe  Toledo Storm===Free agents lost=== '''Player'''  '''New team'''Rob McVicar  Utah GrizzliesB.J. Boxma Lanny Gare  Lausitzer Füchse (2.GBun)Simon Mangos  Manchester Phoenix (EIHL)Seth Leonard  Colorado Eagles (CHL)Pat Sutton  Port Huron Flags (UHL)Adam Huxley  Stockton Thunder===Players Released=== '''Player'''  '''Date'''David Belitski  October 31, 2006Andy Zulyniak  December 21, 2006Ryan Jorde  December 29, 2006Joe Ricupero  January 6, 2007Kenny Ruiz  January 8, 2007Mike Katz  January 10, 2007Jeff Barney  January 15, 2007James DeMone*  January 20, 2007Justin Spencer  January 26, 2007Alexandre Vincent  April 3, 2007 *-Suspended by Team
Professional affiliations ===Vancouver Canucks===The Salmon Kings' NHL affiliate based in Vancouver, British Columbia.===Manitoba Moose===The Salmon Kings' AHL affiliate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.