2004–05 Victoria Salmon Kings season

August 2023 December 2013 2004-05 2004 Victoria Salmon Kings ECHL 28th National 16th West 8th 15–52–5 8–26–2 7–26–3 178 298 Bryan Maxwell Bryan Maxwell Greg Batters Brad Dexter Bear Mountain Arena 2,289 Ryan Wade (19) Ryan Wade (31) Ryan Wade (50) Blue Bennefield (195) Kevin Hoffman/Scott Borders (+2) Jason Stone (5) Dan Blackburn (3.54) 2005-06 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: #ccffcc Win (2 points) 1px solid #ccffcc #ffcccc Loss (0 points) 1px solid #ffcccc #ffffff Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) 1px solid #AAAAAA 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 +/- PIMRyan Wade 1 69 19 31 50 -29 98Brad Dexter Brad Dexter (ice hockey) 49 7 28 35 -27 36Seth Leonard 63 13 14 27 -21 14Ryan Finnerty 52 13 13 26 -19 165Mike Barrie 30 5 18 23 -28 42Rob Voltera 41 15 7 22 -10 81Jason Hegberg 56 10 12 22 -22 89Blue Bennefield 39 8 13 21 0 195Chris Corrinet 37 9 11 20 -31 66Ryan Watson Ryan Watson (ice hockey) 33 12 7 19 -19 34Scott Turner Scott Turner (ice hockey) † 18 10 7 17 -2 16Alexei Glukhov 32 5 12 17 -13 12Nathan Forster 53 5 11 16 -32 73Mark Smith Mark Smith (ice hockey) 20 6 9 15 -13 41Adam Campbell Adam Campbell (ice hockey) 40 3 12 15 -30 78Mike Josephson 45 4 9 13 -19 79Dale Purinton 25 3 9 12 -4 192Jeff Williams Jeff Williams (ice hockey) 25 6 5 11 -11 4David Neale 32 3 7 10 -7 19Kurtis Dulle 1 17 2 6 8 -3 8Jim Gattolliat 43 2 4 6 -21 100Aaron Plumb 26 0 5 5 -8 60Peter Trumbley 33 0 5 5 -3 15Jan Sochor † 4 3 1 4 -1 0Jeremy Cheyne 12 1 3 4 -7 6Ryan Esselmont 8 0 4 4 -8 4Scott Borders Scott Borders (ice hockey) † 3 1 1 2 +2 4Dennis Mullen 9 1 1 2 -3 46Trent Brandvold 7 0 2 2 -5 6Brandon Elliott 13 0 2 2 -2 41Craig Zubersky 17 0 2 2 -11 11Mike Ikeda 2 1 0 1 +1 0Robert Busch 1 3 1 0 1 +1 2Rob MacGregor 9 1 0 1 -1 4Tomas Micka † 6 0 1 1 -3 10Craig Strain 7 0 1 1 -4 6Kristjan Jefkins 1 0 0 0 0 0Kevin Hoffman 1 2 0 0 0 +2 0Casey Bartzen 2 0 0 0 -2 0Rob Simnor 3 0 0 0 0 4Greg Keith † 4 0 0 0 -3 2Geoff Rollins 5 0 0 0 -6 2Cole Byers 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 Dean Whitney Dean Whitney 1 18 0 0 0 1 3.21 .938 0 Dan Blackburn Dan Blackburn 12 695 3 9 0 41 3.54 .892 0 Jason Stone Jason Stone 38 1967 5 22 4 125 3.81 .878 0 Jamie McCaig Jamie McCaig 11 547 2 7 0 36 3.94 .875 0 Kelly Shields Kelly Shields †‡ 6 302 0 4 1 21 4.17 .878 0 Robert Muntain Robert Muntain 8 447 3 4 0 33 4.42 .879 0 David Brumby David Brumby 8 332 2 6 0 28 5.05 .856 1 Grant Sjerven Grant Sjerven 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. References Category:Victoria Salmon Kings seasons Victoria Victoria