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Still Atop The Perch

January 17, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies News Release


ATLANTIC CITY - WEEK RECORD: 1-2-0 - SEASON RECORD: 21-9-5 - 1st NORTH DIVISION

BULLIES REWIND: The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies snapped a three-game losing streak and a four-game winless streak that included two losses last week, with a big 4-3 shootout win at home over Reading on Saturday. With just one game remaining before the official end to the first half of the season, the Bullies are 21-9-5 with 47 points, a one-point edge over the second place Wheeling Nailers. Only five points separate the top four teams in the North Division.

Wednesday, Bakersfield used a four goal third period and Vlad Serov tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Condors to a 5-2 victory over the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies before 1719 at Historic Boardwalk Hall. After a scoreless first period, Bakersfield (22-9-5) opened the scoring when Serov from the slot tucked the puck through Bullies goaltender Tyler MacKay at 3:05 of the second for a 1-0 lead. Atlantic City (20-8-5) would counter with a pair of goals to build a 2-1 advantage. Paul Caponigri extended his home scoring streak to nine games when he beat Bakersfield goalie Yutaka Fukufuji along the ice at 3:50 to tie the game 1-1. Ian Walterson gave the Bullies a 2-1-cushion heading into the third period when his blast from the blue line got through a screen and past Fukufuji at 10:15 of the period. Dennis Shirayev netted the equalizer for the Condors at 1:25 of the third period on the power play. Shirayev took the puck from Serov and beat MacKay with a backhander on the short side to tie the game 2-2. Paul Rosebush regained the lead for Bakersfield when tipped Todd Alexander's shot off Mackay's stick and into the net at 9:18 for a 3-2 advantage. Tony Lawrence made it 4-2 Condors as he beat MacKay over the blocker from the left-wing circle at 12:13. Lars-Peder Nagel capped the scoring with an empty-net goal at 19:58. Atlantic City out-shot Bakersfield 35-30. MacKay stopped 25 shots in his season debut to fall to 0-1-0. The Bullies went 0-4 on the power play.

Friday, Reading goaltender Barry Brust stopped 27 shots and three Royals earned their first goals of the season to lead Reading past the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies 4-1 before 5363 at the Sovereign Center. Nick Greenough opened the scoring for Reading (20-10-2) at 7:30 of the first period. Greenough tipped the centering feed from Larry Courville past an outstretched Bullies goaltender Jake Moreland on the ice to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Adam Borzecki extended Reading's lead to 2-0 with a power play goal at 16:49 of the first. Borzecki ripped a slap shot from the right point that got through traffic and past a screened Moreland with just one second remaining on the power play. Reading's Jamie O'Leary opened the scoring in the second frame, taking a pass at the right-wing circle from Courville on a two-on-one and ripping a shot over the left shoulder of Moreland at 8:21 to give the Royals a 3-0 lead. Atlantic City (20-9-5) would break the ice, tallying a shorthanded goal at 11:13 of the period when Reading's Adam Borzecki tried to play the puck away from goaltender Barry Brust, but tipped it into his own net. The goal was credited to Derek Edwardson. Reading out-shot Atlantic City 33-28. Moreland made 29 saves in falling to 18-6-4 on the season. The Bullies went 0-2 on the power play.

Saturday, Fraser Clair tallied a pair of goals and provided the clincher in the shootout to lead the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Reading Royals before 2864 at Historic Boardwalk Hall. The win snaps Atlantic City's four-game winless streak. Reading (20-10-3) took the lead for the second straight night when Nick Greenough tipped the puck past Bullies goaltender Jake Moreland on the short side at 11:23 of the first period for a 1-0 advantage. Atlantic City (21-9-5) would counter at 12:49 on the power play. Clair redirected Luke Curtin's shot from the right point past the outstretched glove of Reading goaltender Matt Yeats to tie the game 1-1. The Bullies grabbed their first lead of the night at 9:02 of the second period when Ian Walterson slid the puck across the slot to Brett Nowak, and Nowak tucked it past Yeats along the far post to give Atlantic City a 2-1 lead. The Royals struck for a pair of goals to open the third period to reclaim the lead. Jon Francisco put Tom Galvin's rebound past Moreland at 4:21 on the power play for the equalizer to tie the game again at 2-2. Ian Turner gave Reading a 3-2 lead at 6:44 of the point with a slap shot from the point that got past a screened Moreland. The Bullies would storm right back 1:30 seconds afterwards when Clair recorded his second goal of the night, tipping Walterson's rebound on the weak side past a sprawled Yeats at 8:14 to knot the score at 3-3 and send it to overtime. Atlantic City out-shot Reading 38-33. The Bullies recorded a season-high 21 shots on goal in the first period. Moreland made 30 saves to improve to 19-6-4. Atlantic City went 1-4 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 Fraser Clair who returned from injury over the weekend and posted two goals, including the clincher in the shootout on Saturday to help snap the Bullies four-game winless streak. Honorable mention goes out to forward Paul Caponigri who just completed a nine-game home scoring streak dating back to November 20.

THE AMBUSH WAS ON: The Bullies recorded a season-high 21 shots on goal in the first period in Saturday's win over Reading. The shot total matches the 21 shots on goal Atlantic City recorded in the third period against Dayton on November 16 for most shots in a single period this season. The ECHL-high this season for shots on goal in the first period is 25 recorded by Las Vegas on December 20 and Pee Dee on Friday. The ECHL-high this season for shots on goal in a single period is 28 recorded by Las Vegas in the third period on November 20 against Idaho.

NOWAK'S BACK: When Bullies center Brett Nowak scored in the second period of Saturday's win, it was his first goal since November 27 at Trenton. The second-year professional was on loan to Bridgeport of the American Hockey League from November 30-January 2 where he played 13 games without recording a goal. Since returning to the Bullies line-up, Nowak has a pair of three-point games and six points in seven games overall.

POWER PLAY NEEDS A SPARK: The Bullies snapped a 3-44 power play slump when Fraser Clair redirected Luke Curtin's point shot past Reading goaltender Matt Yeats at 12:49 of the first period on Saturday. Despite the goal, Atlantic City is still just 4-46 on the power play in their last 14 games, a conversion rate of 8.6%.

FOUR OR MORE: The four goals scored by Atlantic City on Saturday were the most in five games going back to January 4 at Dayton. The Bullies are 11-0-2 when they score four or more goals, as opposed to 10-9-3 when they score fewer than four goals.

FACE-OFF AGAINST KIDS CANCER CONTINUES: The Boardwalk Bullies second annual "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer" will culminate on Friday, January 28 and Sunday, January 30 when the Bullies take the ice wearing special commemorative jerseys dedicated to each child. The jerseys will be auctioned off beginning with a silent auction of January 28 and continuing with a live auction following the game on January 30, with the proceeds benefiting Caps For Kids, a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing hats signed by athletes and entertainers to kids who lose their hair due to chemotherapy treatments of cancer, Alfred I. duPont Hospital For Children in Wilmington, Delaware, and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

LET'S PACK THIS JOINT: It's time to start making your plans for PACK THE HOUSE NIGHT! The Bullies battle the Trenton Titans at 7:05PM on Friday, January 28 and every seat at Boardwalk Hall is $6. For more information or to order your PACK THE HOUSE tickets, call your Bullies Customer Service Representative at (609) 348-PUCK.

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 25 power play goals, good for $1250 towards Power Play For United Way.

BACK ON THE "QUEST FOR THE CUP": "Quest For The Cup", South Jersey's only local hockey show, broadcasts live tonight from 7PM-8PM on ESPN Radio 1450AM and the SurferNetwork at www.boardwalkbullies.com. The show will move this evening from its normal venue to MALONEY'S PITNEY TAVERN located at 200 South Pitney Road in Galloway Township. Goaltender Jake Moreland will join Dan Weiss in the second half hour.

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 will hit the road for a two-game series at Carver Arena against the Peoria Rivermen at 8:30PM on Friday and 4PM on Sunday. Catch both games live on ESPN Radio 1450AM and the SurferNetwork at www.boardwalkbullies.com. Broadcast time begins 20 minutes prior to face-off with "Bullies Countdown." Atlantic City returns to Historic Boardwalk Hall at 7:05PM on Friday, January 28 against the Trenton Titans for PACK THE HOUSE NIGHT. The first 4,000 fans through the gates will receive Thunder Sticks courtesy of Benchmark Mortgage.

BULLIES SCHEDULE WEEK OF JANUARY 17

Monday, January 17: Off Day

Tuesday, January 18: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Wednesday, January 19: Practice 10:30AM-12PM; Depart for Peoria, IL @ 9PM

Thursday, January 20: Practice 4PM-5:30PM @ Carver Arena

Friday, January 21: Morning Skate 12:15PM; Bullies @ Peoria 8:30PM

Saturday, January 22: Practice TBA @ Carver Arena

Sunday, January 23: Bullies @ Peoria 4PM; Depart for Atlantic City

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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.

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