Former Badger Del Monte captures ECHL Championship with Cincinnati

Former Brock Badgers captain Ryan Del Monte was part of the Cincinnati Cyclones second ECHL championship in three seasons as the Cyclones defeated the Idaho Steelheads 4-1 in the best-of-seven Kelly Cup Finals. All five games were decided by one goal with Cincinnati capturing the title in front of a record crowd of 13,483 at U.S. Bank Arena this past Friday night.

“It is great to see Ryan win a championship at the professional level,” said Brock head coach Murray Nystrom. “It is something many players never get the opportunity to accomplish in their hockey career and it is something he can cherish the rest of his life.

In his second year pro, Del Monte appeared in 21 of 24 playoff games for Cincinnati registering three goals and one assist with 41 penalty minutes. Del Monte started the 2009-10 season with the Johnstown Chiefs before being traded to Cincinnati on November 10, 2009. During the regular season with the Cyclones, he played in 46 games registering nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points.

In two seasons in the ECHL, Del Monte has played in 126 career games registering 26 goals and 52 assists for 78 points while tallying 155 penalty minutes.

In his final season at Brock, Del Monte led the team in scoring with 19 goals and 16 assists for 35 points in just 25 games. Those totals placed him 9th in the OUA and 16th in the CIS in scoring. In his senior season Del Monte captained the Badgers to OUA West Division title, and their first berth in the University Cup national championship tournament in school history.

He also topped all Badgers scorers as a junior in 2006-07 with 15 goals and 19 assists in 27 games, and was named the team’s most valuable player for his efforts.

In his career at Brock (2004-2008), Del Monte played in 89 career games registering 103 points with 44 goals and 59 assists.

Other Brock Notes

- In his first season as head coach, former Brock player and coach Mark French guided the Hershey Bears to one of the greatest regular seasons ever in the AHL, setting a league record with 60 wins and posting 123 points (60-17-0-3), the second-highest total in the AHL’s 74-year history. Hershey defeated Bridgeport in the division semifinals (4-1) and Albany in the division finals (4-0) before outlasting Manchester (4-2) for the Eastern Conference championship in a series that saw four of six games go to overtime. Hershey will the play the winner of Hamilton and Texas for the Calder Cup.

- Former Brock Badgers captain George Bradley played in six regular season games in 2010 with the Allen Americans who recently lost in the CHL Championship Finals. On May 17, 2010, Bradley was dealt to the Colorado Eagles (maintaining rookie status in the CHL).