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Still In The Thick Of Things

March 7, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies News Release


ATLANTIC CITY - WEEK RECORD: 2-1-0 - SEASON RECORD: 31-18-7 - 3rd NORTH DIVISION

BULLIES REWIND: With two more victories last week, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies remain right in the middle of the North Division playoff picture in third place with 69 points, two points behind first place Reading and three points ahead of fourth place Toledo and Trenton with 16 games remaining in the regular season. The playoff drive for four spots in the division has become a six-team race as Peoria has entered the picture by virtue of their five-game winning streak. To date, all six teams are separated by eight points with the Bullies holding a game in hand on Toledo but giving up games in hand to Reading, Trenton, and Peoria.

Wednesday, Derek Edwardson tallied a goal and two assists and goaltender Trevor Koenig notched his first goal of the season with an empty-netter to lead the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies to a 4-1 victory over the Wheeling Nailers before 2002 at WesBanco Arena in ECHL action Wednesday. For a second straight game, Wheeling (31-18-4) opened the scoring, this time on a power play goal at 8:31 of the first period. Ed McGrane collected the loose rebound off Ray DiLauro's point shot at the side of the net and tipped the puck past Bullies goaltender Trevor Koenig to give Nailers a 1-0 lead. Atlantic City (30-17-7) didn't wait long to net the equalizer. Colin Shields corralled Paul Caponigri's rebound at the right-wing circle and snapped the puck past Wheeling goaltender Andy Chiodo at 9:10 of the period, just 39 seconds after the Lazarev goal to tie the game at 1-1. The Bullies took their first lead of the night at 17:20 of the first. Shields behind the Wheeling net fed a perfect pass to an open Derek Edwardson in the slot, and Edwardson faked Chiodo down to the ice before beating him with a shot over the left shoulder to give Atlantic City a 2-1 edge heading into the first intermission. Caponigri extended the lead with the Bullies second power play goal at 4:42 of the second period. Edwardson sent a pass across ice to an open Caponigri at the right-wing circle, and Caponigri beat Chiodo along the ice to give the Bullies a 3-1 advantage. Koenig sealed the win when from his own crease and with an empty-net at the other end of the ice, the Bullies net-minder scaled the puck down the ice and into the empty-net at 19:19 to make the final 4-1. With the goal, Koenig became just the eighth goaltender in ECHL history to score and the third in the last three seasons. Wheeling out-shot Atlantic City 27-26. Koenig stopped 26 shots to improve to 18-9-3 on the season. The Bullies went 2-4 on the power play.

Friday, Dusty Jamieson tallied a pair of goals and Charlotte notched two shorthanded goals to defeat the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies 5-1 before 1703 at Historic Boardwalk Hall in ECHL action on Friday. The Checkers (33-20-4) opened the scoring with their first shorthanded goal at 11:21. Dwight Helminen flipped the puck across to the right-wing circle for Ryan Glenn who slapped the puck by Bullies goaltender Trevor Koenig to give Charlotte a 1-0 lead. The Bullies would counter with the equalizer at 13:52 of the period. Dustan Heintz picked up Ian Walterson's rebound in the slot and slipped the puck past Charlotte goalie Alex Westlund to tie the score at 1-1. Charlotte would open the floodgates in the second period with three goals. Jamieson tallied his first of the night with another shorthanded marker as moved the puck around Koenig from the right circle and tucked it into the net at 8:02 to give the Checkers a 2-1 advantage. Jamieson gave Charlotte a 3-1 edge with his second goal of the game at 12:10 of the period. Kenton Smith finished the scoring for Charlotte with a power play goal at 17:24. Eddie Pershin move the puck back to the high slot for Smith, and Smith ripped a slap shot over the glove of Koenig to increase the lead to 4-1. Ryan Lang capped the scoring with a power play goal at 3:24 of the third period, tipping the centering feed from Pershin past Koenig to make the final 5-1. Atlantic City out-shot Charlotte 37-31. Koenig stopped 26 shots to fall to 18-10-3 on the season. The Bullies went 0-5 on the power play and surrendered two power play goals in addition to the two shorthanded markers.

Saturday, Brian Fahey tallied the game-winning goal at 2:13 of the overtime period and goaltender Trevor Koenig stopped a season-high 45 shots to lead the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies to a 5-4 victory over the Johnstown Chiefs before 2030 at Historic Boardwalk Hall in ECHL action Saturday. Atlantic City (31-18-7) opened the scoring at 9:35 of the first period. Dave Reid collected Colin Shields' rebound at the top of the crease and slid the puck past Johnstown goaltender David Cann to give the Bullies a 1-0 lead. Johnstown (19-23-13) would net the equalizer at 18:20 of the period. David Bowman sneaked the puck under Bullies goaltender Trevor Koenig's pad from the left-wing circle off Joe Tallari's rebound to tie the game at 1-1. Peter Bournazakis reclaimed the lead for the Bullies in the second period with his first of two goals for the game, which set off a string of four goals between the teams in a span of 4:42 seconds. Bournazakis angled his way out from behind the net to the top of the crease and ripped a wrist shot past Cann at 13:32 to give the Bullies a 2-1 edge. The Chiefs wouldn't wait long to come back and tie the game, as Brian Collins re-directed Ian Manzano's point shot past Koenig 1:58 seconds later at 15:30 to knot the score at 2-2. Johnstown took their first lead of the night 1:52 seconds afterwards at 17:22 when Jean Desroschers pushed the puck across the crease to Tallari and Tallari tipped it by Koenig to give the Chiefs a 3-2 edge. Atlantic City countered at 18:14 with a shorthanded goal, when Eric Nelson stripped his man of the puck behind the Johnstown net, and fed a streaking Derek Edwardson at the right-wing circle who ripped a shot through the pads of Cann to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the second intermission. Johnstown grabbed the lead early in the third period on the power play. Desroschers tipped Bowman's centering feed just under the crossbar at 3:57 to give the Chiefs a 4-3 edge. However, Bournazakis would tally his second goal of the night when Brian Fahey's centering pass from behind the cage deflected off his stick and into the net at 11:15 to tie the game at 4-4 and send it to overtime. Johnstown out-shot the Bullies 49-37, including 36-19 in the final two periods. The 49 shots allowed by Atlantic City was a season-high. With 45 saves, Koenig improved to 19-10-3 on the season. The Bullies went 0-3 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 goaltender Trevor Koenig who not only became the eight goaltender is ECHL history to score a goal, but also preserved the 5-4 overtime victory on Saturday by stopping a season-high 45 shots on goal. Honorable mention goes out to forward Peter Bournazakis who netted his first two goals in a Bullies uniform on Saturday, including the equalizer midway through the third period

A REAL TOP DAWG: Rookie center Derek Edwardson recorded his team-leading fifth three-point game of the season with a goal and two assists in the 5-4 win over Johnstown on Saturday. With four goals and 11 points in his last six games, Edwardson has climbed to second in the ECHL rookie scoring race with 20 goals and 54 points in 53 games played, two points behind South Carolina's Joe Tenute. The Morton Grove, IL native is also tied for 11th in the overall scoring race with Alaska's Charles Linglet and Charlotte's Eddie Pershin.

AN ASSORTMENT OF WINNERS: With the game-winning goal in overtime on Saturday, defenseman Brian Fahey added his name to the list of Bullies that have tallied game-winning goals this season. To date, 13 different players have scored at least one game-winning goal this season, while forward Jason Notermann leads the team with five game-winners. Last season, 15 different Bullies potted game-winning goals.

FOUR IS THE SCORE: Atlantic City is now 17-0-2 this season when scoring four goals or more, as compared to 14-18-5 when scoring less than four goals. In their last seven games, the Bullies have scored a total of 27 goals, an average of 3.86 goals per game.

FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: The 49 shots on goal recorded by Johnstown set an Atlantic City club record for most shots on goal allowed in a single game, surpassing the 48 registered by Toledo on December 21, 2002. However, goaltender Trevor Koenig set an Atlantic City club record with his 45 saves, the most saves by a Bullies netminder in a single game.

WHAT A SCHEDULE! Beginning Wednesday, the Bullies will face their most grueling stretch of the season with eight games in 11 nights. Following Wednesday's home game, Atlantic City will embark on a season-long five-game, eight-day road trip beginning Thursday. The Bullies will travel to play at Johnstown on Friday, at Reading on Saturday, and at Dayton on Sunday, followed by a second game at Dayton next Tuesday and conclude at Wheeling next Thursday. Atlantic City will then return home to finish the stretch with home games on Friday and Saturday against Peoria and Reading respectively.

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 four games this upcoming week. Atlantic City hosts Wheeling at 7:05PM on Wednesday at Historic Boardwalk Hall for "Wild Wednesday" presented by Coors Light. All college students, casino workers, military and service industry personnel get in for just $6 with a valid ID. Enjoy great Coors Light all night for just $2! The Bullies will then travel to face Johnstown at 7PM on Friday at the Cambria County War Memorial, followed by a 7:05PM match-up on Saturday with the Reading Royals at the Sovereign Center, and a 2:05PM game on Sunday with the Dayton Bombers at the EJ Nutter Center. Catch this weekend's games live on ESPN Radio 1450AM and all four 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 MARCH 7

Monday, March 7: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Tuesday, March 8: Practice 10:30AM-12PM

Wednesday, March 9: Morning Skate 10AM; Bullies vs. Wheeling 7:05PM

Thursday, March 10: Practice 10:30AM-12PM; Depart for Johnstown @ 2PM

Friday, March 11: Morning Skate 11:15AM; Bullies @ Johnstown 7PM; Depart for Reading

Saturday, March 12: Morning Skate 11:15AM; Bullies @ Reading 7:05PM; Depart for Dayton

Sunday, March 13: Bullies @ Dayton 2:05PM

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