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Heading To The Dance

March 22, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies News Release


ATLANTIC CITY - WEEK RECORD: 0-2-1 - SEASON RECORD: 41-17-6 - 3rd NORTHERN

BULLIES REWIND: The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies clinched a third consecutive playoff berth yesterday despite suffering their first winless week of the season. The Bullies fell in a shootout Wednesday at home against Johnstown, before losing two straight against Peoria on Friday and Trenton on Sunday. Trenton's sweep of a two-game series with Reading and their win against the Bullies on Sunday propelled the Titans into the fifth and final playoff spot in the Northern Division, putting the Royals on the outside looking in. With just 6 games remaining on their schedule, should Reading win out and the Bullies lose their final 8 games, the Royals would still only finish with 87 points, 1 point behind Atlantic City, thus giving the Bullies a spot in the playoffs.

Wednesday, Shawn Mather tallied the game-tying goal at 19:01 of the third period and Dimitri Tarabrin scored the lone goal in the shootout as the Johnstown Chiefs defeated the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies 3-2 before 2148 in ECHL action Wednesday. The Bullies (41-15-6) raced out to a 2-0 lead by midway through the second period. Jon Cullen opened the scoring at 2:02 of the first slapping Luke Curtin's rebound by Johnstown goalie David Currie for a 1-0 lead. Stefan Rivard made it 2-0 at 12:10 of the second on the power play with a backhand shot by Currie off a rebound from Dave Reid. Johnstown (39-19-6) got on the board with a power play goal from Chris Leinweber at 17:34 of the third period. Mather would net the equalizer with Currie pulled and the extra attacker out just 1:27 seconds later to force the game to overtime. The Bullies out-shot Johnstown 31-27. Scott Stirling stopped 25 shots in falling to 30-11-5 on the season. Atlantic City went 1-3 on the power play.

Friday, Colin Hemingway had a pair of goals and Levente Szuper stopped 33 shots as the Peoria Rivermen defeated the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies 3-1 before 3186 at Boardwalk Hall in ECHL action Friday. With the win, the Rivermen move 1 point ahead of the Bullies in second place in the Northern Division. Peoria (40-18-9) opened the scoring at 13:08 of the first period on a two-man advantage power play. Adam Edinger slid the puck down low to Marty Johnston camped out at the left of the net, and Johnston slapped the puck by Bullies goaltender Scott Stirling to give the Rivermen a 1-0 lead. Hemingway made it 2-0 at 15:59 of the second period with his first goal of the game, a slap shot over the right shoulder of Stirling. The Bullies (41-16-6) would counter 1:56 seconds later as Nick Parillo streaked up the right side and slid the puck through Szuper at 17:55 for his first tally in a Bullie's uniform and to cut the deficit to 2-1. Hemingway potted his second of the game at 11:11 of the third, stuffing Joe Vandermeer's rebound by Stirling for a 3-1 advantage. The Bullies out-shot Peoria 34-30. Stirling stopped 27 shots in falling to 30-12-5 on the year. The Bullies went 0-5 on the power play.

Sunday, Mathieu Brunelle and Scott Bertoli each tallied a goal and an assist and the Trenton Titans scored 3 power play goals lifting them to a 4-2 victory over the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies before 7490 at Sovereign Bank Arena in ECHL action Sunday. The loss leaves the Bullies still in need of 2 points to clinch a playoff berth. The Bullies (41-17-6) opened the scoring at 1:23 of the first period. Josh Prudden from the left-wing circle slapped the puck through Titans goaltender Andrew Allen to give Atlantic City a 1-0 lead. Trenton (35-24-7) countered with two power play goals to end the period. Brunelle from the right point beat Bullies goaltender Bujar Amidovski with a slap shot at 3:19 to tie the score 1-1. Bertoli gave Trenton a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission when Brunelle set up Bertoli with a great pass down low, and Bertoli tapped it by Amidovski at 19:36 on the power play. The Titans would build a 3-1 lead with another power play goal at 9:24 of the second. PJ Martin slapped home BJ Kilbourne's rebound by Amidovski for the tally and the two-goal advantage. The Bullies cut the deficit to 3-2 as Luke Curtin's blast from the blue line on the power play trickled off Allen's pads and into the net at 12:57 of the second. Devin Rask sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:05 of the third period. Trenton out-shot the Bullies 25-21. Amidovski stopped 22 shots in falling to 10-15-3 on the year. Atlantic City went 1-6 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 Josh Prudden, who finished the week as the Bullies top scorer with a goal and three assists, tallying a point in all three games. Honorable mention goes out to Nick Parillo who netted a goal and an assist in his first two games as a Bullie. Previous recent winners below include:

1/5/04: Brian Fahey (3 goals, GW goal)
1/12/04: Luke Curtin (4 goals, 4 assists)
1/19/04: Stefan Rivard (4 goals, 1 assist)
1/27/04: Aaron Foster (3 goals, 1 assist, 2 GW goals)
2/2/04: Jim Henkel (3 goals, 1 assist)
2/9/04: Jake Moreland (career-high 35 saves against Reading)
2/16/04: Luke Curtin (4 goals, 2 assists)
2/23/04: Scott Horvath (4 goals, 1 assist)
3/1/04: Jon Cullen (1 goal, 4 assists)
3/8/04: Scott Stirling (4th shutout of the season; 14th of his career)
3/15/04: Sam Paolini (3 goals, 1 assist)

MARCH MADNESS SCENARIOS: By virtue of Trenton's win yesterday, the Bullies are headed to the playoffs for the third consecutive season. However, what seed they will finish with and who they will play in the first round is a long way from being determined. With 8 games remaining, the Bullies can still finish as high as 1st or even as low as 5th. With their next win or a Trenton loss, the Bullies will finish no lower than 4th in the Northern Division. Any combination of 4 points between Wheeling victories and Bullies losses will eliminate Atlantic City from contention for the top seed in the division. Now comes the tricky part. Just 3 points currently separate second place through fourth in the division. By virtue of their schedule, the Bullies control their destiny with two games in hand over 4th place Johnstown and three games in hand over 2nd place Peoria. The Bullies and Chiefs will meet for the final time in the regular season on Wednesday. Johnstown closes its season with games at home against Trenton and Cincinnati, and on the road at Wheeling, Reading, and Trenton. Meanwhile, the Bullies and Peoria wrapped up their regular season series this past Friday. Despite having just five games remaining, the Rivermen wrap up their season against the division's bottom-feeders with games at home against Dayton twice and Toledo, and on the road at Cincinnati and at Dayton

CURTIN'S STREAK HALTED: An impressive streak finally came to a conclusion on Sunday in Trenton: The Bullies lost in regulation despite a goal from Luke Curtin. In their previous 25 games when Curtin had scored, Atlantic City was 23-0-2. Curtin brought the Bullies back to within one at 12:27 of the second period on the power play when his slap shot from the blue line trickled off Andrew Allen's pads and into the back of the net.

HOME "NOT SO SWEET" HOME: With their 3-1 loss to Peoria at home on Friday, the Bullies extended their winless streak at Boardwalk Hall to a season-high 4 games. Atlantic City has not won at Boardwalk Hall in nearly a month going back to a 4-2 win over Roanoke on February 27. The Bullies have been outscored 10-5 in their last 4 home games, while going just 1-19 on the power play. The longest home winless streak in the ECHL this season belongs to Greenville. Between February 14 and March 9, the Grrrowl went 10 games at the BI-LO Center without a win. Atlantic City is also winless in three straight games for the first time since January 24-26 of last season.

EYE OF THE STORM: Newcomer Nick Parillo began his Bullies career in fine fashion tallying a goal on Friday and assisting on Josh Prudden's marker on Sunday. Parillo was acquired from Toledo on March 15 in exchange for future considerations. At the time of the trade, the Schenechtedy, NY native was third on Toledo in scoring with 19 goals and 49 points. Parillo led the Storm in scoring last season with 23 goals and 61 points as Toledo went on to capture the Brabham Cup as ECHL regular season champions.

"FACE-OFF AGAINST KIDS CANCER" JERSEY AUCTION NOW ONLINE: Game-worn autograph jerseys that the Bullies wore last Wednesday and Friday culminating their "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer" are now available for purchase in a live online auction through March 31 at www.boardwalkbullies.com. Proceeds from the auction benefit Caps For Kids and duPont Hospital For Children in Wilmington, Delaware. Log on to www.boardwalkbullies.com for more details! "QUEST FOR THE CUP" WELCOMES DAN BELISLE: The Bullies continue their "Quest For the Cup" presented by Swingers at Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, from 7PM-8PM on ESPN Radio 1450 and on the internet at www.boardwalkbullies.com. Tonight, host Dan Weiss welcomes Bullies Vice President and General Manager Dan Belisle for the full hour. Belisle plans to discuss the exciting times currently surrounding the Bullies with the team in position to repeat as ECHL Kelly Cup Champions. He will also address concerns about the future of the team that have recently been raised in the local media. Join us live on location at Swingers Bar inside the Sands Casino for your chance to be apart of the show. That's "Quest For the Cup", tonight from 7PM-8PM.

POWER PLAY FOR UNITED WAY: The Bullies have teamed up with United Way of Atlantic County to sponsor the Power Play for United Way. For every power play goal the Bullies score this season, Trump Plaza, Sands Casino Hotel, Advance Door & Supply, Kline Construction and HR Solutions will donate $10 dollars to United Way of Atlantic County. The Bullies produced three power play goals last week to run their season total to 67, good for $3,350 dollars towards the Power Play for United Way.

UP NEXT: The defending ECHL Kelly Cup Champions begin their final push toward the playoffs starting an 11-day, 8-game stretch at 7:05PM Wednesday against the Johnstown Chiefs at Boardwalk Hall. Friday and Saturday, the Bullies head to Toledo to battle the Storm at the Toledo Sports Arena. Game time both nights is 7:30PM. Sunday, the Bullies conclude the week at the Sovereign Center in Reading for the regular season finale with the Royals. Game time is 5:05PM. Catch Friday, Saturday, and Sunday's game live on ESPN Radio 1450AM and all four games on the Surfer Network at www.boardwalkbullies.com beginning with the pre-game show 20 minutes prior to face-off with Dan Weiss.

Every Wednesday home game this season is a Wild Wednesday sponsored by Coors Light and Molson Canadian. All college students, casino workers, military and service industry personnel get in for just $6! Enjoy great Coors Light and Molson Canadian draught beer all night for just $2! For more information or to order tickets, call (609) 348-PUCK.

BULLIES SCHEDULE WEEK OF MARCH 22nd

Monday, March 22: Off Day

Tuesday, March 23: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Wednesday, March 24: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies vs. Johnstown 7:05PM

Thursday, March 25: Practice 8:30AM-10AM; Depart for Toledo, OH 10:30AM

Friday, March 26: Morning Skate 11:15AM; Bullies @ Toledo 7:30PM

Saturday, March 27: Morning Skate 11:15AM; Bullies @ Toledo 7:30PM

Sunday, March 28: Bullies @ Reading 5:05PM



ECHL Stories from March 22, 2004


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