Home sweet home

January 3, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies News Release


ATLANTIC CITY - WEEK RECORD: 3-0-0 - SEASON RECORD: 19-6-4 - 1st NORTH DIVISION

BULLIES REWIND: The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies completed a perfect home-stand with three wins against divisional rivals to improve to 19-6-4 on the season and 16-2-2 in their last 20 games. The Bullies own the best record, highest point total, and highest winning percentage in the ECHL.

Wednesday, Brett Peterson tallied his first professional goal, and it turned out to be the game-winning goal as the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies defeated the Dayton Bombers 3-1 before 2761 at Historic Boardwalk Hall. After a scoreless first period, the Bullies (17-6-4) struck first when Rob McFeeters in the slot tucked the puck underneath Dayton goalie Michael Ayers with a backhand shot at 8:26 of the second period to give Atlantic City a 1-0 lead. Dayton's (10-17-1) Shawn Limpright tied the score at 1-1 with a power play goal at 15:09 of the period, slapping the puck from the end line around Bullies goaltender Jake Moreland and into the net. The Bullies regained the lead early in the third period. Peterson deflected Paul Caponigri's centering feed past Ayers at 1:14 to give Atlantic City a 2-1 advantage. Jason Notermann gave the Bullies some insurance with a power play goal at 7:00, finding the bouncing puck in the crease and lifting it over Ayers on the short side for a 3-1 lead. Dayton out-shot Atlantic City 36-35. Moreland made 35 saves to earn his 15th win of the season. The Bullies went 1-3 on the power play.

Friday, Paul Caponigri tallied the game-winning goal and added an assist and goaltender Jake Moreland stopped 29 shots to lead the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies to a 3-1 victory over the Trenton Titans before 3021 at Historic Boardwalk Hall. The win gives the Bullies sole possession of first place in the North Division with 40 points. Rob McFeeters opened the scoring for Atlantic City (18-6-4) at 13:29 of the first period. McFeeters took the puck from Brett Peterson at the left wing circle and slapped it past Trenton goalie Chris Houle to give the Bullies a 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second period, Caponigri gave the Bullies some insurance when he collected McFeeters' rebound in the slot and put a slap shot past an out of position Houle at 17:58 of the third period for a 2-0 lead. Trenton (17-5-4) would counter just 20 seconds later. BJ Abel in front of the net tipped the loose puck past Bullies goaltender Jake Moreland at 18:18 to cut the deficit to 2-1. With Houle pulled from the net and the Titans having the extra attacker, the intended pass to the point for Scott Bertoli got by the Trenton forward and rolled into the empty net. Fraser Clair was credited with the goal at 19:10 of the period to make the final 3-1. Atlantic City out-shot Trenton 36-30. Moreland made 29 saves for his 16th win of the year. The Bullies went 0-6 on the power play.

Sunday, goaltender Jake Moreland stopped all 23 Toledo shots and Eric Nelson recorded his first professional goal with the game-winner to lead the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies to a 3-0 win over the Toledo Storm before 1691 at Historic Boardwalk Hal. Nelson gave the Bullies (19-6-4) all the scoring they would need at 11:10 of the first period when his slap shot from the outer-rim of the right-wing circle beat Toledo (13-12-3) goalie Scott Fankhouser along the ice for a 1-0 advantage. Brad Both increased the lead to 2-0 at 18:06 of the first, taking a beautiful pass across the crease from Ian Walterson and tipping it by Fankhouser. Rob McFeeters added some insurance with an empty-net goal at 19:26 of the third period to make the final score 3-0. Atlantic City out-shot Toledo 26-23. Moreland earned his 17th win of the season in his 23rd consecutive start. The Bullies did not have a power play opportunity for the first time this season.

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 forward Paul Caponigri who led the Bullies offensive charge with a goal and five assists, including the game-winning goal on Friday. Caponigri has a point in four straight games. Honorable mention goes to forward Rob McFeeters who potted a goal in all three games and finished the week with three goals and five points.

THOMAS OFF TO READING (FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME): With the Bullies 3-0 victory Sunday over Toledo coupled by Trenton's 5-2 loss at home to Johnstown, Bullies Head Coach Matt Thomas earns the automatic spot as one of the National Conference's coaches at the upcoming ECHL All-Star Game in Reading, PA by virtue of having the conference's highest winning percentage. Atlantic City trailed Trenton .731% to .714% entering today's action, but the Bullies win gave them a winning percentage of .724% while Trenton's loss dropped their winning percentage to .703%. The official announcement from the ECHL of Thomas's selection will come on Tuesday. Thomas will be joined behind the bench by another coach from the the conference that is voted in by league-wide vote of ECHL Head Coaches. The official announcement from the ECHL will be made on Tuesday.

MR. DECEMBER: Rookie left-wing Paul Caponigri completed an amazing turnaround to his season by posting four goals and 13 points along with a plus-minus ratio of plus-seven during the month of December to lead the Bullies in scoring. The Oak Park, IL native, who opened the season with just three points in his first 13 games, has come alive with eight goals and 20 points in his last 16 games. Caponigri should receive major consideration for both ECHL Player of the Month and ECHL Rookie of the Month, which will be announced on Wednesday.

LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST: Defenseman Eric Nelson became the final player on the Bullies roster to record a goal when he notched Atlantic City's first tally in their 3-0 win over Toledo on Sunday. The goal, which was Nelson's first as a professional, also ended up in the books as the game-winning goal. Nelson, a rookie from the University of Connecticut, now has three points in 29 games this season.

400-400 MEN: Captain Luke Curtin skated in 400th career game on Friday vs. Trenton, joining Stefan Rivard as the only two players in club history to play their 400th game and tally their 400th career point in a Bullies uniform. Curtin's 400th point came on November 5 at Peoria.

ROAD WARRIORS: Atlantic City will embark on their second longest road trip of the season this week with four road games in four different cities over the next five nights. Between today and Saturday, the Bullies will log a total of 1,426 miles with trips to Dayton, Toledo, Wheeling and Trenton. The Bullies are 9-5-1 away from Historic Boardwalk Hall this season.

STRIKING SIMILARITIES: With a record of 19-6-4 through their first 29 games, the 2004-05 Boardwalk Bullies are two points ahead of last year's record breaking squad. The 2003-04 Boardwalk Bullies were 20-9-0 with 40 points in their first 29 games of the season, and in the middle of a 13-game unbeaten streak that would eventually see the club go 26-9-1 with 53 points in 36 games. Offensively, this year's Bullies squad is nearly even with last year's team. The 2003-04 Bullies averaged 3.20 goals per game through the first 29 games while the 2004-05 squad is averaging 3.17 goals per game. Defensively, the 2003-04 club had surrendered just 58 goals to this point, an average of 2.00 goals against per game, while this year's Bullies have surrendered 68 goals, an average of 2.34 goals against per game. The 2003-04 edition of the Boardwalk Bullies set seven club records including most wins (47) and highest point total (100).

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 22 power play goals, good for $1100 towards Power Play For United Way.

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 embark on their second longest road trip of the season with four games this week in five nights. Atlantic City will battle Dayton at 7PM on Tuesday and Toledo at 7PM on Wednesday. The Bullies will have Thursday off before traveling to Wheeling and taking on the Nailers at 7:30PM on Friday and the Trenton Titans at 7PM on Saturday. Catch all four games live on ESPN Radio 1450 and the SurferNetwork at www.boardwalkbullies.com. Broadcast time begins 20 minutes prior to face-off with "Bullies Countdown." The Bullies welcome the Bakersfield Condors to Historic Boardwalk Hall at 7:05PM on Wednesday, January 12. Every Wednesday home game is "Wild Wednesday". All college students, casino workers, military and service industry personnel get in for just $6 with a valid ID. Enjoy great beer specials all night for just $2. For more information or to order tickets, call (609) 348-7825.

BULLIES SCHEDULE WEEK OF JANUARY 3

Monday, January 3: Depart for Dayton, OH @ 9:30AM

Tuesday, January 4: Morning Skate 11:15AM; Bullies @ Dayton 7PM; Depart for Toledo, OH

Wednesday, January 5: Morning Skate 11:15AM; Bullies @ Toledo 7PM

Thursday, January 6: Depart for Wheeling, WV

Friday, January 7: Morning Skate 11:15AM; Bullies @ Wheeling 7:30PM; Depart for Atlantic City

Saturday, January 8: Morning Skate 10AM; Depart for Trenton @ 3:30PM; Bullies @ Trenton 7PM; Depart for Atlantic City

Sunday, January 9: Off Day; "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer-Sunday Sundae Social" 1PM-3PM @ Egg Harbor City Volunteer Ambulance Facility.



ECHL Stories from January 3, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central