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Generals Intelligence Report

October 27, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greensboro Generals News Release


Three for three: The Greensboro Generals followed up a season-opening loss to the South Carolina Stingrays with a three-game winning streak that began at home on Thursday, October 23rd. Greensboro then took to the road for their first road trip of the season, and looked to improve on the (16-12-8) record from last season. The Generals rebounded the home loss with an exciting overtime win against the Texas Wildcatters, followed by the road wins in Columbia and Greenville. A recap of the Generals games from last week:

Generals 6, Wildcatters 5 (OT)

The game also played host to a unique double-dip, as Greensboro's Eric Fortier and the Wildcatters Bobby Cunningham each had a hat trick, scoring three goals. This marks the third time that two hat tricks have occurred in an ECHL game, dating back to November 2, 2002. On November 2, the Generals Chris Bell and Pete Gardiner each had a hat trick, in an 8-2 defeat of the Charlotte Checkers. The only other game in which two hat tricks were scored came when the Florida Everblades defeated the Peoria Rivermen on January 7th. It also marks the sixth Generals hat trick since November 2nd. In the opening period, the Wildcatters Bobby Cunningham started the scoring with a goal at the 4:36 mark. The Generals Matt Turek answered by putting a wrister past the outstretched hand of Texas goaltender Davis Parley, knotting the game at 1-1. However, Texas reassumed the lead as Tony Lawrence took advantage of a power play opportunity, making the score 2-1 at the end of the first period.

The Wildcatters continued to build off the momentum, scoring at the 11:16 mark of the second as Cory Morgan sent home his second goal of the season, making the score 3-1. In the closing minute of the period, Greensboro's Eric Fortier would answer with a shot of his own, when on an assist from Sam Ftorek and Geno Parrish, cut the deficit to 3-2 with his first goal of the game.

Fortier would continue his remarkable play in the third, when he scored his second goal of the game, using his shooting past Parley to tie the game at 3-3. Just over thirty seconds later, Mike Bayrack out pursued the Texas defensemen to score the second Greensboro goal of the period, giving the Generals their first lead of the game. Matt Turek pushed the Generals lead to 5-3 as he netted his second goal of the game, sending the 2,239 fans in attendance to their feet. With just over one minute remaining in the third, Texas' Bobby Cunningham scored two power-play goals and sent the game to overtime tied at 5-5.

In the overtime Greensboro needed just one shot of their 64 total shots on goal, to go home victorious. Eric Fortier sent home his third goal at the 1:39 mark.

Generals 4, Inferno 2

Generals Captain Mark Turner scored his first goal of the season, tying the game just 4:40 into the third. Joel Irwin would follow Turner's lead, sending a shot past Inferno netminder Rob McVicar and giving Greensboro its first lead of game with just under 11 minutes remaining. The Eric Fortier who scored his fourth goal in two games and iced the game by converting the Generals second power-play with 1:28 remaining in the game.

A slow offensive start for Greensboro, the Generals allowed Columbia's Jesse Schutz to net his third goal of the season on a power-play. The Inferno would score their second goal of the game when Terry Harrison sent the puck past Daniel Berthiaume, taking a 2-0 advantage into the second.

In the second, the Generals Bryson Busniuk converted a Columbia power-play opportunity, cutting the deficit to 2-1, at the 11:30 mark. Assisting for Greensboro was Mike Bayrack and Kurt Drummond.

Generals 5, Grrrowl 2

Kurtis Drummond and Bryson Busniuk each scored a pair of goals to help the Greensboro Generals defeat the Greenville Grrrowl, 5-2. Drummond scored at 3:18 of the first period to even the score at 1-1 and added a go-ahead goal just over five minutes later. Busniuk buried the eventual game-winner midway through the first period and notched his fourth goal of the season midway through the second. Mark Turner and Eric Fortier each produced a pair of assists and Mike Bayrack finished with two points, including his second goal of the season for Greensboro, which has won three in a row. Daniel Berthiaume stopped 25 of 27 shots to earn the win, his third in four starts. Han Sung Kim and Luke Earl each scored for Greenville, which has dropped three straight to start the season. Scott Kabotoff surrendered five goals on 35 shots to take the loss.

"Garden State Invaders": Try not to get tongue tied but the Greensboro Generals play the Trenton Titans on Thirsty Thursday. Greensboro finished with a (4-2) record against the Titans last season, sweeping Trenton in all three contests at the Greensboro Coliseum in 2002-03. It was a tale of two venues in the series, where the Generals outscored the Titans 10-5 in three appearances in Greensboro, however while in Trenton were outscored 5-8.

In 2002-03 Trenton finished fourth in the Northeast Division, eight points shy of first place, and lost in the opening round of the playoffs to the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies. The Titans (1-3-0) have continued to be plagued by the ability to win on the road, as they finished at 16-16-4 last season, and enter the game against Greensboro with a 0-1-0 record on the road this season. On the other hand, the Generals maintain a 1-1-0 record at home, looking to improve on a 26-9-1 home record in Rick Adduono's first season at the helm.

"No Skeletons in the Closet": On Halloween Night the Greensboro Generals look to heal the wounds of time, as they take on the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies. The last time that the Greensboro Generals saw the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies was on April 18th, in the second round of the ECHL playoffs. On that night, Greensboro skated off the ice for the last time after a 3-2 loss, and Atlantic City moved on to capturing the ECHL Kelly Cup championship.

The Generals closed the 2002-03 regular season with a 2-3-1 record against Atlantic City, and the lone tie made all the difference in the divisional standings. On March 5th, when Greensboro traveled to the Boardwalk where they got credit for a tie, despite losing 5-4, and by the completion of the season finished one point shy of the division championship. The two teams then met in the ECHL playoffs with Atlantic City holding the home ice advantage, and managed to capture the playoff series 3-1 over Greensboro.

"Coaches Corner": The Greensboro Generals have announced Head Coach/General Manager Rick Adduono will appear on the "Our Town" radio show (WGOS 1070-AM) each Monday afternoon beginning October 13. The half-hour "Coaches Corner" will air each Monday at 1:00 PM throughout the season.

The "Coaches Corner" segment is part of the WGOS' "Our Town" program that is hosted by "Buffalo" Jack Umlaluf and Ogi Overman weekdays from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. The show will feature interviews with Adduono as well as segments with Generals players and their involvement in the community.

"Reminder to the fans": The Generals will return to the Greensboro Coliseum next Thursday night, October 30th for another R.H. Barringer sponsored Thirsty Thursday where draft beer will be available for $1, followed by a Halloween Bash when they face the Atlantic City in the first meeting since last season's playoffs.

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