Troy Bruins Hockey Team - Troy, Ohio

 
 
Wooster, OH - An understaffed second place Troy Bruins (18-10-1) team would fall in the final minutes of regulation 7-3 to in-state rival and first place Wooster Oilers on the road Thursday night, in the first game of a three game home and home series that will move to Troy's historic Hobart Arena on Saturday night at 8pm and Sunday afternoon at 1:30pm.

The game would begin with a bang for the well rested Oilers, who had only played one game in the past two weeks, as just :14 into the first period, Wooster captain Brandon McFail blasted in a shot from the far point that would slide past a screened Bruins netminder Allan Dowler to take an early 1-0 lead. Despite several chances throughout the remainder of the period, neither the short Bruins, who only traveled with 15 players, nor the Oilers would be able to light the lamp in the first. Shots on goal favored the hometown Oilers 17-13 after twenty minutes of play.

In not quite the same manner, the Bruins would re-engage the tie early into the second period, thanks to Trent Iffland picking up a broken centering pass in front of the net to wrist in Troy's first goal of the night exactly two minutes into the middle period. Yet, due to a fluke bouncing puck off a Wooster dump in at the 14:21 mark that would trickle past a stunned Dowler, the Oilers once again shot to a one goal lead, this time 2-1. Coming in to redeem his goaltender was Bruins captain Lee McClure with a snapshot in the slot, with assists handed out to Gleb Luchnikov and Derek McPherson at 8:29 to set the tie at 2-2. In a very busy middle period, the Oilers would score a breakaway goal less than a minute later, once more breaking the deadlocked scoreboard above center ice before both teams would see a delay in the action after Wooster's fifth goal off a loose puck rebound in the crease kicked off several bouts of fisticuffs in the Oilers zone, with Moscow, Russia native Leonid Kovalev getting the best of Oilers captain Curtis Megginson in front of the hostile crowd. Tempers continued throughout the remainder of the second, with a behind the play cheap slash on defenseman Erik Levin leading to a K's Hamburger Shop powerplay goal by Serov, Russia native Luchnokov with just over a minute left in the stanza to head into the dressing room after forty minutes trailing the Oilers by one with a 4-3 score.

When fans returned to their seats after the second intermission, they were treated to a more docile start to the third period, as neither team could muster much offensive chances until the 15:31 mark as the Oilers chipped in a point-blank slaphot top shelf to extend their lead to two. Things would once again settle for the next ten minutes of play before the intense in-state rivalry took over. Play was stopped at the 5:50 mark as Wooster's Kevin Smith and Troy's Josh Tucker engaged in fisticuffs behind the Bruins net, before Troy captain Lee McClure stepped in to intervene and ultimately get revenge before being led off the ice. The end result was a five minute powerplay for the Bruins that was cut short when the Oilers declined an optional penalty shot in lieu of a minor penalty to even the on-ice strength. With the clock ticking down in regulation, Troy would take their one timeout and pull Dowler for the extra attacker. Despite good setup on the breakout, the Bruins would give away a pair of empty net goals at the tail end to secure the 7-3 final score.

With the road loss, the Bruins record drops to 18-10-1, with Troy retaining second place in the NJHL. The Bruins will once again have a full bench over the weekend as both teams will now travel to the historic Hobart Arena in downtown Troy for parts two and three of the home and home series, starting on Saturday night at 8pm and concluding with a Sunday afternoon matinee at 1:30pm. Fans can redeem a special "Buy One-Get One Free" general admission coupon at the Hobart box office by checking out Friday or Saturday's Troy Daily News, or by visiting www.TroyBruins.com. For more information, please call (937) 985-PUCK.
 
 
Bruins win 3rd straight
Staff Reports - Courtesy of Troy Daily News
CLICK HERE for TDN Article

The Troy Bruins won their third straight game Sunday, taking down the Philadelphia Thunder at The Rink, 7-3.

Lee McClure skated the Bruins to a 1-0 lead in the first period, assisted by Leonid Kovalev.

The Bruins put up four goals in the second period, the first by Josh Tucker, assisted by McClure, the second by Derek McPherson assisted by Justin Locante and Erik Levin, the third by Levin assisted by Tucker and the fourth by Kovalev assisted by Sean Hagerty and Tucker.

Troy put up two more in the third as Justin Dornhecker scored assisted by McPherson and Gleb Luchnikov scored, assisted by Tucker.

Troy outshot Philadelphia 62-31 and Allen Dowler and Chad Karns combined for the win in goal.

The Bruins skate again New Year's Eve, at Wooster.
 
 
Troy, OH - Nearing the midway point of the 2009-2010 inaugural season, the Troy Bruins Hockey Team has announced the addition of two Russian-born power forwards to the active roster heading into this weekend's road series in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Joining the Bruins during last weekend's series in Jamestown, New York was Serov, Russia native Gleb Luchnikov, who most recently spent time as the leading scorer for the Adirondack Predators before coming to Troy as a free agent. After playing fifteen games for the Predators during the first half of the season, Luchnikov accumulated an impressive 21 goals and 21 assists for a team-leading 42 points. In his first appearance as a Troy Bruin last Sunday, Luchnikov scored the game's first goal on just his third shift on the ice, and would eventually notch the game winning goal at the tail end of the third to help his new team defeat the Jamestown Jets on the road. Luchnikov, as he did in Adirondack, will wear #9 for the Bruins, with Justin Laconte opting to occupy #7 for the remainder of the season.

Following the path of Luchnikov is Moscow-native Lenoid Kovalev, also acquired by the Bruins as a free agent and a former Adirondack Predator. Kovalev comes to Troy with eleven NJHL regular season games under his belt this season, with 6 goals and 6 assists for a solid 12 points. He will see his first action as a Troy Bruin on Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania against the Philadelphia Thunder.

With the addition of Luchnikov and Kovalev, the Bruins now boast five foreign-born players on their active roster, as they join Scarborough, Ontario, Canada native Corey Evelyn and Ust-Kamengorsk, Kazakhstan natives Erik Levin and Alexander Kuzmenko.

The Bruins return to action one final time before the Holiday break, as they travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to battle the Philadelphia Thunder on Saturday, December 19 at 5:45pm and Sunday, December 20 at 3:45pm. Both games will be broadcast live on the internet through the "watch live" link on www.TroyBruins.com with the "voice of the Bruins" JT Szabo handling the call.  
 
 
By Henry Conte, Sports Editor
Courtesy Of tdn-net.com

Gleb Luchnikov, newly acquired from Adirondack, made his presence felt immediately for the Bruins, scoring the opening goal - and later what proved to be the winner - in Troy's 6-5 victory over Jamestown Sunday afternoon.

The Bruins, who lost to Jamestown Saturday 4-1 with a short bench, came right back to take a 4-0 lead against the Jets midway through the second period.

Jamestown, though, scored two goals to close the second and two to open the third to cut the lead all the way to 5-4. Lucknikov scored his second goal of the night - assisted by Justin Dornhecker - to make it 6-4 with two minutes remaining in the contest, making Jamestown's goal with 24 second remaining meaningless.
Luchnikov scored the first goal of the game assisted by Lee McClure and Aaron Huber. Corey Evelyn scored assisted by Sam Klepinger and McClure scored unassisted in the first period to make it 3-0 after one.

Justin Laconte scored midway through the second to make it 4-0 and it was 4-2 headed into the final 20 minutes.

Josh Tucker opened the third period with a goal assisted by Luchnikov and Dornhecker to make it 5-2 and Luchnikov put in the game winner later.

The Bruins were outshot once again, though this time it was a little closer, 52-41. Allen Dowler had 47 saves.

Troy, now 16-9-1, will spend next weekend in Philadelphia for games Saturday and Sunday.

 
 
Jamestown, NY - Plagued by a short bench and plenty of injuries, the Troy Bruins (15-9-1) put together a valiant effort yet would fall to a fully loaded Jamestown Jets club in their first-ever meeting on Saturday night by a final score of 4-1.

After squaring off against in-state rival Findlay Grrrowl for the past two weekends, the Bruins hit the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena ice surface on Saturday night with a head of steam, controlling the tempo from the opening faceoff. Bruins veteran forward Lee McClure would capitalize on an Aaron Huber pass for the lone Troy goal of the game at the 4:34 mark to take an early one goal lead, before the Jets would notch the tying goal with just seconds to go in the opening period.

As the contest wore on, the short-staffed Bruins became increasingly fatigued, and as a result would allow the Jets to gain the lead and hold onto it throughout regulation. Troy starting netminder Chad Karns would face a whopping 58 shots, turning aside 54, while the Bruins would manage 37 shots after sixty minutes.

Troy, now 15-9-1, will rematch the Jets on Sunday at Noon in Jamestown, with the game broadcast live at MiamiCountyPost.com or Flashback96.net starting ten minutes prior to faceoff.
 
 
Findlay, OH - Led by veteran captain Lee McClure's "hat trick" performance, and a powerful first period offensive performance, The Troy Bruins advanced their inaugural season record to 15-8-1 with a solid win on the road against in-state rival Findlay Grrrowl Sunday afternoon at the Huntington Bank Arena at The Cube in Findlay.

After defeating the Grrrowl on Saturday with a 6-4 victory, the Bruins took charge of Sunday's matinee rematch from the opening faceoff, with Beavercreek, Ohio native Lee McClure rushing in for the game's first goal just 4:07 in, off assists from former Beavercreek High School teammate Aaron Huber and San Jose, California native Manny Lopez. Findlay would bonce back with veteran forward Brock Donnelly earning the tying goal on the powerplay at the 13:46 mark, before the Grrrowl found the back of the net once more at 11:29 to take a brief one goal lead. Not to be outdone, the Bruins would regain momentum as forward Justin Laconte meandered his way in front of the Findlay net and buried the puck to light the lamp, tying the game at two. With the Troy offense on the surge, the Bruins defense ensured that the Grrrowl would stay off the scoreboard for the remainder of the opening frame, while supporting three more Troy goals in the first period; Derek McPherson at 9:31, McClure's second goal of the game unassisted off a slapshot from the far point at 7:13, and a rebound goal by McPherson for his second of the game off an initial shot by McClure at 2:22. After twenty minutes, the Bruins would skate into the first intermission ahead 5-2.

The second period would feature a round of fisticuffs between Bruins defenseman Trent Iffland and Findlay scrapper Ryan Sutton at center ice, as well as a lengthy delay for an injured Grrrowl player. Near the halfway point of the second, Findlay's Donnelly would add his second goal of the contest to cut the lead back to two, before McClure found the back of the net registering his third goal and earning his "hat trick" performance in front of a large contingent of Bruins fans who made the trip to Findlay.

Despite multiple chances, and several powerplay opportunities on either side, the Grrrowl would score the lone goal of the third period with just under five minutes remaining, through a screen in front of Bruins netminder Alexander Kuzmenko to secure the 6-4 final score.

With the win, the Bruins advance to 15-8-1 and firmly secure themselves at second place in the NJHL. The Bruins will now prepare to travel to Jamestown, New York to battle the Jamestown Jets for the first time in team history on Saturday night at 7:35pm and Sunday at Noon. Fans can tune into the live game broadcast through the Troy Bruins Hockey Network presented by Fox's Pizza Den and Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken at MiamiCountyPost.com or Flashback96, with the Bruins Pregame Show beginning ten minutes prior to faceoff. Veteran hockey broadcaster and the "Voice of the Bruins" JT Szabo will handle the play-by-play.
 
 
Findlay, OH - The in-state rivalry heated up once again as the Troy Bruins (15-8-1) battled the Findlay Grrrowl to a convincing 6-4 victory at the Huntington Bank Arena at The Cube on Saturday night.

While the Bruins would take an early lead in the first, thanks to the go-ahead goal from Justin Dornhecker just under two minutes into the game, before the Grrrowl would answer with a pair of first period goals to take a one goal lead after twenty minutes.

In similar fashion to the first, the Bruins would come out into the middle period with a head of steam, this time with Aaron Huber notching the tying goal at the 15:51 mark, off an assist from Derek McPherson, before the Grrrowl added their third goal of the night at the 11:11 mark to recapture the slim lead. Bruins defenseman and native of San Jose, California Manny Lopez would blast a shot from the point to even the score at three a piece with 4:19 left, once assisted by fellow Californian McPherson. Picking up one last rush, Findlay would bonce a puck past Troy netminder Alexander Kuzzmenko to once again take the lead with just 9.9 seconds left in the period.

After a powerful and uplifting speech by Bruins President and General Manager Rick Szabo during the second intermission, Troy would take complete control of the third period, eventually breaking away with the score, adding three unanswered goals (McPherson at 16:53, Dornhecker at 9:31 and Huber at 7:15) to secure the 6-4 victory. Newly acquired Bruins defenseman Emmanuel Abarka, scouted by head scout Ernie Hicke and a native of Woodland, California, would see his first ice time this season in a Troy uniform and would end his night with a round of fisticuffs in the third.

With the win, the Bruins improve their overall record to 14-8-1, good enough for second place in the NJHL and incing their way towards first place Wooster who fell to Team Ulysse in a shootout Friday night.

Both teams rematch on Sunday morning at 11:30am at the Huntington Bank Arena at The Cube in Findlay.