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Picture Perfect Week

February 23, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies News Release


ATLANTIC CITY - WEEK RECORD: 3-0-0 - SEASON RECORD: 36-12-4 - 2nd NORTHERN

BULLIES REWIND: The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies swept a two game series against the Bakersfield Condors sandwiched around a 3-2 shootout victory over the Reading Royals at the Sovereign Center on Friday to remain two points behind the Wheeling Nailers for the top spot in the Northern Division.

Wednesday, Brian Fahey notched a career-high 5 points with a goal and 4 assists and the Atlantic City Bullies used a season-high 4 power play goals to defeat the Bakersfield Condors 6-2 before 2212 at Boardwalk Hall. The Bullies opened the scoring with a three-goal flurry in the game's first 9:09. Scott Horvath gave Atlantic City a 1-0 lead when he tipped home the loose puck to the left of Bakersfield goalie Shane Bendera at 5:35 of the first period. Stefan Rivard increased the lead to 2-0 at 6:57, firing a low slap shot from the right-wing circle by Bendera. Horvath made it 3-0 at 9:09 on the power play with his second marker of the game, a backhander from the slot. Bakersfield cracked the scoreboard at 11:56 of the first on the power play as Jani Virtanen's shot from the left point squeezed through the pads of Bullies goaltender Jake Moreland and trickled over the end line to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Bullies would counter with 3 more goals in the second frame. Jon Cullen made it 4-1 at 0:56 of the second on the power play deflecting Fahey's point shot by Bendera. Fahey would get into the scoring act at 6:34 on the power play, collecting his own rebound and sliding a backhand shot by Bandera for a 5-1 advantage. Preston Mizzi deflected another Fahey point shot on a two-man advantage power play at 11:44 to increase the lead to 6-1. Mike Barrie closed the scoring with a power play tally for Bakersfield at 14:29 of the third period. The final 0:38 seconds were penalty-filled as 104 minutes worth of penalties were assessed to both teams. Barrie, Andrew Ianiero, and John Mirasty were each given game misconducts for Bakersfield while Dave Reid, Pierre-Luc Sleigher, and Kam White were assessed game misconducts for the Bullies. All the game misconducts were a result of secondary fights after Mizzi and Virtanen initially dropped the gloves. The Bullies out-shot Bakersfield 42-24 for the game. Atlantic City went 4-6 on the power play.

Friday, Jon Cullen tallied the lone goal in the shootout and Scott Stirling stopped all 5 Reading shooters as the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies defeated the Reading Royals 3-2 in a shootout before 6147 at the Sovereign Center. The Bullies opened the scoring 18:15 into the first period on the power play when Josh Prudden fed Brian Fahey across the slot, and Fahey slapped the puck by Royals goaltender Peter Hamerlik for a 1-0 lead. John Longo increased the lead to 2-0 when he took a cross-ice feed from Pierre-Luc Sleigher and tipped the puck by Hamerlik at 7:07 of the second. Reading (28-15-8) would crack the scoreboard at 10:30 of the period on the power play. Regan Rome slapped the puck to the left corner and the rebound caromed out to Brad Church in the slot who tucked the puck underneath Bullies goaltender Scott Stirling to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Royals would net the equalizer at 16:57 of the third period as Lars Pettersen deflected Mikko Viitanen's shot behind Stirling to tie the game at 2-2. Both teams had opportunities to net the game-winning goal in overtime but Stirling and Hamerlik each hung tough. Stirling stopped 36 shots in his return to the Bullies line-up for the win. Reading out-shot the Bullies for the game 38-37. The Bullies went 1-4 on the power play.

Sunday, Scott Horvath registered his third multiple goal game of the season with a pair of tallies and Scott Stirling stopped 23 of 25 shots as the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies defeated the Bakersfield Condors 5-2 before a season-high 8570 at Boardwalk Hall. The win was the Bullies fourth straight. The Bullies (36-12-4) opened the scoring at 9:56 of the first period as Jon Cullen slapped the centering feed from Luke Curtin by Bakersfield goalie Shane Bendera for an early 1-0 lead. Scott Horvath made it 2-0 at 19:52 of the first when he rifled a slap shot from the left-wing circle by Bendera. Horvath would assist Dave Reid on the Bullies third goal at 6:24 of the second as Reid's one-timer beat Bendera giving the Bullies a 3-0 edge. Bakersfield (19-28-7) would crack the scoreboard at 9:50 of the second as Jimmy Drolet fired a shot from the blue line by Stirling to cut the lead to 3-1. Paul Willett got the Condors to within a goal at 3-2 at 12:14 of the third deflecting Drolet's shot by Stirling. However, the Bullies would counter 1:14 after Willett's goal as Pierre-Luc Sleigher slipped the puck by Bendera at 13:30 for a two-goal advantage again 4-2. Horvath capped the scoring with his second tally of the game, a power play goal at 18:44 to make the final 5-2. The Bullies out-shot the Condors 43-25. Stirling picked up his 26th win of the season. Atlantic City went 1-3 on the power play to run their streak of games with a power play goal to 10.

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 Scott Horvath who tallied 4 goals and an assist with two multiple goal efforts during the week. Honorable mentions go out to defenseman Brian Fahey who finished the week with 2 goals and 4 assists after a Bullies season-high 5-point performance on Wednesday, and Jon Cullen who extended his scoring streak to a season-high 9 games. 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)

BOARDWALK HALL FRENZY: A crowd of 8,570 screaming Bullies fans jammed into Boardwalk Hall on Sunday to watch the Bullies defeat the Bakersfield Condors 5-2, marking the second sellout of the season. Sunday's attendance was the largest for a Bullies home game dating back to March 28 when 9,232 people watched the Bullies defeat Trenton 5-0. Through 27 home games, the Bullies are averaging 3,273 fans per game.

STILL GOING, AND GOING, AND GOING... Scott Horvath's power play goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation extended the Bullies current streak of consecutive games with a power play goal to 10. The streak is the second longest in the ECHL behind the Bullies streak of 12, which they set from November 22 - December 26. Over the course of the last 10 games, the Bullies are 15-48 with the man advantage, converting at a 31.2% efficiency rate.

NINE LIVES: With a goal and an assist on Sunday, rookie forward Jon Cullen extended his scoring streak to a career-high 9 games. It's the longest scoring streak for any Bullie this season. Cullen also has a point in 11 straight home games. The rookie from Alexandria, MN ranks second in the rookie-scoring race behind San Diego's Greg Barber with 23 goals and 33 assists. Speaking of San Diego, Gulls forward Mark Pederson orchestrated a 20-game point streak, the longest in the ECHL this year, from December 28 - February 7. In 2002-03, then Bullies rookie Jim Henkel put together a 23-game scoring streak from December 18, 2002 till February 22, 2003.

DEFENSIVE TURNAROUND: After surrendering 11 goals in back-to-back games last week, the Bullies defense has toughened up, allowing just 8 goals in their last 4 games. The Bullies overall defense still ranks first in the ECHL by a wide margin, surrendering a total of 112 goals or 2.15 goals per game. If the Bullies allow less than 44 goals in their final 20 games, they will set the all-time ECHL record for fewest goals against and lowest goals against average in a single season, both currently held by the 2001-02 Louisiana Ice Gators.

DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME: Friday, the Bullies will welcome the Roanoke Express to Boardwalk Hall. It will be the final non-division game the Bullies in 2003-04. The Bullies conclude the year with 17 straight games against Northern Division opponents with three games each against Wheeling, Reading, Johnstown, and Trenton. The Bullies will also play four games against the Toledo Storm. Toledo is the only opponent in the division that the Bullies have yet to face. Cincinnati and Dayton are the only teams the Bullies will not see in their final stretch run, though the Bullies will face-off against the Bombers this week.

RECORDS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN: The 2003-04 Boardwalk Bullies have a chance to break several all-time individual and team records in their final 20 games, most significantly the record for wins of 44 which has stood since 1993-94, currently the longest standing record in franchise history. The longest standing individual record is most points in a season of 126 set by Joe Flanagan back in 1993-94.

BULLIES GOING BALD: On Saturday, February 28, members of the Bullies will be shaving their heads following the game with the Trenton Titans in honor of St. Baldrick's day to raise money for the National Childhood Cancer Foundation. Support the Bullies in their cause by pledging donations at the St Baldrick's table at every home game up till February 28. For more information or to order tickets for this special St. Baldrick's Day event, call (609) 348-PUCK.

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 added 6 more power play goals last week to run their season total to 60, good for $3,000 dollars towards the Power Play for United Way.

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 will play four games in five nights this week. The Bullies travel to Reading on Tuesday for a 7:05PM face-off with the Royals. Wednesday, the Bullies will be in Dayton to battle the Bombers. Game time is 7PM. Friday and Saturday, the Bullies return to Boardwalk Hall at 7:05PM to host the Roanoke Express and the Trenton Titans. Catch Tuesday's and Wednesday's game on ESPN Radio 1450AM and all four games live on the Surfer Network at www.boardwalkbullies.com beginning with the pre-game show 20 minutes prior to face-off with Dan Weiss.

Every Saturday home game this season is "Family Day". Purchase 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas for one low price of $44!

BULLIES SCHEDULE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 23rd

Monday, February 23: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Tuesday, February 24: Morning Skate 10AM; Depart for Reading 2:30PM; Bullies @ Reading 7:05PM

Wednesday, February 25: Bullies @ Dayton 7PM

Thursday, February 26: Off Day

Friday, February 27: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies vs. Roanoke 7:05PM

Saturday, February 28: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies vs. Trenton 7:05PM

Sunday, February 29: Off Day

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