2004–05 Victoria Salmon Kings season
Introduction The '''2004–05 Victoria Salmon Kings season''' is the Salmon Kings' inaugural  season in the ECHL. While the Victoria region has had a long and distinguished hockey history - the Victoria Cougars won the Stanley Cup in 1925 - the region was the largest Canadian region without either professional or Major-Junior hockey when the WHL Victoria Cougars (a team with no connection to the aforementioned Cougars) moved to Prince George in 1994.This was a crippling blow to Victoria hockey fans, whose highest-level remaining local team was the Tier II Junior 'A' Victoria Salsa.By this time, it had become evident that the 50-year-old Victoria Memorial Arena, seating only 4,000 for hockey, would have to be replaced if Victoria expected to be able to attract a new hockey club. After several years of discussion, the construction of a new arena was approved by Victoria voters in a 2002 referendum, with one key condition being that its construction was dependent on Victoria securing a WHL team. When the private-sector partner, RG Properties, was unable to secure a WHL club, the company bought the rights to the defunct ECHL Baton Rouge Kingfish, formerly the Erie Panthers, a charter member of the ECHL, and announced that Victoria's new team would be named the Salmon Kings.It became clear as the 2004–05 ECHL season approached that Victoria's new arena, now called the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, was not going to be ready in time for the season. In response, the ECHL scheduled the Salmon Kings to begin their inaugural season with an unheard-of 14 game road trip. This was not enough time for the arena to be completed, and in the summer of 2004 the Salmon Kings were forced to secure ice time in the Bear Mountain Arena in the suburban community of Colwood, which had been constructed with the needs of the junior 'A' Victoria Salsa and the Victoria Shamrocks box lacrosse club in mind.Despite all this, the Salmon Kings took to the ice in their first regular-season game on October 22, 2004, in Bakersfield, California, against the Bakersfield Condors. Former University of Alberta player Ryan Wade scored the first goal in Salmon Kings history. They lost this game 7-2; the Salmon Kings would struggle during their 14-game road trip, only winning 3 games, losing 10 games in regulation and one in a shootout. Their first victory came at the expense of the Fresno Falcons on October 24, which the Salmon Kings won by a convincing 5-0 margin. David Brumby, the Kings' starting goaltender at the time, turned away 37 shots for the shutout.As the NHL lockout progressed, Dale Purinton and Dan Blackburn of the New York Rangers and Mark Smith of the San Jose Sharks played for the Salmon Kings. Purinton, an enforcer, was suspended twice by the league, the first for a career-ending check into the boards of Condors player Krzysztof Wieckowski, and the second for returning to the ice to fight after being ejected during a bench-clearing brawl involving the Kings and the Falcons. After the latter suspension, Purinton was suspended indefinitely by the Salmon Kings and did not play again that season.After the grueling 14-game road trip which lasted for over a month, the Salmon Kings finally played their first home game on December 5, 2004, at Bear Mountain Arena. The Salmon Kings lost this game 4-3 in overtime. They would continue to struggle during their first season, going only 15-52-5 over 72 games; notably, they set an ECHL record for a continuous winless streak, going 0-18-2 between December 31, 2004 and February 4, 2005.The few positives for the team in their inaugural season was Ryan Wade who would be known by fans as "Mr. Salmon King" led the team in scoring (19g-31a) and team captain, Brad Dexter was voted a starter on the National Conference's All-Star Team.
Standings ===Division standings=== 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===Conference standings=== National Conference GP W L T PTS GF GAAlaska Aces (y)  72  45  19  8  '''98'''  233  187Reading Royals (y)  72  43  22  7  '''93'''  220  161Long Beach Ice Dogs   72  43  20  9  '''95'''  220  181Trenton Titans  72  42  21  9  '''93'''  220  161Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies  72  42  22  8  '''92'''  205  189Idaho Steelheads  72  42  23  7  '''91'''  223  183Bakersfield Condors  72  40  22  10  '''90'''  232  205Toledo Storm  72  41  26  5  '''87'''  203  194      Fresno Falcons  72  39  25  8  '''86'''  204  217Peoria Rivermen  72  38  26  8  '''84'''  213  177Wheeling Nailers  72  38  29  5  '''81'''  171  173San Diego Gulls  72  35  29  8  '''78'''  206  222Las Vegas Wranglers  72  31  33  8  '''70'''  201  199Johnstown Chiefs  72  22  36  14  '''58'''  191  258Dayton Bombers  72  23  40  9  '''55'''  175  225 Victoria Salmon Kings  72  15  52  5  '''35'''  178  298
Schedule and results ===Regular season=== 2004–05 Game log October: 1–2–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 1  October 22  Victoria  2–7  Bakersfield    Brumby  4,419  0–1–0  0 2  October 23  Victoria  1–2  Bakersfield     Brumby  5,986  0–2–0  0 3  October 24  Victoria  5–0  Fresno    Brumby  3,003  1–2–0  2 November: 2–9–1 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 2–9–1) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 4  November 5  Victoria  4–1  Idaho    Brumby   4,026  2–2–0  4 5  November 6  Victoria  2–6  Idaho    Brumby  4,437  2–3–0  4 6  November 10  Victoria  1–2  Long Beach     Stone  1,599  2–4–0  4 7  November 12  Victoria  2–5  Las Vegas    Brumby  4,367  2–5–0  4 8  November 13  Victoria  4–6  Fresno    Stone  4,870  2–6–0  4 9  November 17  Victoria  3–7  Alaska    Brumby  4,065  2–7–0  4 10  November 20  Victoria  2–5  Alaska    Brumby  6,345  2–8–0  4 11  November 21  Victoria  4–1  Alaska     Stone  3,502  3–8–0  6 12  November 25  Victoria  2–4  Fresno    Stone  3,629  3–9–0  6 13  November 26  Victoria  2–5  Fresno    Stone  4,178  3–10–0  6 14  November 27  Victoria  2–3  Bakersfield  SO  Stone  8,204  3–10–1  7 December: 4–4–2 (Home: 4–4–2 ; Road: 0–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 15  December 5  Bakersfield  4–3  Victoria  OT  Stone  2,750  3–10–2  8 16  December 7  Bakersfield  2–5  Victoria    Stone  1,653  4–10–2  10 17  December 8  Bakersfield  6–8  Victoria    Stone  2,123  5–10–2  12 18  December 10  Mississippi  1–5  Victoria    Stone  2,056  6–10–2  14 19  December 11  Mississippi  4–3  Victoria  OT  Stone  2,144  6–10–3  15 20  December 13  Mississippi  4–2  Victoria    Stone  2,124  6–11–3  15 21  December 17  San Diego  2–1  Victoria    Stone  2,227  6–12–3  15 22  December 18  San Diego  5–4  Victoria    Stone  2,283  6–13–3  15 23  December 20  San Diego  2–3  Victoria    Stone   2,750  7–13–3  17 24  December 31  Long Beach  4–3  Victoria    Stone  2,750  7–14–3  17 January: 0–15–2 (Home: 0–9–0 ; Road: 0–6–2) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 25  January 1  Long Beach  3–2  Victoria    Stone  2,444  7–15–3  17 26  January 2  Long Beach  5–1  Victoria    Stone  2,409  7–16–3  17 27  January 4  Alaska  6–3  Victoria    Stone  2,218  7–17–3  17 28  January 5  Alaska  10–3  Victoria    Stone  2,552  7–18–3  17 29  January 7  Victoria  1–2  Alaska    Stone  3,935  7–19–3  17 30  January 8  Victoria  2–8  Alaska    Stone  4,303  7–20–3  17 31  January 12  Victoria  2–6  Long Beach    Stone  1,395  7–21–3  17 32  January 14  Victoria  2–3  Las Vegas   SO  Shields  4,961  7–21–4  18 33  January 15  Victoria  1–4  Long Beach     Shields  4,497  7–22–4  18 34  January 16  Victoria  2–4  Long Beach    Stone  2,011  7–23–4  18 35  January 18  Long Beach  5–2  Victoria    Shields  1,862  7–24–4  18 36  January 19  Long Beach  3–1  Victoria    Stone  2,038  7–25–4  18 37  January 21  Alaska  5–1  Victoria    Stone  2,597  7–26–4  18 38  January 22  Alaska  3–0  Victoria    Shields  2,931  7–27–4  18 39  January 23  Alaska  5–2  Victoria    Stone  2,484  7–28–4  18 40  January 29  Victoria  1–2  Las Vegas  SO  Stone  7,773  7–28–5  19 41  January 31  Victoria  1–4  Las Vegas    Stone  5,920  7–29–5  19 February: 3–11–0 (Home: 3–9–0 ; Road: 0–2–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 42  February 2  Fresno  7–3  Victoria   Shields  2,209  7–30–5  19 43  February 4  Fresno  3–2  Victoria    Blackburn  2,360  7–31–5  19 44  February 5  Fresno  4–5  Victoria  SO  Blackburn  2,611  8–31–5  21 45  February 7  Idaho  3–1  Victoria    Blackburn  2,014  8–32–5  21 46  February 9  Idaho  2–1  Victoria    Blackburn  2,147  8–33–5  21 47  February 15  Fresno  1–2  Victoria  SO  Blackburn  1,956  9–33–5  23 48  February 16  Fresno  4–0  Victoria    Stone  2,157  9–34–5  23 49  February 18  Victoria  3–12  Idaho   Blackburn  4,564  9–35–5  23 50  February 19  Victoria  2–4  Idaho    Blackburn  5,403  9–36–5  23 51  February 22  San Diego  2–5  Victoria    Blackburn  1,910  10–36–5  25 52  February 23  San Diego  4–1  Victoria    Blackburn  2,140  10–37–5  25 53  February 25  Las Vegas  4–3  Victoria    Blackburn  2,412  10–38–5  25 54  February 26  Las Vegas  4–3  Victoria    Blackburn  2,627  10–39–5  25 55  February 28  Las Vegas  5–2  Victoria    Blackburn  1,960  10–40–5  25 March: 4–9–0 (Home: 1–4–0 ; Road: 3–5–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 56  March 4  Bakersfield  7–3  Victoria    Muntain  2,422  10–41–5  25 57  March 5  Bakersfield  4–1  Victoria    McCaig  2,490  10–42–5  25 58  March 9  Idaho  5–4  Victoria    McCaig  2,122  10–43–5  25 59  March 10  Idaho  2–3  Victoria  OT  Muntain  1,894  11–43–5  27 60  March 12  Idaho  8–2  Victoria    Stone  2,605  11–44–5  27 61  March 15  Victoria  1–7  Florida    McCaig  7,082  11–45–5  27 62  March 17  Victoria  5–3  Texas    McCaig  1,825  12–45–5  29 63  March 19  Victoria  7–5  Louisiana    McCaig  2,190  13–45–5  31 64  March 20  Victoria  1–2  Louisiana    McCaig  2,514  13–46–5  31 65  March 22  Victoria  1–3  Pensacola    McCaig  3,880  13–47–5  31 66  March 23  Victoria  1–2  Mississippi    Muntain  2,743  13–48–5  31 67  March 25  Victoria  4–3  Florida    Muntain  7,293  14–48–5  33 68  March 26  Victoria  2–5  Florida   Muntain  7,016  14–49–5  33 April: 1–3–0 (Home: 1–3–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) #  Date  Visitor  Score  Home  OT  Decision  Attendance  Record  Pts 69  April 1  Victoria  1–4  Las Vegas    McCaig  4,938  14–50–5  33 70  April 2  Victoria  1–5  Long Beach    Muntain  5,009  14–51–5  33 71  April 8  Victoria  2–3  San Diego    McCaig  5,094  14–52–5  33 72  April 9  Victoria  6–5  San Diego  OT  Muntain  10,773  15–52–5  35'''''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  69  19  31  50  -29  98  49  7  28  35  -27  36  63  13  14  27  -21  14  52  13  13  26  -19  165  30  5  18  23  -28  42  41  15  7  22  -10  81  56  10  12  22  -22  89  39  8  13  21  0  195  37  9  11  20  -31  66  33  12  7  19  -19  34 † 18  10  7  17  -2  16  32  5  12  17  -13  12  53  5  11  16  -32  73  20  6  9  15  -13  41  40  3  12  15  -30  78  45  4  9  13  -19  79  25  3  9  12  -4  192  25  6  5  11  -11  4  32  3  7  10  -7  19  17  2  6  8  -3  8  43  2  4  6  -21  100  26  0  5  5  -8  60  33  0  5  5  -3  15 † 4  3  1  4  -1  0  12  1  3  4  -7  6  8  0  4  4  -8  4 † 3  1  1  2  +2  4  9  1  1  2  -3  46  7  0  2  2  -5  6  13  0  2  2  -2  41  17  0  2  2  -11  11  2  1  0  1  +1  0  3  1  0  1  +1  2  9  1  0  1  -1  4 † 6  0  1  1  -3  10  7  0  1  1  -4  6  1  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  +2  0  2  0  0  0  -2  0  3  0  0  0  0  4 † 4  0  0  0  -3  2  5  0  0  0  -6  2  11  0  0  0  -8  37===Goaltenders===''Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts'' Regular season Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA Sv% SO   1  18  0  0  0  1  3.21  .938  0   12  695  3  9  0  41  3.54  .892  0   38  1967  5  22  4  125  3.81  .878  0   11  547  2  7  0  36  3.94  .875  0  †‡ 6  302  0  4  1  21  4.17  .878  0   8  447  3  4  0  33  4.42  .879  0   8  332  2  6  0  28  5.05  .856  1   1  14  0  0  0  5  20.16  .667  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.