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Philadelphia, PA - The Troy Bruins, one night removed from a fatigue-driven loss to the Philadelphia Thunder, got down to basics in Sunday afternoon's rematch to take away the 7-5 victory in the final regular season meeting between the two clubs.

Still faced with a shortage of top players in the active lineup, the Bruins skated onto the ice in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon for one final time this season to rematch the Thunder club who wore them down for their first win against Troy less than 24 hours prior. Right off the opening faceoff, it would seem that history would repeat itself, with the Thunder catching a sluggish Bruins team off guard for two quick goals less than five minutes into the game to take the early 2-0 lead. For Bruins forward Gleb Luchnikov, a native of Serov, Russia, the hockey instinct that he has had since childhood would take over, allowing him to rush into the Thunder zone at the 13:51 mark and roof a shot past the goalie's shoulder to put the Bruins on the board and spark his teammates looking on. Like a cold engine needing to warm up, the Bruins offense machinery seemingly sprung to life, if only running on fumes, to tie the game less than a minute later at 12:41 thanks to the efforts of Derek McPherson and assisted by Leonid Kovalev on an even strength goal. For the second night in a row, Philadelphia's depth on the bench would prove to be the greatest challenge to the Bruins, striking the Thunder's go-ahead goal at 10:30 to recapture the lead at 3-2 off a rebound bounce in front of Bruins starting netminder Allan Dowler. Again coming to the rescue would be Luchnikov with an unassisted slick stick-handling goal from the slot just :67 seconds later to even the score at 3-3 before Luchnikov would feed veteran forward Lee McClure with a crisp centering pass in front of the crease to take an earned 4-3 lead into the dressing room after twenty minutes of play. Despite trailing on the scoreboard, Philadelphia would outshoot the Bruins in the first 20-14.

On Saturday night, the second period would prove to the the eventual downfall of the Bruins, yet head coach Shane Hicke and General Manager Rick Szabo would rally their players to prevent a similar outcome on Sunday. Not only did it keep the Thunder from scoring during the middle period, but the Bruins would actually muster enough offense throughout the twenty minute stanza to extend their lead by two. First for Troy would be Luchnikov's third goal of the game at 13:43, earning him a "hat trick" to take a 5-3 lead, before Lee McClure would bounce in his second goal of the night with less than three minutes remaining, an unassisted goal at 2:48 to make it a three point game heading into the second intermission leading the home Thunder 6-3.

Yet, for the Thunder, their regular season finale would be worth fighting for in the third period, making it an exciting third period for Philly and Troy fans alike. Keeping Dowler occupied throughout the final period would eventually lead to a Thunder goal with 4:17 to go in regulation, signaling Philadelphia's charge to get back into the game. Approaching two minutes remaining in the period, the Thunder pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, eventually setting up a shot from the far point that screamed its way past Dowler with 1:42 showing on the scoreboard, slicing the Bruins lead down to one headed towards the final horn. While Dowler would stand his ground in the Bruins defensive end, McClure would utilize every ounce of his effort to create a breakout into neutral ice and eventually towards the empty Philadelphia net for the cushion goal, and his second consecutive "hat trick" of the weekend. By the time the horn blew to end regulation, the Bruins had withstood the Thunder for a hard fought 7-5 victory, ending the season for the last-place Thunder on their home ice. Despite the Thunder having nearly double the players in uniform, Bruins President & General Manager commended his players, simply stating that "talent made the difference tonight". Final shots on goal through sixty minutes favored Philadelphia 39-22.

With the win, the Bruins improve their record to 30-13-1, earning the franchise's thirtieth win of the season and remain in clinched second place in the NJHL headed into their regular season finale next weekend at home. The Bruins host in-state rival Findlay Grrrowl this Saturday, March 13 at 8pm and Sunday, March 14 at 1:30pm inside the historic Hobart Arena. This weekend's series will be a tribute to the fans and sponsors who made the return of the Troy Bruins possible during the 2009-2010 season, with special prizes, giveaways and contests planned both days to say "thank you". For more information, call the Bruins at 985-PUCK or visit www.TroyBruins.com.

Understaffed Bruins Fall In Philadelphia 9-6

Philadelphia, PA - With several key players out of the lineup, the second place Troy Bruins made the trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for one final weekend series against the Philadelphia Thunder on Saturday night, falling by a final score of 9-6.

The Bruins would dust off their "bus legs" early, jumping out to an early lead on the first K's Hamburger Dhop powerplay of the night, as Jordan Carpender found the stick of Corey Evelyn who buried his shot to light the lamp just 1:30 into the contest. Keeping the energy flowing throughout the period, veteran leadership would extend the lead to two at the 13:42 mark, with Lee McClure blasting in a shot unassisted, before McClure would add his second of the night at the 5:09 mark, this time with an assist to Bruins starting netminder Allan Dowler, to make it a 3-0 game. With time winding down in the opening frame, it would be Evelyn again to set up offense in front of the Philly net, with a crisp centering pass to Danville, California native Derek McPherson with only :41 showing on the large scoreboard hanging above center ice. Despite the tempo being controlled by an energized Bruins club throughout the period, Philadelphia would capitalize on an errant bounce in front of a nearly flawless Dowler for the upsetting goal with only nine seconds to go, making it a 4-1 game after twenty minutes.

After seemingly squeezing every drop of effort out of his shorthanded club in the first period, Bruins head coach Shane Hicke would be forced to watch a role reversal in the second, with the Thunder controlling much of the tempo, led by a Philly goal scored less than a minute off the opening faceoff, followed by two additional goals past the halfway mark to chip away at the Bruins stockpile lead, eventually knocking the tying goal past the shoulder of an overworked Dowler at the 3:21 mark to even the score at 4-4. Again it would be veteran leadership from the Bruins that would make the difference, with McClure taking matters into his own hands with 1:15 to go in the period, as he capitalized off a point pass from defenseman Erik Levin to take the 5-4 lead into the dressing room after forty minutes. Most telling, Philadelphia's full compliment of players outshot the short staffed Bruins 40-18 after two periods.

Philadelphia would open it up in the third period, scoring three quick goals, two of which were on the Thunder powerplay, before Jordan Carpender mustered the Bruins sixth goal of the night unassisted to cut the Philly lead back to one with just 1:41 to go in regulation. Despite the exhaustion and fatigue of a full three periods with several key players out of the lineup, the game finally boiled over in the final minute, erupting into fisticuffs, with the Thunder cashing in on the resulting powerplays to squeak two more goals past Dowler to secure the 9-6 final score, securing Philidelphia's first-ever win against the Bruins. Final shots would favor the Thunder 58-23.

The Bruins drop their record to 29-13-1, holding on to their clinched second place, and rematch the Thunder for the final time this season on Sunday afternoon before coming home to the historic Hobart Arena for the final time to host the Findlay Grrrowl on Saturday, March 13 at 8pm and Sunday, March 14 at 1:30pm. For more information, call the Bruins at 985-PUCK or visit www.TroyBruins.com.

FAIRFIELD, OH – The Cincinnati Dockers Australian Rules Football Club, two-time defending USAFL Division 4 National Champions, are announcing their schedule for the 2010 season.  They will kick off the season on the road at the John Harrell Memorial Cup Tournament in Louisville, KY on May 8th, play at home twice in a 7-match schedule, then return to Louisville in October for the 2010 USAFL Championships. 


Cincinnati will kick off their campaign at the annual pre-season tournament in Louisville, where last year they went 1-1.  They will follow up with three straight road matches at Chicago on June 5th, St. Louis on either June 19th or 26th (date TBD), and Milwaukee on July 10th. The Dockers will finally return to their home field at Point Pleasant Park in Fairfield on July 24th when they host their in-state rivals from Columbus. 


Following that, it's back to the road with a trip to Nashville on August 14th, then their final road game of the season at Columbus on September 11th.  The regular season ends at home on September 25th when the Dockers host the Louisville Kings in the 14th anniversary of the first-ever Australian Rules Football match between two US teams. After that, the Dockers will finish the season in Louisville for the 2010 USAFL National Championship Tournament, where the Dockers have twice won the Division 4 title. 


Both of the Cincinnati Dockers’ home matches, as well as all Saturday practices, will take place at Point Pleasant Park in Fairfield, OH, located on Resor Road.  Admission is free for both games. 


The Cincinnati Dockers are an Australian Rules Football club based out of Fairfield, Ohio. Established in 1996, they are the oldest club of its kind in the United States. The Dockers have been winners of the USAFL division 4 national championships in the last two years. For more information about the Dockers please visit their website at www.cincinnatidockers.com. To contact the Dockers, please send an e-mail to dockers@cincinnatidockers.com.

Bruins Sweep Grrrowl In Nail-biting 8-7 Shootout Victory Sunday Afternoon

Troy, OH - It only seems fitting that the Bruins would sweep the Findlay Grrrowl with an 8-7 sudden death shootout win on Sunday afternoon, the identical score that the Grrrowl employed to defeat the Bruins in their last meeting prior to Saturday night's 5-2 Bruins win in front of a record crowd of 1,217 inside the historic Hobart Arena as part of Deaf Awareness Night and Hits 105.5 Night.

After the record-size crowd pleaser on Saturday night, the Bruins struggled early to begin the Sunday afternoon matinee rematch, with Findlay finding their stride to cash in on a quick goal to start the game less than five minutes in. For Shane Hicke's Bruins club, it would take a K's Hamburger Shop powerplay to shake off the rust, as Danville, California native Derek McPherson connected on a pass from Aaron Huber to even the score 1-1 at the 5:58 mark. Yet, the Grrrowl found success on their powerplay chances as well, scoring their second go-ahead goal of the game on the man advantage with 3:33 to go in the period, before a surging Corey Evelyn would bang in a setup feed from Lee McClure to once again force the tie just :33 later at the three minute mark. In a first period marred with defending zone giveaways, the Bruins would turnover the puck into the slot for the third Grrrowl goal with just 10.4 showing on the clock, sending Troy into the first intermission trailing 3-2. Findlay would lead in shots 17-10 after twenty minutes.

History would repeat itself early in the second, with the Grrrowl bouncing in a rebound past starting netminder Alexander Kuzmenko to take a two goal lead, but the Bruins regrouped and refocused, ultimately leading to Justin Dornhecker's end to end rush towards the Grrrowl net, stuffing the puck to light the lamp and cut the lead back to one at the 14:17 mark. In what seemed to be hockey's equivalent to a "swap meet", it was then the Grrrowl's turn to score at the 13:33 mark to reclaim the double point lead. Despite chances in the attacking zone, the Bruins would be unable to chip away at the Findlay lead until nearing the midway point in the game, when Flint, Michigan native and Hobart Welding institute student John Rubel capitalized on a centering pass from Russia natives Egor Pogodin-Alexeev and Gleb Luchnikov at 10:53. While Kuzmenko would blank the Grrrowl for the remainder of the period, the Bruins would add the tying goal just less than a minute later at the 10:54 mark with fellow European Leonid Kovalev dekeing the Findlay netminder and plowing the puck to the back of the net, assisted by Rubel and Erik Levin. After forty minutes, both clubs headed into the second intermission deadlocked at 5, with Findlay out shooting the Bruins 29-21.

Findlay would continue to control the flow of the game into the first half of the third period, with the Grrrowl breaking the tie at the 13:40 mark before extending the lead back to two with only 4:16 to go in regulation. A controversial hit away from the play knocked Rubel from his feet, colliding violently with the boards after he was blatantly hit from behind, eventually being taken by the medical staff into the dressing room for evaluation, despite no penalty called on the play. Trailing an opponent with time closing in for one of the first times this season at home, Bruins bench boss Shane Hicke called his one and only timeout of the game to regroup his players and recharge for their comeback attempt. Stepping onto the ice, already with a round of fisticuffs under his belt earlier in the game, Bruins forward Sean Hagerty lead the charge for the Bruins with help out of the zone by Aaron Huber and newcomer Jordan Carpender to crash the net and bang home a rebound off the end boards, shaving the lead to one with 3:23 to go in regulation. Fans would enjoy end to end action as both teams secured but could not capitalize on several chances, but would grow increasingly anxious as time continued to tick away on the scoreboard. Trailing by one, and facing a rapidly dwindling window of opportunity, the Bruins last charge up the ice would be set up by Luchnikov out of the neutral zone to a waiting Erik Levin, who would propel a blistering shot past the Findlay goaltender to tie the game with 14.1 to go in regulation. After a full sixty minutes of regulation, both teams would remain tied 7-7, with the Grrrowl out shooting the Bruins 36-32.

As per NJHL rules, the game proceeded immediately to a five round shootout, and after both teams scored twice each after the fifth round to keep the game alive. Sudden death would only last two rounds, as injured Bruins forward John Rubel made his triumphant return to the ice, sneaking the puck past the legs of the Grrrowl netminder for the game winner.

With the win, the second place Bruins improve their record to 29-12-1 and sweep the fifth place Grrrowl, who still fight to clinch the league's final playoff berth. Troy returns home for one final weekend series this season on Saturday, March 13 at 8pm and Sunday, March 14 at 1:30 in a rematch with the Findlay Grrrowl. For more information, call 985-PUCK or visit www.TroyBruins.com.

By Kyle OBrien

TROY, OH- Troy Sets Franchise Scoring Record in Saturday Night's 13-0 Shutout.

Saturday night saw the Troy Bruins facing off against the Philadelphia Thunder at home in Hobart Arena.  While the first period was exciting, it was no indication of what would come later. 

Troy took advantage early on some sloppy play by Philadelphia, snagging multiple stray passes and capitalizing with goals.  Troy started off with two shorthanded goals by Newly added Bruin #10 Willie Boyle and #20 Cory Evelyn, assisted by #23 Tyler Merritt.  Troy's would score once more in the first period at the 3:19 mark by #22 Derek McPherson, assisted by #6 John Ruble, ending the first period with a score of 3-0.

In the second period, Troy continued to press their lead by adding 7 more unanswered goals to extend their lead to 10-0.  #19 Aaron Huber would score first at the 13:47 mark.  Another new face to the Bruins, #6 John Ruble, assisted by #14 Erik Levin and #27 Justin Dornhecker, added goal number 5 of the night at 16:32.  #11 Leonid Kovalev, would add one more with a beautiful wrister from the top of the left wing circle at 16:16, assisted by #24 Manny Lopez and #20 Cory Evelyn.  Ruble would score on a well timed centering pass from #8 Lee McClure at 14:02.  Ruble would add another to the scoreboard at 13:06, assisted by Dornhecker and McPherson.  Goal number 9 on the night would come at 10:42 from #9 Gleb Luchnikov from Huber and Boyle.  Soon after, obvious frustration arose from the Philadelphia players, and they began to attack the puck with renewed vigor and aggression.  Unfortunately this change would not help Philadelphia's situation as they were continually outplayed through the rest of the game.  #17 Egor Pogodin-Alekseev would score his first goat of the night at 6:10, assisted by fellow Russian Kovalev.  The final two goals of the second period would come at 3:24 by Lopez from Huber; and at 3:06 by Luchnikov from Pogodin-Alekseev.  Near the end of the second period, tempers flared as minor checking exploded into all out fisticuffs earning each team several penalty minutes. 


Period three surprisingly passed very quickly with only a few penalties and one fight breaking out, seemingly due to the large amount of action in the previous period.  Ruble would score Troy's final goal at the 10:46 mark, his fourth of the night, a Texas Hat-Trick.

Troy will rematch Philadelphia Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at Hobart Arena.