Atlantic City Will Face Columbia Inferno in Kelly Cup Finals

Published on May 3, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies News Release


ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies of the East Coast Hockey League defeated the Cincinnati Cyclones by a final of 3-2 to capture the 2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northern Conference championship. Atlantic City won the best-of-seven series, four games to three.

Captain Stefan Rivard netted the game winner at 10:05 of the third period, electrifying the crowd of Bullies fans at Boardwalk Hall.

J.F. Caudron opened scoring with a power-play goal four minutes, 19 seconds into the first period. Cincinnati answered when Steve Rodberg netted a goal on the man-advantage before Scott Matzka scored the go-ahead goal to put the Bullies up by one after one period of play.

The pesky Cyclones tied the game with just one minute, 29 seconds left in the second period on Brent Twordik's power-play goal, but Rivard accounted for the heroics to help the Bullies advance to the final round of this year's playoffs.

Netminder Scott Stirling stopped 22 Cincinnati shots in the win, earning the third star of the game. Matzka was named the second star for his persistent play and Rivard topped the chart with his thriller set up by defenseman Kirk Furey.

Game One of the Kelly Cup Finals is Wednesday, May 7, in Columbia, S.C. against the Southern Conference Champion Inferno at 7:05 p.m. Game Two is Friday, May 9, at 7:05 p.m. in Columbia. Games Three (Saturday, May 10), Four (Monday, May 12), and if necessary, Five (Wednesday, May 14), return to Boardwalk Hall. All Bullies playoff games willd begin at 7:35 p.m. All Bullies playoff games will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1450 WKXW-AM.

The 2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Northern Conference Champion Boardwalk Bullies play at Boardwalk Hall. Tickets for the 2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs and season tickets and partial plans for the 2003-04 regular season are on sale by calling (609) 348-PUCK. For more information on South Jersey's newest professional sports franchise, visit www.boardwalkbullies.com.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from May 3, 2003


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.

OurSports Central