Bullies Take Three Out of Four Games Away From Home, Finish October Atop ECHL

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


BULLIES REWIND: The Boardwalk Bullies opened their first stretch of games away from the friendly confines of Boardwalk Hall with rousing success, taking three out of four contests and extending their division lead to three points over Wheeling.

The Bullies opened the trip by topping the Roanoke Express 4-2 on Tuesday. Rick Kowalsky got the Express on the board first when he deflected Shawn Limpright's pass across the crease by Bullies goaltender Jake Moreland at 11:15 of the 1st period for a 1-0 lead. The Bullies came right back as Sam Paolini used his speed to slip behind Kevin Bergin and drove the puck top shelf behind Jason Wolfe at 14:52 of the 1st period to tie the score at 1-1. The Bullies would take the lead for good in the 2nd period when Jim Henkel down on the ice picked up his own rebound in the crease and slipped it through Wolfe at 7:14 for a 2-1 advantage. Jon Cullen gave the Bullies some insurance late in the 2nd as he tallied his first professional goal on a one-time blast from the left point at 18:59 on the power play and extended the lead to 3-1. The insurance proved necessary when Tim O'Connell rifled a shot off the glove of Moreland and into the back of the net at 10:09 of the 3rd period to cut the Bullies lead to 3-2. But Paolini gave the Bullies their 2-goal advantage back when he deflected Brian Fahey's point shot past Wolfe at 16:38 on the power play to make the final score 4-2.

Wednesday, the Bullies used a 3rd period power play goal from Jim Leger and a Preston Mizzi tally in the shootout to top the Charlotte Checkers 3-2. After a scoreless 1st period, the Bullies broke the ice when Luke Curtin fired a one-time blast by Checkers goaltender David St. Germain at 6:50 for a 1-0 lead. Charlotte quickly came back to get the equalizer when Doug Christiansen pounced on a loose puck in the slot and tipped it by Bullies goaltender Scott Stirling at 11:03 to tie the game at 1-1. The Checkers would take the lead for the first time of the night four minutes later at 15:03 when Dusty Jamieson cruised into the Bullies zone from neutral ice, cut to the net, and slapped it top shelf by Stirling for a 2-1 lead at the end of the 2nd period. Yet the Bullies quickly countered in the 3rd period as Stefan Rivard set up Leger for the equalizer at 2:05 on the power play to tie the game at 2-2. After a scoreless 5-minute overtime, Mizzi would net the game-winning goal as the fourth Bullies shooter. For the game, the Bullies out-shot the Checkers 40-36. Stirling stopped 34 shots including all 5 in the shootout for his 4th win of the year.

Friday, the Bullies rebounded from an early 2-0 deficit but dropped a 4-3 decision to the Greensboro Generals for their first loss of the season. Greensboro jumped out of the gate quickly with 2 goals in the game's first 4:00 minutes driving Bullies goaltender Jake Moreland to the bench. Matt Turek netted a shorthanded goal past Moreland at 2:17 of the 1st period followed by Eric Fortier's strike 1:01 seconds later on the power play to give the Generals an early 2-0 lead. However, the Bullies would pull within 1 by the end of the period. Stefan Rivard tucked in his first goal of the year past Generals goalie Daniel Berthiaume at 18:18 to cut Greensboro's lead to 2-1 heading to the 1st intermission. The Bullies would tally the equalizer at 2:56 of the 2nd period when Jon Cullen on the power play drove a blast past the outstretched arm of Berthiaume to tie the game at 2-2. Dave Reid would put the Bullies ahead at 16:49 when he picked up the puck off a Tom Reimman turnover at the right circle and fired a wrist shot over the right shoulder of Berthiaume for a 3-2 lead. Yet the Generals would take their turn to come back as Geno Parrish netted the equalizer at 1:53 of the 3rd period past goaltender Scott Stirling in replace of Moreland to make the score 3-3. Mark Turner would pot the game-winner at 17:13 tucking the puck behind Stirling and giving the Generals a 4-3 win.

The Bullies wrapped up their with a 4-2 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday in match-up of two out of the last three ECHL Kelly Cup Champions. After a scoreless 1st period, the Bullies jumped on the board with four goals in the 2nd frame. Preston Mizzi got the scoring started when his drive from the far boards beat Stingrays goaltender David Brumby at 1:06 giving Atlantic City a 1-0 lead. The Bullies would double their advantage when Jim Leger deflected Mizzi's centering feed by Brumby at 8:41 for a 2-0 edge. The Bullies then put the game away with two goals in the final 0:30 seconds of the period. Luke Curtin on the power play fired a slap shot past a screened Brumby at 19:36, and then 0:14 seconds later at 19:50, Stefan Rivard tucked the puck underneath Brumby for a 4-0 cushion heading into the 2nd intermission. South Carolina would make the game interesting with a Matt Desrosiers goal at 3:38 and a Kevin Spiewak tally at 8:08, but it wasn't enough as the Bullies rolled to their 7th win in their last eight games.

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 defenseman Brian Fahey who notched 5 assists and recorded a point in all four games. Honorable mention goes out to forward Sam Paolini who tallied 2 goals and 3 assists. Previous winners below include:

10/20/03: Jim Henkel (4 goals, 2 assists)
10/27/03: Luke Curtin (1 goal, 2 assists)

SUPER SAM: After last week's 5-point performance, rookie forward Sam Paolini now ranks tied for 3rd in the ECHL scoring race with 5 goals and 7 assists. Paolini is also tied with David Masse of Reading for the scoring lead among ECHL rookies.

STREAKING BULLIES: Fahey is currently riding a four-game scoring and assist streak...Forward Stefan Rivard is currently riding a three-game scoring streak and a two-game goal streak...Forwards Jim Leger and Luke Curtin have each recorded a point in six of eight games this season...Paolini has tallied a point in five of eight games so far.

CLUTCH PLAYERS: Curtin is tied for the ECHL lead in game-winning goals with three. Meanwhile, rookie forward Jon Cullen's first professional goal on Tuesday against Roanoke, a power play tally late in the 2nd period, ended up being the eventual game-winning goal.

OPPONENTS POWER PLAY RENDERED POWERLESS: The Bullies have killed off 27 of their opponents' last 31 power plays, an 87% efficiency rate. Last week, Atlantic City surrendered just 2 power play goals on 18 chances, an 89% efficiency rate and good for 6th in the ECHL among road penalty kills. Overall, the Bullies rank 19th on the penalty kill at 81.6%.

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT: Atlantic City has averaged 37.25 shots per game, 4th in the ECHL. The Bullies have out-shot their opponents 112-59 in first periods, getting an average of 14 shots on goal in the period. In addition, the Bullies have put 30+ shots on goal in 7 out of their first 8 games and 40+ shots on goal in 4 games.

STAY ONLINE WITH THE BULLIES: Follow the Bullies throughout the season by pointing your computer mouse to www.boardwalkbullies.com. You can read game updates, get to know your favorite Bullies, and find out where "Wooly" and the team will be appearing next. Click and score with www.boardwalkbullies.com!

UP NEXT: The defending ECHL Kelly Cup Champions play three games in four nights this week. On Thursday, the Bullies host the Trenton Titans at Boardwalk Hall at 7:05PM in the front-end of a home-and-home series. Friday, the teams play the back-end of the series at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton at 7:30PM. Sunday, the Bullies conclude the weekend with a matinee affair against the Johnstown Chiefs at Boardwalk Hall at 2:05PM. Catch all the action this week on ESPN Radio 1450AM and the Surfer Network beginning with the pre-game show 20 minutes prior to face-off with Dan Weiss.

BULLIES SCHEDULE WEEK OF OCTOBER 27TH:

Monday, November 3: Practice 10:30AM – 12PM

Tuesday, November 4: Practice 10:30AM – 12PM

Wednesday, November 5: Practice 10:30AM – 12PM

Thursday, November 6: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies vs. Trenton 7:05PM

Friday, November 7: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies @ Trenton 7:30PM

Saturday, November 8: TBA

Sunday, November 9: Bullies vs. Johnstown 2:05PM

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ECHL Stories from November 3, 2003


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