One man is behind the plethora of excellent Titans photographs popping up on the internet! Trenton Titans fans have Peter Bronsteen to thank for the excellent photography from Trenton Titans games that now appears here on The Unofficial Web Site of the Trenton Titans and on the Official Web Site of the Trenton Titans. Bronsteen is a Princeton, New Jersey resident and Titans' season ticket holder who enjoys (and excels at) sports photography as a hobby. He has generously provided dozens of fine photographs from the games to spice up the Trenton Titans web sites. His photos currently appear in many of the player profiles accessible from the Titans roster ("Players" on the site menu) and will be featured throughout the site. Thanks Peter !

November is ripped off the calendar with the Titans owning an 8-8-2 record. The Trenton Titans compiled a 5-5-2 record for the month of November to remain at 50/50 on the season. Trenton started the month on the wrong foot, dropping home games to the Peoria Rivermen (2-3) and Roanoke Express (3-5). The Titans turned the tide with a 4-1 home victory against the division leading Richmond Renegades. They had a chance to start a streak, but squandered leads against the Baton Rouge Kingfish and Greenville Grrrowl, losing both games at home in shootouts (5-6 and 3-4 respectively). Trenton finished their six-game homestand with a solid 4-0 shutout of the Toledo Storm with Stephen Valiquette in the nets. Trenton's first stop on their road trip produced another solid 4-1 victory over the Richmond Renegades. However, their 3-0-2 run hit a wall when Stephen Valiquette allowed some weak shots to light the lanterns in a 2-3 home loss to the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks.

The Titans rebounded, engineering their first blowout of the season in a 8-1 thrashing of the Charlotte Checkers in Trenton. The euphoric Titans travelled to Richmond hoping to make it three-in-a-row against the Renegades, but were humbled in a 0-4 shutout by reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Year Maxime Gingras. Trenton tipped the scales in the other direction the following night with a 3-2 shootout win against the Express in Roanoke. A 50/50 month was completed at Huntington where Trenton lost 1-2 to the Blizzard.

A crew of Eric Brule, Vince Williams, Kam White, Ryan Brown, Sergei Skrobot, and Likit Andersson displayed solid defense in many of the games in November, yet collapsed on other nights. They defense will miss the strong performance from Chris Feil, who has been recalled by the IHL's Cleveland Lumberjacks and probably won't return. It would be real easy to scapegoat the 1-2-1 goaltending of Stephen Valiquette, currently on recall to the Lowell Lock Monsters. While his goaltending has been a bit of a disappointment, it doesn't explain some of the charitable evenings the Titan defense had throughout the month. In December, Trenton may need to find another netminder to backup Bujar Amidovski if Valiquette isn't returned from his recall to the AHL's Lowell Lock Monsters. They have been surviving with emergency backup goaltenders in his absence and fortunately haven't needed them in the net yet. On offense, the Titans are getting production from a variety of players, but can't seem to manage the steady scoring needed to lift them higher in the standings. Mike Hall, Mark Murphy, Jed Whitchurch, Scott Bertoli, and Mike Mader form a strong core to the Trenton offense. Unfortunately, goal-scoring leader Cail MacLean, currently with the IHL's Michigan K-Wings, may be done with the ECHL for awhile.

Mark Murphy has been selected as the Titanic's newest Titan of the Month. Mark Murphy came to the Titans fresh out of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he played four years of ECAC hockey for the Engineers. He was the sixth player selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1995 NHL entry draft (197th overall). In November, Murphy tallied 7 goals and 7 assists with a +7 rating in 12 games for the Titans. He has stepped up to lead Trenton's offense during Cail MacLean's absence due to recalls and visa problems. A October 20th article by Scott Esposito in the Trentonian was titled "Titans want more from Murphy". Mark has answered that challenge and earned our Titan of the Month award for November!

Where does a guy have to go to get a good stat around here? Trying to keep track of statistics in the East Coast Hockey League is sort of like trying to count snowflakes in a blizzard. Or maybe an avalanche. It is amazing how the statistics can change for a Titans player while they are far from the ECHL ice. For every somewhat reliable source of stats on the internet, there has to be a dozen or more sources that are not even close. Even Howe Sportsdata International, the provider of the statistics on the ECHL's Official Web Site are suspect at times. Player's assist totals frequently change when no game has been played, or when a player is on recall to another league. Plus/minus ratings have gone up for Titans on days that the team has been shutout. I have even seen a player's penalty minutes total decrease over time. Must be those new rule changes that we missed.

In the world of ECHL stats, it can be very frustrating trying to keep the numbers straight. Most media sources grab the game stats before the official scorer has made their ruling, so they can only provide circumstantial evidence. It is often difficult to figure out whether number changes are due to mistakes or the correction of previous mistakes. Oh well, so is life in the ECHL!

NORTHERN CONFERENCE / NORTHEAST DIVISION The 14-4 Richmond Renegades continue to lead the Northeast Division after an 8-4 month, but the pack is closing. The goaltending tandem of Matile and Bassett has been upgraded to stellar with the return of Maxime Gingras in place of Bassett. The Renegades have yielded an average of only 2.11 goals per game this season, but have a low key offense, preventing a division runaway. Nipping on the heels of Richmond are the Hampton Roads Admirals (13-6-1) and Roanoke Express (12-5-3). Both teams had a very productive month behind strong offenses. Daniel Berthiaume continues to provide strong goaltending for the Express (6-3-2 2.21 .925), but could use more defense in front of him. Dominic Maltais (12 goals, 12 assists in 20 games) has led the Admirals offense and helped them maintain ECHL's 2nd best power play unit (24.5%). Hovering in fourth place in the division, we find the expansion Trenton Titans at 8-8-2. They have demonstrated success in every key area of play at different times, but need to pull it all together to guarantee a playoff berth as the season progresses. Bujar Amidovski has provided strong goaltending (6-4-1 2.10 .926) for the Titans. On the other side of the Mason-Dixon line, a 6-6 month has lifted the Charlotte Checkers out of the division basement, but they still have room for improvement with a 7-11 record. Their offense has finally made an appearance, but the Checker defense and netminding are still too generous. The new cellar dweller for the Northeast is the expansion Greensboro Generals (4-14). With an average of 5.11 goals allowed per game, their respectable offense is squanderred away. The Generals desperately need a solid goalie to shake the expansion blues.

NORTHERN CONFERENCE / NORTHWEST DIVISION The Northwest is lead by the 12-4-1 Peoria Rivermen with their scoring by committee offense. Twelve players have notched four or more goals while no one has provided more than seven for Peoria. The Rivermen are also league leaders in penalty minutes per game. The Huntington Blizzard are tied with the Rivermen in points thanks only to 5 extra games played (10-7-5). The snowmen are still turning a scoring deficit into a winning record after a 6-3-4 month. They have excelled at protecting their leads (7-1 after 1st period lead, 9-0-2 after second period). The Dayton Bombers are the true runner-up in the division with a 10-4-3 record. Dayton has been winning the close ones, 6-0-3 in 1-goal games. Jamie Ling has been fronting the Bomber offense with 31 points (9 goals, 22 assists) in 17 games. Further east, a 6-3-1 month has thrown ice on the Johnstown Chiefs' hot start and dropped them down to the .500 mark at 9-9-1. Their defense and goaltending failed to uphold October's respectable start. Hopes of returning to the playoffs after a four year hiatus could evaporate if the Chiefs don't reverse their downward momentum. Back in Ohio, the Toledo Storm are also clinging to the middle of the road with a 9-9 record after a mediocre month (7-6). With a league low average of 25.78 shots per game, Toledo lacks the offensive punch needed to ascend through the ranks. While setting up shop in the basement just like last season, the Wheeling Nailers have managed to post 10 points in the standings after a 4-6-2 month, bringing them to 4-12-2 on the season. While they had a respectable month, the Nailers are still losing ground in the standings.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE / SOUTHEAST DIVISION The Greenville Grrrowl (14-4) and Pee Dee Pride (13-3-1) finish November atop the Southeast Division by points and win percentage, respectively. Greenville has been blasting opponents with a league best 4.39 goals per game, led by the trio of Sean Vandem (12 Goals 14 Assists in 18 games), Scott Kirton (10 G, 10 A, 16 games), and Martin Masa (6 G, 15 A, 17 games). Their power play unit has been phenomenal, delivering on 31% of their advantages, compared to the second best Admirals at 24.5%. In contrast, Pee Dee has relied on strong defense and the goaltending of Sandy Allan (5-1-1 1.72 .928) and Paxton Schafer (8-2-0 2.70 .911). Pee Dee has been nearly perfect on the road at 5-0-1, and has the top rated penalty killing unit (91.1%) and 4th rated power play (23.6%). Expect the Pride and Grrrowl to battle for the division lead all season long. Completing the Palmetto State trifecta, an 8-3-2 month has allowed the South Carolina Stingrays to close ground on the division leaders. The 12-6-2 Stingrays have been guarding their leads fiercely (11-1 when leading after the first period) and have turned in a much stronger performance on the road (8-2-1 versus 4-4-1 at home). Right behind South Carolina, the Florida Everblades are stepping up their tempo with a 8-3 November. Goaltenders Marc Magliarditi (7-5 1.80 .934) and Jeff Maund (4-1 1.88 .926) have simply stoned the opposition. While Florida's penalty killing unit is 2nd best in the league (89.3%), their power play unit is dead last (10.8%). In fifth place, the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks haven't exactly been melting the ice but have breakout potential with a few minor adjustments. They have been adept at keeping their noses clean, averaging a league low 15.1 penalty minutes per game. Heading east on I-10, a 5-5-1 performance for the month lifted the Jacksonville Lizard Kings off of the floor after an embarassing October (0-4-1). The Kings have a very steep climb ahead to join the playoff scramble for a shot at the crown with their ineffective defense (league worst 37.69 shots allowed per game). Goalie Ray LeBlanc (4-8-1 4.10 .898) has seen better days. Sinking into the Southeast cellar, the Augusta Lynx (5-14-1) have managed to win only one home game (1-5-1) this season. The Lynx offense has been very productive, but the pucks have been like boomerangs and always seem to come back in their own net.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE / SOUTHWEST DIVISION Taking charge of the Southwest, the Birmingham Bulls have compiled an impressive 11-5-3 record. Their Jamey Hicks led offense (10 goals, 20 assists in 19 games) has average 4.11 goals per game. In second place by points, the Louisiana IceGators have been less than dominant this season but have an 11-7-2 record nonetheless. John Spoltore has been their main source of fire power, leading the league with 33 points (8 golas, 25 assists) in 20 games. Considering the fact they have played 8 more games on the road than at home, expect the Gators to send the Bulls running before long. A 5-6-1 November performance has put the Mobile Mysticks firey 7-0 start on ice. They are just not catching the breaks that they were getting. Further along the I-10 corridor, the Baton Rouge Kingfish are in fourth place with a 10-7-2 record despite a negative balance in goals for/against. A potent power play (23.3%) has helped the Kingfish preserve their leads. Their bayou brethren New Orleans Brass posted a 7-3-2 record for the month to jump a couple of spots in the standings. The Brass defense is starting to get a little stingier on the opponents, helping them chalk up some victories. Threatening to breakout, the Jackson Bandits have shown some potential with an 8-10-1 record, but are in dire need of offense. An average production of 2.47 goals per game puts an awful lot of pressure on primary netminder David Brumby and the Bandit defense. The 8-9 Pensacola Ice Pilots are also struggling to assemble a contender and shouldn't be ruled out yet. Goalie Scott LaGrand could use a little more support from his offense and defense. Sinking into the Mississippi mud, the Sea Wolves are dropping out of the pack with a 7-12-1 record. The Wolves seem to be the gang that couldn't shoot straight, leading the ECHL with 35.75 shots per game, but 22nd in scoring with only 2.95 goals per game. Last and least in the ECHL standings, the expansion Arkansas RiverBlades are off to a dismal 3-15-1 start. They are dead last in goals scored per game (2.37) and 2nd to last in goals allowed (5.11), being outscored by 2.74 goals per game.

Men of Steel! Only two players remain that have played in every Trenton Titans game this season (franchise history for that matter): Scott Bertoli and Mark Murphy. The other 15 players from opening night have fallen from the distinction due to either injuries or recalls, except for goaltender Bujar Amidovski who was alternating starts with Stephen Valiquette.

Seeing Triple? No, there really are three Vandermeers skating for the Richmond Renegades this season: brothers Dan (age 21), Joe (22), and Pete (25). The Vandermeer Brothers mimmick the imfamous Hanson Brothers, wearing numbers 16, 17, and 18 respectively. The Vandermeers have three more brothers back in Caroline, Alberta - they may be the next Sutter Brothers!

Alum of the Millennium? Former Louisiana IceGator Rob Valicevic can stake a claim to the title "ECHL Alum of the Millennium" after notching three first period goals for the Nashville Predators in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Not only did Valicevic become the first ECHL graduate to record a hat trick in the NHL, he became the first player in Predator franchise history to achieve the feat!

All that Glitters is Not Gold! The hockey world has been tarnished by the conviction of rock star Gary Glitter (real name: Paul Gadd) in the United Kingdom for possession of child pornography. While the name might not ring a bell, the tune "Rock and Roll Part Two" (aka "The Hey Song") is recognized by every hockey fan on the planet. The traditional anthem played when the home team scores is already being yanked from arenas throughout North America. The illegal images were found on Glitter's computer when he brought it to a repair shop.

The Trenton Titans are no longer the only game in town (more specifically, at the Sovereign Bank Arena). The International Basketball League's Trenton Shooting Stars are off to a 3-0 strong start after defeating the Baltimore BayRunners home (111-108) and away (107-95), and the San Diego Stingrays at home (130-120)! While the franchise is off to an impressive beginning on the court, attendance has been rather weak (about half that of the Trenton Titans games). The Stars trail the IBL in attendance while the Titans are 4th in ECHL attendance. If fan support doesn't pick up soon, Trenton could suffer the same fate as Head Coach Kevin Mackey's previous team, the Atlantic City Seagulls. The Gulls had to abandon their USBL franchise due to poor fan support despite a three-peat as league champions! You can follow our coverage of the Trenton Shooting Stars by selecting Trenton Stars from the site menu.