Bombers Take First Two Games of Division Final

April 15, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Dayton Bombers News Release


BOMBERS HOPE TO ADVANCE TO NORTHERN CONFERENCE FINAL: The Northwest Division Champion Dayton Bombers (40-20-12, 92 PTS in the regular season), as a result of a pair of wins Friday and Saturday at Hara Arena, have won five straight playoff games and have a two games-to-none lead over the Johnstown Chiefs in the Best-of-Five Northwest Division Final ECHL Kelly Cup ‚¬Å“Hara Revisited ‚¬ËœOld-Time Hockey ‚¬â„¢ ‚¬Â Series. The Bombers will hope to wrap up the series this Thursday at the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Game time has been moved up to 7:30 p.m. (7:15 p.m. broadcast time on www.daytonbombers.com in association with www.sportsjuice.com). Below is a recap of this past weekend ‚¬â„¢s games as well as a schedule of the rest of the series:

ECHL NORTHWEST DIVISION FINAL (Best-of-Five)

‚¬Å“THE HARA REVISITED ‚¬ËœOLD-TIME HOCKEY ‚¬â„¢ SERIES ‚¬Â

DAYTON BOMBERS (#1 seed) VS. JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS (#3 seed)

Game 1- Johnstown 3 @ DAYTON BOMBERS 4 (2 OT) (@ Hara Arena in Dayton, OH on Friday, April 12) Andrew Williamson ‚¬â„¢s goal 1:58 into the second overtime lifted the Dayton Bombers to a 4-3 victory in Game One. The Bombers came back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits to tie the game twice. Ben Keup ‚¬â„¢s goal with just 4:01 remaining in the third period forced the game to go beyond regulation. For the third straight playoff game, winger Chris Thompson scored, one-timing a pass from Fred Slukynsky on a power play to help the Bombers even the score at two apiece. Jamie Ling, who assisted on Keup ‚¬â„¢s goal, tallied to give the Bombers a 1-0 lead 22 seconds into the second period. Keup finished with two assists, one of which came on the game-winner in overtime. Karl Goehring made 50 saves in almost 82 minutes of game action for his fourth straight playoff win.

Game 2- Johnstown 1 @ DAYTON BOMBERS 3 (@ Hara Arena in Dayton, OH on Saturday, April 13) The Bombers used early goals in the first two periods to stake themselves to a 3-0 lead, then rode the strong goaltending of Karl Goehring the rest of the way to prevail in Game Two. Goehring stopped 40 shots, including all 20 in the first period. In that stanza, defensemen Tom Nemeth and Doug Nolan scored 55 seconds apart to grab a 2-0 lead. Ben Keup scored his third goal in as many playoff games, set up by Ryan Vince and Preston Mizzi, to give the Bombers a three-goal lead early in period number two.

Game 3- @ Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, PA on Thursday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. EST (7:15 p.m. broadcast time on www.daytonbombers.com in association with www.sportsjuice.com)

Game 4 (if necessary)- @ Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, PA on Friday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. EST (7:15 p.m. broadcast time on www.daytonbombers.com in association with www.sportsjuice.com)

Game 5 (if necessary)- @ Ervin J. Nutter Center in Dayton on Sunday, April 21 at 6:00 p.m. EST

TICKET PRICES/NOTES FOR NORTHWEST DIVISION FINAL: $17 for Gold Seats (First Six Rows), $12 for Silver Adult Seats (the rest of the arena seating), $11 Silver Seating for Military, Students, Seniors, Children 12 and Under and Groups of 25 or More. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Bombers at (937) 775-4747, logging onto www.daytonbombers.com, or by visiting the Nutter Center Box Office.

BOMBERS PLAYOFF NOTES: The Bombers ‚¬â„¢ 4-3 double overtime win in Game One represented the second-longest playoff game in Bombers ‚¬â„¢ history. The Bombers had three previous double overtime games, all losses, two decided within the first minute (3-2 L at Peoria- :21 seconds in- April 5, 2000 and 3-2 L vs. Charlotte- :48 seconds in- April 6, 2001). The longest Bombers ‚¬â„¢ playoff game was on March 27, 1994 (4-3 L at Toledo; Game decided at 14:06 of second overtime) ‚¬Â¦ Winger Ben Keup has scored a goal three straight playoff games, a feat he did not record during the regular season ‚¬Â¦ C Jamie Ling ‚¬â„¢s goal in Game One of ‚¬Å“The Hara Revisited ‚¬ËœOld-Time Hockey ‚¬â„¢ ‚¬Â Series was his first since March 15 ‚¬Â¦ W Chris Thompson had goals in three straight playoff game (Games Two and Three of the Northwest Division Semifinal, Game One of the Northwest Division Final). He also had points in the first four games of the playoffs ‚¬Â¦ Goalie Karl Goehring leads the league in playoff goals-against average (1.10) and save percentage (.963) entering tonight ‚¬â„¢s play. He is also tied for the league lead in playoff wins (5) and shutouts (1) ‚¬Â¦ Bombers ‚¬â„¢ all-time playoff leaders of note: Most Playoff Games- Tom Nemeth (23), Most Goals- Tom Nemeth (7), Most Assists- Jamie Ling (13), Most Points- Jamie Ling (17).

BOMBERS ‚¬â„¢ TRANSACTIONS FOR WEEK:

4/12/02- F Brian Cummings added, assigned from Syracuse (AHL)
4/13/02- F Preston Mizzi added, reassigned from Syracuse (AHL)

BOMBERS ‚¬â„¢ PRACTICE/ITINERARY THIS WEEK: 4/15/02- (Mon.) 10:00 a.m. practice at Nutter Center
4/16/02- (Tue.) 10:00 a.m. practice at Nutter Center
4/17/02- (Wed.) 11:00 a.m. departure for Johnstown, PA; Arrive in Johnstown approximately 5:00 p.m.
4/18/02- (Thur.) 11:15 a.m. pre-game skate at Cambria County War Memorial; 7:30 p.m. game (Game Three) at Cambria County War Memorial against Chiefs; Depart for Dayton after game if win.
4/19/02- (Fri.) (If necessary) 7:30 p.m. game (Game Four) at Cambria County War Memorial against Chiefs; (Depart for Dayton after game)
4/20/02- (Sat.) OFF DAY
4/21/02- (Sun.) (If necessary) 10:00 a.m. pre-game skate at Nutter Center; 6:00 p.m. game (Game Five) at Nutter Center
(All practice times and locations are subject to change)

GET YOUR PLAYOFF TICKETS NOW BY CALLING THE BOMBERS AT (937) 775-4747!!! or by visiting the Bombers Office near Gate One inside the Nutter Center.



ECHL Stories from April 15, 2002


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