Sports stats



A Flair For The Dramatics

March 28, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies News Release


ATLANTIC CITY - WEEK RECORD: 2-1-0 - SEASON RECORD: 38-21-8 - 1st NORTH DIVISION

BULLIES REWIND: For a third consecutive Monday, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies are in first place in the North Division following a 2-1 week that included two thrilling come-from-behind victories over the Johnstown Chiefs at Historic Boardwalk Hall. With five games remaining in the regular season, Atlantic City's magic number for clinching a fourth consecutive playoff spot is 10. Any combination of points from Bullies victories and overtime/shootout losses and Peoria losses and overtime/shootout losses equaling 10 will put Atlantic City in the 2005 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Friday, the Trenton Titans tallied three goals in the first period and hung on to defeat the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies 4-3 before 6595 at Sovereign Bank Arena. The win clinched the Titans' third Garden State Cup in the final regular season meeting between the two clubs. Trenton (36-20-9) opened the scoring at 7:44 of the first period. BJ Abel broke into the zone along the left wall, made a nifty move around Bullies goaltender Trevor Koenig, and tucked the puck into the open net for a 1-0 lead. Leon Hayward gave Trenton a 2-0 advantage when he collected Bryce Cockburn's rebound at the far post and lifted the puck with a backhand shot over Koenig's left shoulder and in at 17:04. Les Hagget finished the first period scoring 12 seconds after Hayward's tally with his first professional goal at 17:16 to give the Titans a 3-0 cushion at the end of twenty minutes. Trenton's Matt Zultek extended the lead 20 seconds into the second period with a goal from the left-wing circle to make the score 4-0. Atlantic City (36-21-8) responded with a spirited third period as their comeback attempt fell a goal short. Peter Bournazakis opened the scoring with a power play goal from the slot at 1:11 of the period to cut the deficit to 4-1. The Bullies struck twice in a span of 55 seconds in the final two minutes of regulation to close to within one. Ian Walterson netted a power play goal off a terrific feed from Jason Notermann behind the net at 18:03 to make the score 4-2. Brian Fahey cut the margin to 4-3 at 18:55 when he knocked in Shawn Mather's rebound past Titans goaltender Andrew Allen, but that was as close as the Bullies would get. Atlantic City out-shot Trenton 35-29. Koenig stopped 25 shots in falling to 23-12-4 on the season. The Bullies went 2-4 on the power play.

Saturday, Shawn Mather notched his first hat trick in a Bullies uniform against his former club and Atlantic City used a season-high four-goal third period to defeat the Johnstown Chiefs 5-3 before 1899 at Historic Boardwalk Hall. Jason Notermann opened the scoring for the Bullies (37-21-8) at 14:49 of the first period when he slammed home Dave Reid's rebound past Johnstown goaltender Mark Scally for a 1-0 lead. Johnstown (20-32-14) would counter with a pair of goals in the second period. Matt Reid netted the equalizer at 11:37 when he took a cross-ice feed from Dmitri Tarabrin and beat Bullies goaltender Trevor Koenig along the ice to tie the game at 1-1. The Chiefs took their first lead of the night with a power play goal at 17:06. Tarabrin collected Joe Tallari's rebound in the slot and snapped the puck past Koenig to give Johnstown a 2-1 advantage. Mather began of flurry of goals in the third period when he netted the equalizer at 4:13, collecting Fraser Clair's rebound to the left of the net and slapping the puck past Scally to tie the game at 2-2. Mather reclaimed the lead for Atlantic City when again he found his way to Dave Reid's rebound at the side of the cage and lifted the puck over Scally at 13:07 to give the Bullies a 3-2 edge. But Johnstown would quickly counter 35 seconds later when Brent Kelly fed a pass across ice to an open Brian Collins at the left wing on a two-on-one and Collins slipped the puck behind Koenig at 13:42 to tie the game at 3-3. Dustan Heintz netted the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal 2:30 seconds afterwards when on a terrific individual effort behind the cage, he slipped a backhander of Scally's pads and into the net at 16:12 to give the Bullies a 4-3 lead. Mather completed the hat trick at 16:40 to finish the scoring. Atlantic City out-shot Johnstown 38-24. Koenig stopped 21 shots to improve to 24-12-4 on the season. The Bullies went 0-2 on the power play.

Sunday, Atlantic City scored three third-period goals in a span of 3:12 seconds to come from behind for a second consecutive night and defeat the Johnstown Chiefs 5-4 before 1393 at Historic Boardwalk Hall. Johnstown's (20-33-14) Joe Tallari struck for a pair of goals in the first period to lead off the scoring. Off a Bullies turnover, Tallari found the puck on his tape in the slot and ripped a shot through the pads of Bullies goaltender Trevor Koenig at 7:55 to give the Chiefs a 1-0 lead. Tallari extended the lead to 2-0 when his shot from outside the right-wing circle deflected off Koenig's glove and trickled into the net at 15:25. Atlantic City (38-21-8) responded 19 seconds into the second period with Johnstown on a four-minute power play. Derek Edwardson collected J-F Plourde's rebound in the slot and slapped the puck past Chiefs goaltender Mark Scally for a shorthanded goal to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Chiefs would eventually score on that power play at 3:16 to re-claim their two-goal advantage at 3-1 when Chris Leinweber was credited with a goal that saw the puck deflect off a Bullies stick at the right-wing circle and roll back into the slot and past goaltender Jeff Weber on in relief for Koenig. Johnstown extended their advantage to 4-1 after converting on a two-on-one rush as Matt Reid took a cross-ice feed from Brent Kelly at the right-wing circle and slipped the puck past an outstretched Weber at 10:25. Shawn Mather brought the Bullies back to within two goals when he collected his own rebound sitting in the crease and tipped the loose puck past Scally at 17:49 to make it a 4-2 game. Plourde cut the deficit to 4-3 when he re-directed Mather's shot from the point past Scally at 9:37 of the third period. Mather then netted the equalizer himself 34 seconds after Plourde's goal when from behind the net, he shot the puck off of Scally's pads and into the cage at 10:11 to tie the score at 4-4. Brian Fahey gave the Bullies their first lead of the game on a power play goal when he beat a screened Scally with a blast from the left point at 12:49 for the eventual game-winning goal. Atlantic City out-shot Johnstown 39-28. Weber stopped 19 shots to earn his first professional victory. The Bullies went 1-8 on the power play.

BULLIES "TOP DAWG" AWARD: Each Monday from now until the end of the season, Public Relations and Broadcasting Manager Dan Weiss will select the Bullies "Top Dawg" for the week. This week's winner is center Shawn Mather who tallied five goals and eight points in just three games. Honorable mention goes out to newly acquired goaltender Jeff Weber who earned his first professional victory in his debut Sunday.

WILD FINISHES: The Bullies outscored both Trenton and Johnstown 10-1 in the third period this weekend and out-shot them by a whopping margin of 55-21. Comparitively, Atlantic City was outscored 10-3 in the first two periods and out-shot 60-57. By coming away with their seventh victory yesterday when entering the third period behind, the Bullies are now tied for the most wins in the ECHL when trailing after two periods.

QUICK TRIO: With three goals in 3:12 seconds in the third period on Sunday, the Bullies set a club record for fastest time to score three goals. On Saturday, Atlantic City scored a season-high four goals in the third period in a span of 12:27 seconds.

RAVE REVIEWS: The Boardwalk Bullies newest players have made a quick impact. Center Shawn Mather has notched seven goals and 12 points and is a +5 in his first six games with the Bullies to jump to second on the team in overall scoring with 26 goals and 55 points. With another goal and an assist yesterday, J-F Plourde has tallied four goals and 12 points and is a +8 in his first 10 games with the Bullies after scoring just 23 points in 46 games with Greenville. Forward Peter Bournazakis also has made a healthy contribution with six goals and eight points in his first 14 games with Atlantic City after signing back on March 2 out of Asheville of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Even goaltender Jeff Weber got into the act on Sunday by stopping 19 Johnstown shots in relief of Trevor Koenig to earn his first professional victory in his Bullies and pro debut.

KELLY CUP PLAYOFF TICKETS ON SALE NOW: Ticket packages for the 2005 Kelly Cup Playoffs are currently on sale. For more information or to find out how you can reserve the same great seat for up to 14 playoff games at Historic Boardwalk Hall, call your Bullies Customer Service Representative at (609) 348-PUCK.

WATCH THE BULLIES LIVE IN '04-05: The Bullies have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Boardwalk Bullies hockey in 2004-05. Bullies fans will be able to click the Watch the Game Live icon at the Bullies website to view and listen to the game. These broadcasts are available to fans for a charge of $6 per game. All 36 Bullies home broadcasts will be available in addition to over 20 road games in Trenton, Reading, Johnstown, and Wheeling. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

UP NEXT: The Bullies continue on their march to the playoffs with three games this upcoming week. Atlantic City hosts the Wheeling Nailers at 7:05PM Wednesday at Historic Boardwalk Hall for "Wild Wednesday" presented by Coors Light. All college students, casino workers, military, and service industry personnel get in for just $6 with a valid ID. Enjoy great Coors Light all night for just $2! The Bullies return to Historic Boardwalk Hall at 7:05PM Friday as they welcome the Peoria Rivermen. The first 2,500 fans through the gates will receive the sixth and final set of Bullies Collectable Trading Cards presented by Copiers Plus. Saturday, Atlantic City travels to the Sovereign Center one final time in the regular season to battle the Reading Royals at 7:05PM. Catch Saturday's game live on ESPN Radio 1450AM and all three games live on the SurferNetwork at www.boardwalkbullies.com beginning with "Bullies Countdown" 20 minutes prior to face-off. For more information or to order tickets, call (609) 348-7825.

BULLIES SCHEDULE WEEK OF MARCH 28

Monday, March 28: Off Day

Tuesday, March 29: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Wednesday, March 30: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies vs. Wheeling 7:05PM

Thursday, March 31: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Friday, April 1: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies vs. Peoria 7:05PM

Saturday, April 2: Morning Skate 10AM; Depart for Reading @ 2:30PM; Bullies @ Reading 7:05PM

Sunday, April 3: Off Day

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from March 28, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central