July 27th, 2005- The ‘Bulldogs’ have just completed the greatest season in their short history as an ice hockey squad. This is a team that once got their asses handed to them on a nightly basis with scores like 12-0, 15-1 and 18-2. After turning around their futility midway through last season, they have been virtually unstoppable in every aspect.

We here at the front office felt obligated to list their accomplishments, highlights and other tid-bits from an unforgettable season, so here goes.

 Getting Over the Hump: In four previous meetings with the ‘Storm’, the ‘Bulldogs were 0-4, having been outscored 29-7. The ‘Storm’ has long been a classy team and they’ve justly earned all of their past accolades. However, on 6/16/05, the ‘Dogs’ finally beat the two time EAHL champions, 5-3 in a hard fought battle. Unfortunately, the club’s split their two head-to-head contests and finished number one & two in the league respectively. They most likely would have faced one another in the Finals to determine the championship, but thanks to the EAHL’s greed, the playoffs were cancelled.

 The Streak: The ‘Dogs’ have never won the first two games in any previous campaign. This season they won their first six, giving them an eight game winning streak in the regular season dating back to last season. Both are franchise records which the club hopes to break next season.

 The Rivalry: Once the ‘Nationals’ were booted from the EAHL, the ‘Bulldogs’, lost their fiercest rival. Or so they thought. The ‘Drunken Penguins’, a team with a lot of pent up anger and other issues, opened the season against the ‘Bulldogs’ by instigating a couple of brawls and exhibiting poor sportsmanship after a tough loss. If that wasn’t enough, the ‘Penguins’ went on a public crusade to diminish the ‘Dogs’ accomplishments and ridicule its players. The ‘Dogs’ responded by clobbering their new foes 9-2 and 17-0 in their next two meetings.

 The “Revolving Door”: Was the pet name dubbed by several members of the ‘Drunken Penguins’ for goalie Alex Martinez. Alex proved that a nickname can be misleading as he led the league with a 2.3 GAA, a .902 SA and 2 shutouts. He also held opponents to 3 goals or less in 8 of 10 games played.

 Heavy ‘D’: The ‘Dogs’ biggest strength in years past has always been their defense. Stingy, physical and downright tough, they killed every power play and created all kinds of havoc for opposing forwards. Considering the number of blowouts they recorded this season, the defense actually outshined the offense. A big part of that can also be credited to several offensive players who played both sides of the ice on every shift.

 On the Offensive: Its one thing to set a league record for goals scored in a season, but its even more extraordinary that the ‘Bulldogs’ did so in a shortened 10 game season (as opposed to the typical 14 game season). The ‘Dogs’ amassed 87 goals to obliterate the old record of 79 set by the ‘Nationals’ last season. Some of the franchise scoring records that fell by the wayside are:

• Most Goals Scored (Team): 87 (League Record)

• Most Goals Scored (Game): 17 vs. ‘Drunken Penguins’ 7/18/05

• Most Goals Scored (Player-Season): 24 Ryne Gerstner

• Most Goals Scored (Player-Game): 6 Ryne Gerstner vs. ‘Catfish’ 7/22/05

• Most Goals Scored (Defenseman-Season): 17 Jason Darfler (League Record)

• Most Goals Scored (Defenseman-Game): 4 Jason Darfler (League Record)

• Most Goals Scored (Career): 37 R. Gerstner

• Most Hat Tricks (Team-Season): 12 Gerstner (5), Darfler (4), Joey V. (2), Sam Karim (1)

• Most Hat Tricks (Player-Season): R.Gerstner 5

• Most Hat Tricks (Team-Game): 3 R. Gerstner, Jason Darfler & Sam Karim vs. ’Penguins’ 7/22/05

• Most Consecutive Games with a Goal: 8 Jason Darfler (dating back to last season)

• Most Games with at least 10 Goals (Team): 5

• Most Assists (Team) 73

• Most Assists (Game) 13 (tie) vs. Phantoms 5/19/2005 & vs. Catfish 7/22/05

• Most Assists (Player-Game) 4 James Senne

• Most Assists (Player-Season) 10 James Senne

• Most Assists (Career) 20 Joey F.V.

• Most Points (Team) 160

• Most Points (Team-Game) 27 vs. ‘Penguins’ 7/22/05

• Most Points (Player-Season) 30 R. Gerstner

• Most Points (Defenseman-Season) 23 J. Darfler

• Most Points (Career) 53 Joey F.V.

Tourney Champs: Although it is no way associated with the EAHL, the ‘Bulldogs’ entered the ‘Denny Pratt Memorial Tournament’ during their two week hiatus early in the season. While most teams took the two weeks off to rest, the ‘Dogs’, who were huge underdogs, decided to challenge themselves against some of the regions best teams. They shocked everyone by winning the championship, their first such honor in franchise history. Many point to the tournament victory as the defining moment for their historic turnaround.

The Superstars: You know who they are. They strike fear into the hearts of many opposing players. They are featured on ESPN8 regularly for their highlight reel plays and their accomplishments. Studs like Ryne Gerstner and Joey V. on offense supplied the right punch as the team’s go-to guys. Defensemen Jason Darfler, Ted Markos and James Senne were the masterful innovators of so many terrific finishes for their teammates. They led the team by example and were relied on heavily for their clutch performances and the team’s overall success.

Almost There: They don’t get as much pub as the team’s superstars, but John Reeg, Frank Lionello and Sam Karim all raised their game to a new level this past season.

Reeg, the team’s senior citizen, discovered the fountain of youth by tallying 13 points (5 goals & 8 assists). Always a solid and steady contributor, Reeg’s accomplishments go largely unnoticed because of his consistency and low key personality..

Lionello, doesn’t have the speed or experience, possessed by the club’s two other centers. He does however, more than makes up for it with positioning and on-ice savvy. He had a personal best 13 points (7 goals & 6 assists) in only nine games played.

Sam was moved to offense at the start of the season in order to bring down the number of penalties he accumulated as a defenseman and to utilize his speed. He set personal highs in goals (7), assists (6) and points (13). Furthermore, he racked up only six penalty minutes—amazing considering he registered at least one penalty per game last season.

The Supporting Cast: Underrated, disrespected but never forgotten. No team is complete without selfless role players. They race after loose pucks, fight for possession in the corners, set screens in front of the net, knock in rebounds and play hard nosed defense. Mike Mancuso and Maher Karim both set personal bests with nine points each and angered many opponents with their antics in the attack zone and their relentlessness in front of the net. The gentlemanly mild mannered Tony Feeney and Sal Karim both got much more aggressive this season, as witnessed by their increase in penalty minutes. It was also evident with the number of scuffles they were involved in and the countless battles they won by playing a much more physical game than they had in the past.

The Player Haters: If you’ve ever been to a ‘Bulldog’ game or logged into this website, you know who they are. They have become almost cult like figures during this storybook season for whatever purpose they serve. They follow the club with undying passion some as fans (Sexy Greek Chick), some as stalkers (Ref Marty Tong) some as psychopaths (The Unabomber Dude) and some with a sick vengeful obsession (Andy ‘Oz’ Osvath).

Congratulations to the ‘Bulldogs’ organization. Since the EAHL has now ceased operation as its own league and whored itself out to the HNA, the ‘Bulldogs’ will be taking their act on the road. We wish them well in their future endeavors.