Bomber Centerman Proves His Ticker is Tip Top

#14 Returns to the Ice

On the verge his 70th birthday, Bomber legend, Rober’ Auld, surprised the franchise’s fans and hockey media in attendance with an unannounced return to the ice for the Federal League matchup against Powertime.  As #14 hit the ice for warmups, the crowd immediately began to stir and media launched into a frenzy, searching for career stats and digging up highlight reels as they prepared their coverage of the triumphant return of the centerman after being sidelined for nearly a year due to health concerns.

Chants of ROBER’ - ROBER’ - ROBER’ immediately followed by USA - USA - USA broke out as #14 found his edges once again and got comfortable with the biscuit during the pregame skate.

“No offence to Gordie Howe, but he played his last game at the wee age of 52. I think we have a new Mr. Hockey here!” said Bill Auld, captain and general manager of the organization. “I’ve had the privilege to play with Rober’ since this franchise was founded, and I have to say that today’s game is one of the most special in this team’s history. One would have figured that Rober’s health concerns would have forced him into retirement, but there’s no quit in #14. His determination off the ice was incredible. I had close contact with our team physicians and trainers who kept me abreast of his progress, and together, we made the decision to reactivate him and have him rejoin the squad. Sure, we will have to readjust for the salary cap, but those are decisions that management is already working out.”

During an exclusive center-ice interview granted to NBC Sports, Rober’ commented on what this game means to him and what he was looking forward to.

“First off, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for this organization’s fans. I want you to know that I received your letters and emails and your support was what drove me during the time I was away from the ice. I worked hard on my conditioning, strength training and hopefully tonight, those efforts will prove worthwhile as we face off against the Powertime and approach the end of this season.”

Some exclusive images of Rober’s off-ice conditioning can be seen below.

Upper-body strength training 

From the first drop of the puck, Rober’s presence was immediately felt as the centerman won the draw pulling the puck back to defenseman and Bomber rookie, Rob Pellegrino. From there on, the Bombers settled into a nice rhythm, rolling three lines of forwards and two lines of defensemen.

Endurance training during the 2014 / 2015 NJ winter

Most notable was the performance of Bomber goaltender, Josh Burke, who fed off the energy of Rober’s comeback to shut down the Powertime offence.

Building muscle one punch at a time

“Burke was brilliant in net,” said Rober’. “You could see the focus and determination in his eyes and no matter where Powertime would shoot from, he was always two steps ahead of the play, making the save in dramatic fashion. Most impressive was the double pad stack, blocker side save he made in the 3rd. I missed seeing that and it was quite the show!”

A tight game both ways, the tie was finally broke in the 3rd by Bomber forward Tony D’Anna. Despite not having a settled puck, D'Anna managed to get a shot off from the high slot. The unsettled puck proved to be key as when it left his stick, it danced in mid-air fooling the Powertime goaltender. The organization would go on to score again in the third with Burke earning a shutout in the performance.

State Electric Power Performers of the Game:

1st STAR - #14 -- ROBER'S RETURN 

2nd STAR - #29  J. Burke (Shutout)

3rd STAR - T. D'Anna (GWG)

Bombers End Slide-Beat Smoke 4-3

Josh Burke assisted on Rob Pellegrino's empty netter to give the Bombers a 4-2 lead against the Smoke on Sunday night.  He promptly allowed a Smoke goal in the closing seconds to ensure his assist was on the game winner.  Jean Eric Hoyer' earned first star honors with 2 goals and 1 assist while Scott Lundeen, playing with a nagging shoulder injury which will require surgery, potted 1 goal and 2 assists of his own.  Tim Tracy made his return from the DL with a powerful performance on the D-line and no PIMs.

State Electric Power Performers of the Game

1st STAR  JEAN ERIC HOYER 2G 1A

2ND STAR  SCOTT LUNDEEN 1 G 2A

3RD STAR  TIM TRACY

Bombers Retain AS Cup

The Bombers have won 3 games in a row against the rival Flying Aces including their most recent 4-3 shootout victory.  This comes at a time when the Aces are truly flying high, last season making their third consecutive Fed League finals.

The Aces built up a 2-0 lead after one period, scoring both goals in the final minute 1:19.  Jean Eric Hoyer' countered with a goal in the second with the assists coming from Sarge Smith and Rob Pellegrino.  The Aces Kevin "the other Ringer" Brown scored from a nice pass from Kyle "the Ringer" Turner at 12:56 of the third to build a 3-1 lead for his team. The goal might make a comback feel daunting for a squad other than the Bombers who promptly answered with a Mike Gilbert, Jr goal 35 seconds later.  Hoyer and Sarge connected again in the third to tie the game at three halfway through the period and neither team would muster another tally in regulation or in OT.

The Bombers prevailed in the shootout when JZ and Bill Auld both scored and Josh Burke turned away both Aces attackers.  Burke commented afterwards "I won the shootout without even touching the puck." referring to a missed first shot and a bumbled second attempt by the Aces shooters.

So the AS Cup, recently updated by the Bombers as is their right as per tradition, remains with the storied franchise yet again.  "They are a good squad.  A well run young and up and coming organization.  Great players with a great future.  But we are the original storied franchise and the Bombers know a few things about history in our 21 years.  We are enjoy competing with the Aces and proud to have been able to retain this cup. Can't wait for the next one."

State Electric Power Performers of the Game:

FIRST STAR: JEAN ERIC HOYER'  2G 1A

SECOND STAR: DAVE "SARGE" SMITH 2A

THIRD STAR: ROB PELLEGRINO 1A

Burke All Sorts of Good in Win over Shamrocks

Josh Burke earned his 149 career Bomber win on Sunday and as teammate Tony D'anna put it "I think that was the best game of his Bomber career."  Burke made one highlight save after another to secure the win for the storied franchise and punch their ticket to the Holiday Smashup Tournament finals to be played on Tuesday.  One of Burke's key saves were when flashed some serious glove against Shamrock sniper Brian Balamucki with less than ten seconds remaining in period.  The most amazing stop was when 29 was in the prone position on the ice after a netmouth scramble.  With the puck on the stick of the Shamrock ringer with an open net in front of him,  Burke laid the paddle of his stick on the ice to stop the puck from entering the net.  That potential goal would have tied the game and perhaps provided a different outcome for the evening.

Jean Eric Hoyer' scored 2 more goals and 1 more assist in the evening tilt lifting his tournament total to seven points in three games.  Rob Pelligrino notched his first career Bomber goal with an empty netter to clinch the victory.

Next up for the Bombers a rematch with the Buzzlars in the Holiday Smashup Tournment finals.

State Electric Power Performers of the Game:

1st Star:  Josh Burke:  A-Maz-Ing

2nd Star:  JEH  2g 1a

3rd Star:  Dave Smith  -Marathon Man-again

BOMBERS HUMBUGISH IN LOSS TO BUZZLARS

The 2014 AIAHL Holiday Smashup tournament started with a bit of scrooge for the Bombers as they fell to the Buzzlars 3-1.  The Bomber Militia of Kappemeier, Hoyer and Smith were the only players on the scoresheet as Hoyer scored with assists from Smith and Kappmeier.  Smith also had the only penalty on the evening.

Rob Pelligrino looked good in his Bomber debut and was proud to don the colors of the storied franchise.  Pelligrino and Smith were forced into iron man action.  Both players manned the blueline for nearly the entire game.  Smith got a spell with the penalty and Kappmeier gave Pelligrino a shift off in the third.

The Bomber will need to regroup quickly as they play the Smoke in a rare back to back.

FALL 14 SEASON ENDING STAT LEADERS

POINTS:


















22: Jean Eric Hoyer'   (11g, 11a) 
21: Bill Auld (8g, 13a)
16: Eric Silverman (6g 10a)
13: John Zimnoch  (3g, 10a)
11: Tony D'anna (5g, 6a)
11: Greg Russotti (5g,6a)
 9:  Mike Gilbert, Jr (1g, 8a)
 9:  Kyle Kappmeier (5g, 4a)
 8:  Scott Lundeen (5g 3a)
 6:  Drew Campbel (3g, 3a)
 4:  Tim Tracy (1g, 3a)
 1:  Dave Bochner (1g, 0a)


GOALS:


















11:  Jean Eric Hoyer
 8:   Bill Auld
 6:   Eric Silverman
 5:   Tony D'anna,  Greg Russotti, Scott Lundeen


ASSISTS:

13:  Bill Auld
11:  Jean Eric Hoyer'
10:  Eric Silverman, John Zimnoch
 8:   Mike Gilbert, Jr


PIMS:

14:  Drew Campbell
10:  Tim Tracy,  Bill Auld
 8:   John Zimnoch
 4:   4 tied

LATE GOAL HELPS BOMBERS PICK-OFF PRIMATES

Well, that was an interesting last minute of regulation play.  The Bombers were knotted up with the Primates at 3 goals apiece in a game destined for overtime.  But a slight miscue by Junior (well, let's just call what it was, a sweet pass to the other team in front his own net) allowed the Primates to gain a 4-3 advantage with just 54 seconds remaining.  To most outsiders, all looked lost in this game for the storied franchise.  But the players still had a little left in the tank and promised Junior that all would end well.  After a Bomber timeout the decision to put Josh Burke on the bench in favor of an extra attacker worked just like you hear about.  With 9 seconds remaining Bill Auld, perched on the weak side crease, scored into a vacant net off a Eric Hoyer' shot/pass . The goal tied the game forcing overtime and eventually a shootout won by the Bombers for the dramatic 5-4 victory. 

STATE ELECTRIC POWER PERFORMERS OF THE GAME:

1ST STAR: JUNIOR -  2 A AND THE PLAY THE PROVIDED US WITH ALL THE DRAMA

2ND STAR: BILL AULD- 2 G ,  SO WINNER

3RD STAR: TIM TRACY - NO PIMS, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?