Bullies Slide Into Second

January 31, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies News Release


BULLIES REWIND: The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies endured a grueling weekend, splitting back-to-back physical affairs with Trenton before falling in a Sunday matinee to Johnstown. The three points leaves Atlantic City with 50 points overall, tied for second in the division with Toledo and two points behind the Wheeling Nailers. The Bullies hold a game in hand over both Wheeling and Toledo.

Friday, Jason Notermann re-directed Luke Curtin's point shot at 3:54 of overtime for the game-winning goal to lead the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies to a 3-2 come-from-behind overtime victory over the Trenton Titans before a season-high 4862 at Historic Boardwalk Hall. Trenton (19-11-5) opened the scoring at 12:15 of the first period when Matt Zultek re-directed Scott Bertoli's cross-ice pass past Bullies goaltender Jake Moreland for a 1-0 lead. That score would hold through to 57 seconds of the third period when off a turnover, Nick Deschenes broke free in on Moreland shorthanded and tipped the puck past the Bullies net-minder for a 2-0 advantage and the Titans first shorthanded goal of the season. Atlantic City (22-11-5) would counter with a pair of Dave Reid goals to tie the game at 2-2. Reid got the Bullies on the board when he collected Luke Curtin's rebound at the right point and beat Trenton goalie Andrew Allen along the ice at 4:45 on the power play to cut the deficit to 2-1. Reid then netted the equalizer at 11:26 of the period when off face-off win by Derek Edwardson, he slapped the puck through a screened Allen to tie the score at 2-2 and set up Notermann's overtime dramatics. Trenton out-shot Atlantic City 41-30. Moreland stopped 39 shots to improve to 20-7-4 on the season. The Bullies went 1-7 on the power play. Atlantic City and Trenton combined for an ECHL season-high 42 penalties for 162 minutes.

Saturday, Rick Kowalsky tallied the game-winning goal at 4:05 of the overtime period with a one-time blast from the left-wing circle to complete the comeback as Trenton tallied four unanswered goals to defeat the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies 4-3 before 7048 at Sovereign Bank Arena. Atlantic City (22-11-6) opened the scoring at 9:16 of the first period with a power play goal from Brett Nowak. Nowak tipped Notermann's rebound sitting on the end-line past Trenton goalie Andrew Allen to give the Bullies a 1-0 lead. Nowak gave the Bullies a 2-0 advantage when he stripped Matt Libby of the puck at the blue line on a Trenton power play, broke in alone on Allen, and beat him above the right shoulder at 14:20 of the period shorthanded. Atlantic City made it 3-0 with their second power play goal of the game. Paul Caponigri set up a streaking Ian Walterson at the right-wing circle and Walterson ripped a shot past Allen at 18:28 on the power play for the tally. Trenton (20-11-5) would counter 1:07 after the Walterson goal to break onto the scoreboard. Paul Brown played the puck across to the left-wing circle to an open Libby and Libby beat Bullies goaltender Jake Moreland to the near side post at 19:35 to cut the Titans deficit to 3-1 heading into the first intermission. Trenton would pull even with a pair of goals in the second frame. On the power play, Connor Dunlop's pass across the slot deflected off Walterson's skate and into the net at 5:13 to bring the Titans back to within one at 3-2. Leon Hayward netted the equalizer at 9:50 of the period, tipping the loose puck in front of Moreland past the Bullies net-minder to tie the game 3-3. Trenton out-shot Atlantic City 30-21. Moreland made 27 saves in falling to 20-7-5 on the season. The Bullies went 2-8 on the power play.

Sunday, Johnstown goaltender David Currie stopped 40 of 41 shots including 22 in the third period to lead the Chiefs to a 4-1 victory over the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies before 2834 at Historic Boardwalk Hall. Shawn Mather opened the scoring for Johnstown (15-13-10) with a power play goal at 15:13 of the first period. Mather cut into the slot and ripped a wrist shot past Bullies goaltender Tyler MacKay on in relief of starter Jake Moreland to give the Chiefs a 1-0 lead. It was Johnstown's first power play goal in nine games. The Chiefs power play attack continued in the second period. Mike James redirected Pierre-Luc Courchesne's shot from the point past MacKay at 15:24 on the power play to extend Johnstown's lead to 2-0. Joe Tallari made it 3-0 just 41 seconds later at 16:05 when his shot from the right circle deflected off MacKay's stick, off a Bullies defenseman, and into the net. Atlantic City was finally able to crack through in the third period. Jason Notermann took the feed from Derek Edwardson in front of the net and slipped it past Currie at 11:07 on the power play to cut the deficit to 3-1, but that was as close as they would get. Jean Desroschers capped the scoring with an empty net goal at 18:25. Atlantic City out-shot the Chiefs 41-25. MacKay stopped 21 shots to fall to 0-3-0 on the season. The Bullies went 1-5 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 Jason Notermann who notched a pair of goals, including the overtime game-winner on Friday, and a pair of assists. Honorable mention goes out to Derek Edwardson who finished the week with four assists.

UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY: With their second place standing this morning, it's the first Monday since November 8 that Atlantic City has been out of first place in the North Division. That's 11 Mondays and a overall total of 78 days in first place, more than any other team in the ECHL.

ROAD WOES: The Bullies are winless in their last six games away from Boardwalk Hall, a season-worst. Atlantic City has not won on the road since a 4-2 victory at Dayton on January 4.

FACE-OFF AGAINST KIDS CANCER CULMINATES: The Boardwalk Bullies culminated the second annual "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer" this past weekend when the Bullies took the ice wearing special commemorative jerseys dedicated to each child. The jerseys were auctioned off after last night's game with the proceeds benefiting Caps For Kids, a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing hats signed by athletes and entertainers to kids who lose their hair due to chemotherapy treatments of cancer, Alfred I. duPont Hospital For Children in Wilmington, Delaware, and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. A full recap will be released shortly, but early returns suggest the auction garnered nearly $12,000. The Bullies will be hosting a farewell brunch coming up at Resorts Hotel & Resort Casino on Sunday, February 13 with Bullies fans having a chance to purchase tickets to the event to continue to support the charities. Stay tuned for more information.

E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES! The Boardwalk Bullies will host a second Philadelphia Eagles Pep Rally, tabbed the largest Eagles Pep Rally in South Jersey, on at 7:05PM Saturday at Historic Boardwalk Hall as they face-off against the Peoria Rivermen. Wear your Eagles green and white and help root the Birds on to victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. Come re-live the moments of Philadelphia's historic 13-3 regular season and playoff push throughout the night on the Bullies video jumbotron and sing to your favorite Eagles songs.

POWER PLAY FOR UNITED WAY: For a second consecutive season, the Bullies have teamed up with United Way to support the Power Play For United Way. For every power play goal the Bullies score in 2004-05, area businesses including Baumgardner Construction, RLS CopiScan, AtlantiCare, Tropicana Casino Resort & Hotel and Glenn Insurance will donate $10 to the United Way of Atlantic County. This season the Bullies have tallied 29 power play goals, good for $1450 towards Power Play For United Way.

GET REAL, GO LIVE, AND GIVE BACK: The Boardwalk Bullies will donate a portion of ticket sales from their home games on Friday, February 11 and Saturday, February 12 to the James Beck Foundation and the UNICEF Tsunami Relief Fund. Purchase a $12 Mezzanine Level ticket for Friday, February 11 against the Trenton Titans and $6 will go directly to the James Beck Foundation. Purchase a $12 Mezzanine Level ticket for Saturday, February 12 against the Reading Royals and $6 will go directly to UNICEF's Tsunami Relief Fund. To offer your support and purchase your tickets, call a Bullies Customer Service Representative at (609) 348-7825.

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 will play two home games against the Peoria Rivermen sandwiched around a visit to Johnstown. Atlantic City hosts Peoria at 7:05PM Wednesday at Historic Boardwalk Hall. Every Wednesday home game is a "Wild Wednesday" presented by Coors Light. All college students, casino workers, military, and service industry personnel get in the gates for just $6. Enjoy great Coors Light all night for just $2. Friday, the Bullies visit Johnstown at 7PM before returning home at 7:05PM Saturday for a return engagement with the Rivermen. The first 2,500 people through the gates Saturday will receive rally towels courtesy of the Heart Institute at Atlantic City Medical Center. For more information or to order tickets, call (609) 348-7825.

BULLIES SCHEDULE WEEK OF JANUARY 31

Monday, January 31: Off Day

Tuesday, February 1: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Wednesday, February 2: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies vs. Peoria 7:05PM

Thursday, February 3: Practice 10:30AM-12PM; Depart for Johnstown 1PM

Friday, February 4: Morning Skate 11:15AM; Bullies @ Johnstown 7PM

Saturday, February 5: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies vs. Peoria 7:05PM

Sunday, February 6: Off Day



ECHL Stories from January 31, 2005


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