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BULLETS
TO RECEIVE HUGE BOOST
May 31, 2007
The Bullets received wonderful news last night when they learned that captain Brandon Spears will be eligible to return
to league action effective immediately.
In his final tune-up game before re-joining the Bullets on the ice, Spears had two goals.
"Spears and Ben Ashkin are arguably the top two centres in the league. Having him back will allow Tyler Cohen to
move to his natural wing position. They'll be a more effective team with better coverage on the ice," an anonymous scout explained
to us.
The entire team is pumped for the return of their captain.
Witness it live on Tuesday, June 5th at 9:55pm.
TOUGH
SHOOTOUT LOSS, BUT VALUABLE POINT EARNED
May 30, 2007
It's fair if Benji Lightstone is a bit perplexed regarding The Bullets' first four games of
the season. It is likely just a coincidence, but the competition that Lightstone and other starting goaltender Dustin
Stroll have faced thus far have been drastically different. The stats and scores speak for themselves.
In the most evenly matched game of the season, The Bullets had a great chance to beat
their biggest rival. Losers of the league championship game against The Baby Bullets during the winter season, The Renegades were
clearly worked-up to play the big boys.
The entire game was a see-saw battle, however it was The Bullets who blew an opportunity
to put the game away. After allowing the tying goal late in the third and losing in the shootout, the final score was 5-4.
The Bullets came out strong and quickly weathered the storm from The Renegades and their fans.
After a defensive stop, Mike Adelson passed the puck up to Tyler Cohen, who broke out up ice and fed Dave Preston, who eventually
converted on a bit of a lucky one. Preston went outside on the defender, and eventually worked his way around the net.
His centering pass hit the goalie's skate and deflected in. A garbage goal it was, but no one on The Bullets' bench was complaining.
With less than a minute to go in the first period, The Renegades got a fluky one of their
own. On a two on one, The Renegades forward made a pass across the slot and the puck hit Adelson's skate and deflected
in. This time, none of the Renegades were complaining.
After falling behind by a goal early in the second, The Bullets responded on a beautiful tip
in by Ben Ashkin. After a long cycle in the offensize zone, Daniel Sherkin worked the puck to Adam Spears, who fired a shot
towards the net. Ashkin was waiting in front and redirected it perflectly between Renegades goaltender Steven Sweet's legs.
Riding that momentum, Steven Spears passed to defensive partner Adelson who had a lot
of ice to work with. Crossing the blue line one on two, he let a wrist shot go which surprised Sweet and went
in over his glove. The Bullets' bench and their fans were ecstatic at this point, however, they
were greatly deflated after the intermission, very early into the third. With the period only thirty-eight seconds
old, The Renegades tied the game.
Although upsetting for the Bullets, they remained strong as a team, and as has often
been the case thus far in this young season, The Bullets relied on their defense corps for offensive help. Often absent from
the scoresheet in previous seasons, Ari Greenberg decided to answer the call. On a fantastic individual effort, he
broke away from the defenders and wired a wrist shot top shelf over Sweet's glove to give The Bullets a 4-3 lead.
Captain Brandon Spears, who sat out the game due to suspension, was behind the bench and made
all the right coaching calls as the game wound down. However, due to one communication error on the ice - in a blink
of the eye, the game was tied. As the clock was approaching one minute remaining, The Renegades were in the process of pulling
their goalie when Sherkin lunged to the right to intercept a pass and missed, setting up a two on one. The recipient
of the pass moved in and blew a slapshot right past Lightstone, tying the game and deflating The Bullets once again.
With regulation time winding down and a shootout looming, The Bullets felt confident
in their chances of taking the extra point. Unfortunately this was short-lived. In
the shootout, Adelson had the puck roll off his stick and never really got his best shot off. The Renegades converted
on their first shot against Lightstone, while Sherkin was denied by Sweet at the other end. Lightstone stopped the
second Renegades shooter giving Ashkin a chance to square it up. Unfortunately it was not to be as his
shot rang off the crossbar - a defeating noise which meant a heartbreaking loss for The Bullets and their faithful fans.
Although a disappointing loss, it is important that The Bullets earned at least the
single point which will be sure to help in the standings later. The Bullets have six days to put this loss
behind them and look forward to their next opponent.
The competition should remain pretty even when Stroll gets back between the pipes next week. This
should be a good test for Stroll, who is hoping to further extend his two game shutout streak.
NOTES: Final shots in the game were 19-18 in favour of the Bullets. Adelson had the only
penalty for the Bullets. The Bullets were 0/1 on the powerplay and 1/1 killing penalties. Captain Spears will hopefully
be returning in time for next weeks game.
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY SDSG!
May 27, 2007
The Bullets would like to wish #42, Dave Preston a happy birthday today. Preston was a late
offseason re-signing and has shown his value early on this season. Have a great day Dave!
OLD FRIENDS MAKE THEIR RETURN AND
HELP THE BULLETS CRUISE TO A 12-0 SMASHING!
May 22, 2007
The Bullets handed out their most dominant thrashing in team history tonight, a 12-0 beating
of Old No.7's. Dustin Stroll was back in the net after backing up Benji Lightstone last week, and he barely had to break
a sweat. Stroll made 5 saves for his 2nd shutout of the season in only his 2nd game played! Offensively, The Bullets were
completely dominant, peppering their opponent with 36 shots, converting on 3 of their 5 powerplay chances, controlling the
play for most of the game and getting contributions from the whole lineup.
"Daniel Sherkin was unreal! I'm so glad to have him back on the blueline with me this year,
he really brings a speedy, puck moving element to our defense corps which has been missing since Roebuck retired because of
his knee. A hat trick tonight and now tied for the team lead in scoring... Wow, I'm sure glad we signed this guy," said Mike
Adelson after he emerged from the dressing room.
The Bullets also welcomed back some old faces into the fold. Adam Spears and Max Shuster returned
to the team to play in their 1st games of the season and neither showed any signs of rust. Steven Spears did not play for
personal reasons.
"To me, the unsung hero of the night, lost in a 12 goal team effort, was Joey Evans. This
guy continues to impress me more and more every day. He has worked hard from being a 4th liner 3 years ago to now being an
important contributor, not only offensively, but on the forecheck, backcheck and shotblocks. You can really see that all of
his hard work and dedication in practice has made him into a great all around player," beamed Brandon Spears. Evans, who had
2 points on the night, scored an unassisted goal that was him against the world. Evans pushed through the check after a faceoff,
stripped the defender of the puck, carried it in a took a shot on the goalie and then banged in the rebound on the 2nd or
3rd attempt.
Tyler Cohen also continued his push to stay atop the scoring charts with another strong effort,
potting 2 goals and 3 assists.
Next week's game will take place on Tuesday May 29 at The Pavilion against The Renegades,
who The Baby Bullets beat in the finals for their 1st ever championship last winter.
With any luck, the boys in black might have their Captain back in the fold.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERKIN!
May 19, 2007
The Bullets would like to extend Happy Birthday wishes to rookie Bullets defenseman Daniel Sherkin. May your 20th birthday
be the best one yet!
CAUGHT OFF GUARD
May 16, 2007
Benji Lightstone's first start as a full-time member of the Bullets did not go anything like
he'd imagined it would. As a fill-in last season, Lightstone went 2-2 with a 2.58 GAA and stopped 66% of all shootout attempts. Most
importantly during those games was that the team in front of him gave their full effort and support.
Last night, unfortunately The Bullets left Lightstone to do things all by himself
against a strong opponent and, as a result, were badly beaten by a score of 8-2.
For the first few minutes of the game, things were looking okay. The Bullets were scored upon
quickly, but received a powerplay soon after. Steven Spears eventually scored on that powerplay for his first of the season,
however, The Bullets had allowed a shorthanded goal only eleven seconds earlier.
"After going down 2-0 and then getting that powerplay goal, we gained some momentum.
But we didn't use it properly and things quickly turned around," rookie Bullets Tyler Cohen said after the game.
Less than a minute later, the Bullets allowed the first of four consecutive goals. Early in
the third, Daniel Sherkin potted his second goal in as many games to cut the lead to 6-2. It was too late at this point
for a Bullets comeback, but to ensure they didn't get any closer, the Flyers went back on the offensive and scored two
more goals.
"Benji can not be blamed for this loss. Our opponent was better than us tonight and we left Benji
out to dry. There is no reason that he should be taking any heat, because it was the rest of our team's inability to play
in our own zone that cost us the game," assistant captain Mike Adelson said.
The Bullets were outshot 20-12 in a game that was spent mostly in The Bullets' own zone.
Based on the actions of the league commissioner in previous seasons, it is safe to say
that the Bullets and Flyers will not be facing each other again this season. Occasionally, teams are placed in inappropriate
divisions where the competition is either too weak or too difficult - in either circumstance, necessary changes are made.
The Bullets now have six days to work on their mistakes and rebound before taking
to the ice again at a special 11pm start time. We hope to see you there!
DOMINATION
May 9, 2007
The Bullets started the 2007 season on the right foot with a huge 7-0 win.
From the first puckdrop, it was apparent that the Bullets opponent didn't even belong in the
league.
It was total domination from the Bullets, who came out flying from the get go.
The team spent almost the entire game in the offensive zone, cycling the puck and generating
good offensive chances.
It took the Bullets less than two minutes to open the scoring, with none other than Mike Adelson
getting the goal. Records show that he has scored the first goal of the Bullets season in three out of the four years of the
teams existence.
Every one of the Bullets new players found their way onto the scoresheet. Tyler Cohen scored
two goals, and both Ben Ashkin and Daniel Sherkin scored a goal.
The Bullets verterans also made their marks. Dave Preston was huge with a goal and two assists
- as was defenseman Ari Greenberg. Adelson added a pair of assists to his goal. Steven Spears, the oldest player on the team,
contributed three timely assists. Grinder Joey Evans had two assists.
Dustin Stroll recorded his second career Bullets shutout. "It's the easiest one I'll ever
get," Stroll said. This of course was in reference to the Bullets dominating play. In fact, they only allowed one shot all
game!
As easy as this game was, the competition is sure to get much tougher next week, and the Bullets
know that.
"We'll enjoy this victory tonight, but tomorrow its back to work for all of us. At this point
in the season, the divisions aren't properly aligned. If we played a team with that much lower calibre this week, it's
very possible that our opponent next week will be the complete opposite. We have to be prepared," Mike Adelson said after
the game.
Hopefully the Bullets will have their captain Brandon Spears back by next week.
"It would be the ultimate gift," goaltender Benji Lightstone said.
The Bullets game next week is at a special time: 8pm. The team looks forward to seeing
you then!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!
May 7, 2007
The Bullets would like to wish a very happy birthday to their newest member, Tyler Cohen!!!
We hope its a great one!
BULLETS READY TO GO!
May 7, 2007
It's been a long eight months, but tomorrow evening the wait will be over. The Bullets will
be taking the ice for their first game of the season, and needless to say, they're pumped.
Earlier today, forward Joey Evans sat down with the media for a half hour long interview.
He told us, "With the success of the Baby Bullets still fresh in our minds, we want to continue winning with the big team."
Dustin Stroll will be starting this game, with Benji Lightstone getting his second career
Bullets start next week.
The only low point for the Bullets is that they will be without their captain as he is serving
a suspension for an alleged incident during the Baby Bullets final game. Bullets upper management continues to appeal
the suspension as we speak.
The puck will drop at 10pm - can't wait to see you all there!
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