Sitting Pretty in Atlantic City
Boardwalk Bullies Win First-Ever ECHL Title

05.15.03 -- The Historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City was filled with 5,129 fans who came to see the Bullies play what was to be, win or lose, their final home game of the season.

The crowd did not leave disappointed.

Atlantic City won its' first-ever East Coast Hockey League Championship on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Columbia in Game 5 of the Kelly Cup Finals.

The Boardwalk Bullies became the seventh team to win the Kelly Cup at home, rewarding the great hockey fans in Atlantic City that have supported the Bullies since the team moved from Birmingham in 2001.

Commissioner Emeritus of the ECHL, Patrick J. Kelly was on hand to present the trophy named in his honor, the Kelly Cup, to Atlantic City Captain Stefan Rivard on Wednesday.

Atlantic City has qualified for the postseason in each of its two seasons of operation.

The Boardwalk Bullies swept Trenton in three games and beat Greensboro in four games to win their second consecutive Northeast Division title.

After leading the Northern Conference Finals 3-0, they survived a fierce Cincinnati comeback to beat the Cyclones, four games to three.

Atlantic City's J.F. Caudron led the Kelly Cup Playoffs with 22 points and five game-winning goals, including two in the Finals.

Caudron had 13 goals tying him for the Kelly Cup Playoffs lead with teammate Kevin Colley, who was named Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player.

The MVP led the postseason with eight power-play goals, including three in the Finals, and had 20 points tying him for second in scoring with teammate Luke Curtin.

Curtin led the postseason with 14 assists, including four in the Finals.

Scott Stirling returned to Atlantic City from the American Hockey League prior to the Northern Conference Finals, just in time to achieve history.

Stirling opened the Finals with back-to-back shutouts and extended his shutout streak to 150:13 in Game 3, breaking the Finals record of 138:59 set by Hampton Roads' Mark Bernard in 1992.

His 1.20 goals against average and a .949 save percentage in the, were also ECHL Kelly Cup records.

In 12 games, Stirling went 8-4 with a 2.07 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. He led the Kelly Cup Playoffs with three shutouts, including two in the Finals, which tied yet another record.

Columbia's Patrick Couture was 9-5 with a 2.08 goals against average and a .923 save percentage in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Couture led the postseason with nine wins and 893 minutes while ranking second with 373 saves.

Tim Smith led all rookies in the Kelly Cup Playoffs with 16 points and ranked second with 11 assists and third with five goals for the Inferno.

Teammate Robin Carruthers led all rookies with nine goals, including three in the Finals, and ranked third in scoring with 14 points.

Columbia has qualified for the postseason in each of its first two seasons since joining the ECHL in 2001.

The Inferno swept Greenville in the semifinals and Pee Dee in the finals to win the Southeast Division title.

Columbia needed six games to beat Mississippi in the Southern Conference Finals, and earn the team's first-ever Kelly Cup Finals appearance.