Sports stats



Magic Number Down To One

April 4, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies News Release


ATLANTIC CITY - WEEK RECORD: 2-1-0 - SEASON RECORD: 40-22-8 - 2nd NORTH DIVISION

BULLIES REWIND: After going 2-1 last week, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies magic number for clinching a berth in the 2005 ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs is down to one. A point gained by the Bullies through either a win or an overtime/shootout loss or through a Peoria loss of any kind will put Atlantic City in the playoffs. To clinch the North Division crown, the Bullies need to win their final two regular season games and hope that Reading earns only three out of their final possible eight points. That scenario would leave both teams with 92 points and potentially with 42 wins each, but the Bullies would win the division because of their better head-to head record against the Royals.

Wednesday, Shawn Mather recorded a multiple-goal game for the third consecutive outing with a pair of goals to lead the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies to a 4-2 victory over the Wheeling Nailers before 1942 at Historic Boardwalk Hall. The win is the first for the Bullies over the Nailers at home this season. Mather opened the scoring for Atlantic City (39-21-8) with a power play goal at 13:58 of the first period. Peter Bournazakis in front of the net tapped the puck across the crease to an open Mather, and Mather slipped the puck past Wheeling goaltender Andy Chiodo to give the Bullies a 1-0 lead. The Bullies then exploded for three goals in a span of 6:28 seconds in the first nine minutes of the second period to break the game open. Mather potted his second goal of the game when he beat Chiodo along the ice from the slot at 4:34 to give the Bullies a 2-0 advantage. J-F Plourde increased the lead to 3-0 when he collected Mather's rebound in front of Chiodo and shot a backhander past the Wheeling net-minder at 4:34 to force Chiodo from the game in favor of Joe Exter. The change didn't matter as Brian Fahey gave Atlantic City a 4-0 lead when stepping out of the penalty box, he took an errant Wheeling pass at center ice behind the Nailers defense, broke in alone on Exter and slapped the puck over his left shoulder at 9:00 of the second. James Laux got the Nailers (36-25-5) on the scoreboard when he beat Bullies goaltender Trevor Koenig over the right shoulder with a wrist shot from the slot at 17:58 to cut the deficit to 4-1. Bo Cheesman tallied his first professional goal at 11:52 of the third period, splitting the pads of Koenig with a shot along the ice to bring the Nailers back to within two goals at 4-2, but that's as close as they would get. Atlantic City out-shot Wheeling 36-28. Koenig stopped 26 shots to improve to 25-12-4. The Bullies went 1-3 on the power play.

Friday, Jason Notermann and Derek Edwardson each recorded a goal and an assist to lead the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies to a 3-2 victory over the Peoria Rivermen before 1894 at Historic Boardwalk Hall. The win snaps the Bullies six-game losing streak to Peoria. J-F Plourde opened the scoring for the Bullies (40-21-8) at 3:47 of the first period. Dave Reid's shot from the right point was blocked in the slot, and with Peoria goaltender Alfie Michaud looking for the puck behind him, Plourde pounced on the rebound and slapped it into the open net to give the Bullies a 1-0 lead. Atlantic City extended their lead to 2-0 with a power play goal at 3:16 of the second period. Derek Edwardson's one-timer from the right-wing circle off the set-up by Jason Notermann beat Michaud along the ice. Peoria (36-23-8) would counter as Jake Riddle tipped the loose puck sitting in front of Bullies goaltender Trevor Koenig through his pads at 6:28 to cut the margin to 2-1. But Atlantic City responded when Edwardson returned the favor to Notermann, this time setting him up in the slot and Notermann ripped a slap shot over the left shoulder of Michaud at 15:19 to give the Bullies their two-goal lead back at 3-1. Peoria got to within one with Michaud pulled from the net for the extra attacker, when Tyler Rennette found Trevor Byrne in the high slot and Byrne fired a wrist shot past Koenig at 18:25 cut the deficit to 3-2. The Rivermen though would get no closer. Peoria out-shot Atlantic City 30-26. Koenig stopped 24 shots to improve to 26-12-4. The Bullies went 1-7 on the power play.

Saturday, Preston Mizzi and Cail MacLean each tallied a pair of goals and Reading used a four-goal first period to defeat the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies 5-1 before 6724 at the Sovereign Center. Reading (40-20-7) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game's first eight minutes. Mizzi opened the scoring when he angled his way around Ryan Reid to the front of the net and slipped the puck through Bullies goaltender Trevor Koenig at 3:41 to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Mizzi made it 2-0 when off a Bullies turnover, he received a centering feed from Larry Courville at the right-wing circle and beat Koenig with a snap shot over the left shoulder at 5:59. Reading would extend their lead to 3-0 with a power play goal at 7:20. Cail MacLean deflected Tom Galvin's point shot off Koenig and then collected his own rebound and stuffed the puck through Koenig's pads. David Masse finished the Royals scoring in the first period with a shot from the left wall that got past a screened Koenig at 19:07 to give Reading a 4-0 lead going into the first intermission. MacLean notched his second power play goal of the game, taking a cross-ice feed from David Masse in the right corner and tipping the puck past goaltender Jeff Weber on in replace of Koenig at 16:11 to give Reading a 5-0 lead after two periods. Ryan Reid notched his first professional goal at 6:23 of the third period for Atlantic City (40-22-8) to snap Reading goaltender Barry Brust's attempt at a shutout. Reading out-shot Atlantic City 32-26. Koenig stopped 7 shots in the first period in suffering the loss to fall to 26-13-4 on the season. The Bullies went 0-6 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 defenseman Brian Fahey who saw his career-best seven-game scoring streak snapped on Saturday. The second-year pro tallied four goals and eight points since beginning the streak on March 18. Honorable mention goes out to center Shawn Mather who enjoyed another great week with two goals and five points in three games.

ONE DOWN, THREE TO GO: With Reading becoming the first representative from the North Division to clinch a playoff beth by virtue of their 2-1 win over Peoria Sunday and Wheeling officially eliminated from playoff contention following their 6-4 loss at Johnstown, there are now four teams fighting for three available playoff spots. Trenton and Toledo each have magic numbers of four and can clinch with either two wins or two Peoria losses in regulation. The Rivermen meanwhile need to win out and get help in order to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time in their ECHL history and the first time since the 1986-87 season. No team is locked into a specific spot, though Reading can clinch its first division title with two wins and a Trenton loss of any kind. If the season ended today, the Bullies and Titans would meet in the first round of the playoffs with the Bullies holding home-ice advantage. Atlantic City is 6-0 lifetime against Trenton in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

NEWCOMERS SHINE: Despite the Bullies 5-1 loss at Reading on Saturday, two Atlantic City rookies shared some of the spotlight. Defenseman Ryan Reid notched the first goal of his professional career to break up Reading's attempt at a shutout, while goaltender Jeff Weber was splendid in relief of Trevor Koenig, stopping 20 of 21 shots including several odd-man rushes by the Royals.

EDWARDSON STILL IN THE CHASE: Rookie center Derek Edwardson will need an unbelievable week to catch South Carolina's Joe Tenute for the ECHL Rookie Scoring title. With 23 goals and 64 points, Edwardson trails Tenute by eight points in second place along with Long Beach's Marco Rosa. Edwardson's 41 assists still leads all rookies and he ranks tied for first in both shorthanded goals and power play points. The Morton Grove, IL is a strong candidate for the ECHL's All-Rookie Team, which will be announced later this week.

GET US TO FOUR: The Bullies are still undefeated in regulation when scoring four goals or more with a record of 21-0-2. When scoring less than four goals, Atlantic City is 19-22-6.

KELLY CUP PLAYOFF TICKETS ON SALE NOW: Ticket packages for the 2005 Kelly Cup Playoffs are currently on sale. For more information or to find out how you can reserve the same great seat for up to 14 playoff games at Historic Boardwalk Hall, call your Bullies Customer Service Representative at (609) 348-PUCK.

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 continue on their march to the playoffs with the final two games of the regular season. Atlantic City hosts the Reading Royals at 7:05PM Friday at Historic Boardwalk Hall for "Fan Appreciation Night". The Bullies will salute their fans one final time by giving away an assortment of prizes to everyone in attendance. Atlantic City will travel to Johnstown at 7PM Saturday for the final game of the 2004-05 regular season and their final meeting ever with the Chiefs. Catch Saturday's game live on ESPN Radio 1450AM and both games live on the SurferNetwork at www.boardwalkbullies.com beginning with "Bullies Countdown" 20 minutes prior to face-off. For more information or to order tickets, call (609) 348-7825.

BULLIES SCHEDULE WEEK OF APRIL 4

Monday, April 4: Off Day

Tuesday, April 5: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Wednesday, April 6: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Thursday, April 7: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Friday, April 8: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies vs. Reading 7:05PM; Depart for Johnstown, PA

Saturday, April 9: Morning Skate 11:15AM; Bullies @ Johnstown 7PM

Sunday, April 10: Off Day

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from April 4, 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.

Other Recent Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central