Titans go .500 heading into New Year

January 3, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Trenton Devils News Release


TRENTON, NJ - The Trenton Titans went 2-2-0 this week as they jockeyed for the top position in the North Division.

The Titans took the ice on Tuesday and held on for a 4-3 victory over the Dayton Bombers. Trenton then scored a season-high six goals on Thursday en route to a 6-1 romping of the Toledo Storm that pulled the Titans into a tie for first place with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies.

In a battle for the top divisional spot, the Bullies triumphed 3-1 over the Titans on New Year's Eve to close out 2004. Trenton could not reverse their fortunes in the first game of New Year as they fell to the Johnstown Chiefs 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.

The Titans will play four games in five days in the upcoming week. They take on their first West Division opponent when face the Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday, January 5 at 7:00pm. Trenton then takes to the road to skate against the Johnstown Chiefs on Friday, January 7 at 7:00pm.

The Titans finish the weekend with a pair of home games. They look for redemption against Atlantic City on Saturday, January 8 at 7:00pm and then host the Bakersfield Condors for the second time on Sunday, January 9 at 3:00pm.

Trenton has sole possession of second place in the North Division as they lead the Wheeling Nailers by one point and trail the Bullies by four.

LAST WEEK: 2-2-0
Tuesday, December 28 vs. Dayton W 4-3
Sovereign Bank Arena
- The Trenton Titans got two goals from their power play unit en route to a 4-3 win against the Dayton Bombers. Scott Bertoli got the scoring and the power play rolling when he lit the lamp unassisted at 8:32 of the first period giving Trenton a 1-0 lead. Michael Schutte would tie the score for Dayton later in the period with his third goal of the season, but Brent Robinson beat Mike Ayers with a wrist shot 2:49 later to again give the Titans a one-goal cushion. In the second period, the Bombers notched a power play goal of their own when Justin Kinnunen roofed the puck over Andrew Allen to knot it up 2-2. Trenton however would strike again with the man advantage when Matt Zultek potted his sixth of season 1:59 in the final frame for a 3-2 Titans edge. Steve Cygan and Scott Cameron traded goals for the Titans and Bombers respectively to make the final score 4-3. Allen turned away 29 of 32 shots in raising his record to 9-3-1.

Thursday, December 30 vs. Toledo W 6-1
Sovereign Bank Arena
- The Trenton Titans set a season high for goals scored and pulled themselves into a tie for first place in the North Division with a 6-1 drubbing of the Toledo Storm. Steve Cygan had his first two-goal night of the season as the Titans did all their scoring during even strength. The third-year center also scored the eventual game-winner when he stole a pass from Toledo goaltender Logan Koopmans and put it between his pads at 15:20 of the opening period for what was a 2-0 Trenton lead. Trenton was able to extend their lead to three when Conor Dunlop fired a shot past Koopmans 5:26 into the second frame. It was Dunlop's first goal of the season and first as a Titan. Tyler Knight would help cut the Titans' cushion back down to two goals later in the period when he roofed a wrist shot over Chris Houle's glove. The Titans continued to pour it on as Matt Libby registered his first goal of the season to put the Titans up 4-1 at 8:59 of the third period. Cygan converted a two-on-one with Mathieu Brunelle at 4:55 later for his second goal of the evening and a four-goal Titans edge. Chris Houle made 21 saves on 22 shots to raise his record to 8-1-3. The second-year goaltender has not lost in regulation since November 27. Koopmans turned away 27 shots as he fell below .500 for the first time this season.

Friday, December 31 @ Atlantic City L 3-1
Boardwalk Hall
- The Trenton Titans suffered just their second loss away from home as they fell 3-1 to the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies. Despite outshooting the Bullies 12-7 on the first period, the Titans found themselves down 1-0 when Rob McPheeters found the open net off of Brett Peterson's turn-around shot. After a scoreless second period in which the Titans killed off six Atlantic City power plays, the Bullies gave themselves a two-goal cushion with 1:42 remaining in regulation on Paul Caponigri's 10th marker of the season. Caponigri's goal proved to be crucial as B.J. Abel cut AC's lead back to one goal just twenty seconds later. The Bullies would put the game way when Rick Kowalsky's pass to the point got past Brent Robinson and trickled into the empty net to make the score 3-1. Jake Moreland made 29 saves for his league leading 16th win of the year. Chris Houle stopped 33 of 36 shots in suffering just his second loss in regulation.

Sunday, January 2 vs. Johnstown L 5-2
Sovereign Bank Arena
- The Trenton Titans lost their second game in row in regulation for the first time this season as they fell 5-2 to the Johnstown Chiefs. Heading into the third period tied 2-2, the Chiefs were able to pull away as they got three goals past Chris Houle. Shawn Mather was able to convert a two-on-one with Mike James to put Johnstown up 3-2 at 9:09 of the third. Brent Kelly's team-leading 11th marker of the season gave the Chiefs a two-goal edge as he beat Houle through the five-hole with 6:03 remaining in regulation. Pierre-Luc Courschnesne drew first blood on the power play when he ripped a point-shot through a screen to make it 1-0 Chiefs 2:25 into the contest. The Titans would tie the score 2:48 later on Steve Cygan's third goal in three games. Johnstown regained the lead when Joe Tallari backhanded Dennis Packard's wrist shot over Houle's blocker. Connor Dunlop knotted the scored once again when he one-timed Brent Robinson's cross-ice pass through the legs of David Cann. Houle, starting for the third time in four days, stopped 23 of 26 shots as his record falls to 8-3-3. Cann saved 35 for his first victory since December 18 versus Dayton.

THIS WEEK:
Wednesday, January 5 vs. Bakersfield, 7:00pm 1350-AM Moneytalk
Sovereign Bank Arena
- The first of two times the Titans host the Condors. Guy Dupuis is tied for the league in defenseman scoring with 23 points and leads all blueliners with 18 assists.

Friday, January 7 @ Johnstown, 7:00pm 91.3-FM WTSR
Cambria County War Memorial
- Game six of ten for Trenton and Johnstown. The Chiefs picked up their first win of season against the Titans with a 5-2 victory on Sunday. Trenton leads the season series 4-1-0.

Saturday, January 8 vs. Atlantic City 91.3-FM WTSR
Sovereign Bank Arena
- This marks the sixth time out of ten the two teams will meet. The Bullies took a 3-2-0 season series lead with a 3-1 win on New Year's Eve. Scott Bertoli has 6 points (4g, 2a) in 5 games against AC.

Sunday, January 9 vs. Bakersfield, 3:00pm 1350-AM Moneytalk
Sovereign Bank Arena
- The final game between Trenton and Bakersfield. The Condors' power play ranks 5th in the ECHL (19.0 %) with Kevin St. Jacques tied for the league lead with 14 power play points. Trenton trails the all-time series 1-2-0.

Practice/Game Schedule:
Tuesday, January 4 - Practice @ Sovereign Bank Arena - 10:30am
Wednesday, January 5 - Pre-game skate @ Sovereign Bank Arena - 10:00am
Game vs. Bakersfield - 7:00pm
Thursday, January 6 - Practice @ Sovereign Bank Arena - 10:00am
Leave for Johnstown
Friday, January 7 - Pre-game skate @ Cambria County War Memorial - 11:00am
Game @ Johnstown - 7:00pm
Saturday, January 8 - No pre-game skate
Game vs. Atlantic City - 7:00pm
Sunday, January 9 - No pre-game skate
Game vs. Bakersfield - 3:00pm
Monday, January 10 - Day off

TITANS BROADCAST INFO:
Tune in as the voice of the Titans, Mike O'Brien will brings you all of the Titans hockey action on WHWH-Money Talk 1350 AM on Sunday through Thursday and WSTR-91.3 FM on Friday and Saturday. Fans can also watch or listen in on the Titans website, www.trentontitans.com.

B2 Networks to bring you live action for over 50 Titans hockey games. Go to www.trentontitans.com and click the Watch the Game Live icon at to view and listen to the game. These broadcasts are available for a charge of $6 per game. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

Titans Streaks
· The Titans set a team season-high with their six-goal output on Thursday versus Toledo
· Trenton lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time this season.
· Steve Cygan and Nick Deschenes each recorded a +4 on Thursday versus Toledo, setting the team season-high for plus/minus rating.
· The Titans are 3-2-1 on the first game of the new year.
· Trenton is the only team in the ECHL to be ranked in the top ten in goals for, goals against, power play and penalty kill.

In the Community:
January 3 - Come down to Hooters for "Along the Boards" hosted by the Voice of the Trenton Titans, Mike O'Brien. Hooters is located in the Mercer Mall on Route 1 South in Princeton, NJ. Tonight's guest will be #32 Matt Zultek. "Along the Boards" can be heard weekly on Money Talk 1350AM from 7pm - 8pm.

Leaders:
Goals: Rick Kowalsky - 11
Assists: B.J. Abel - 16
Points: Brent Robinson - 21
Plus/Minus: Nick Deschenes - +7
PIM: Matt Zultek - 96
Wins: Andrew Allen - 9
GAA: Andrew Allen - 2.36
Save Pct.: Andrew Allen - .919

Team Stats:
Record: 17-6-4, 38 pts (2nd, North Division)
Home: 8-4-2
Away: 9-2-2
Power Play: 20 for 121 - 16.5% (10th)
Penalty Kill: 11 for 130 - 85.4 (10th)

Transactions:
12/28/2004 Add ROSARIO RUGGERI (D) assigned by Philadelphia (AHL)
12/29/2004 Add BRIAN SULLIVAN (RW) signed contract
12/29/2004 Delete ANDREW ALLEN (G) placed on 7-day IR
12/30/2004 Add MATT CONTI (G) emergency back-up goaltender
01/02/2005 Delete B.J. ABEL (F) recalled to Philadelphia (AHL)



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