The 2000/2001 Trenton Titans are off to a terrific 9-2-1 start on their Quest for the Kelly Cup ! One question lingered in the air when Troy Ward took over as Head Coach of the Trenton Titans this Summer: would he be able to improve upon the success of Bruce Cassidy's 1999/2000 Titans? The bar was set pretty high by the inaugural Titans squad with their better-than-predicted regular season success and their amazing underdog playoff run. Cassidy's success was rewarded with his return to the IHL as Head Coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins, where he is taking the league by storm with a torrid 11-1-1 start. The team's success was rewarded by instant respect throughout the East Coast Hockey League and a very talented array of potential heirs to Cassidy's throne. One of those talented candidates, of course, was former Pittsburgh Penguins Assistant Coach Troy Ward. "Can You Take Me Higher?" is one of the slogans adopted by Titans fans for the 2000/2001 season. Can we really expect Ward to top Cassidy's performance in his first season as a professional hockey Head Coach? Of course! Will he deliver?

Troy Ward's choice of lockerroom decor made it crystal clear that he has one goal in mind for his new team: The Kelly Cup! He has a large picture of it is posted on the lockerroom wall as a constant reminder to the players. With their 9-2-1 start, the Trenton Titans have sent notice to the rest of the ECHL that they are up to the challenge! Through 12 games, the Titans are 2nd in the ECHL by win percentage (.792) behind only the Dayton Bombers (.808). Trenton has the best defense in the ECHL, allowing a league low of only 2.00 goals per game (the RiverBlades are 2nd with 2.45) and 27.33 shots per game. Behind the blueliners, goaltender Brian Regan is among the best in the ECHL with his 8-0-0 record, 1.86 goals against average, and .933 save percentage. His backup Scott Stirling has been solid as well with a 2.01 goals against average and .922 save percentage despite a 1-2-1 record. The Titans penalty killing unit is also tops in the ECHL at 92.5%, well above the pack, while their power play unit is a respectable 7th in the league at 19.1%. As strong as their defense is, the Titans are also well disciplined, receiving the 4th fewest penalty minutes per game in the ECHL (22.3). All of this makes the job of the Trenton Titans' offense easier, requiring fewer goals to produce victories. Not that the Titans don't have a solid offense - it's above average and should only improve as chemistry builds between the players. A solid vote of confidence? InTheCrease.com promoted the Trenton Titans to 1st place in their ECHL Power Poll published on November 14th!

The Titans roster through the first 12 games of the season was perfectly suited for a Kelly Cup Championship. The challenge (and here's the broken record) for Troy Ward, Mike Haviland, and Brian McKenna is whether they can affectively handle all of the call-ups that will ravage their talented roster. Already, productive forward Stewart Bodtker has been wisked away by the AHL's Springfield Falcons for an undetermined length of time. Defenseman Richard Seeley has been called up by the AHL's Lowell Lock Monsters. Team Captain Cail MacLean has just signed a 25-game tryout offer with Bruce Cassidy's Grand Rapids Griffins. And to make matters worse, goaltender Brian Regan has been promoted to the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms, leaving struggling Flyers prospect Dan Murphy to fill his roster spot. It's a coin toss as to whether he will break out of his slump and provide strong goaltending for the Titans along side of Stirling. New faces should be on the way to Trenton to plug the holes in the roster as I type. We can be certain that many other players will earn call-ups to the AHL or IHL before the season is over. General Manager Brian McKenna's knack for finding new talent was well-tested last season, giving confidence that he can rise to the challenge again. Then, it will be up to Ward and Haviland to integrate the new recruits into the Titans for a seamless Quest for the Kelly Cup!

Brian Regan had tough skates to fill in the Titans' net with the exepectations set by Bujar Amidovski and Taras Lendzyk, but he has risen to the challenge ! Five starts, five victories - you certainly can't do much better than that! (Pretend you don't know that he's 8-0 midway through November). Brian Regan made his Trenton Titans debut in grand style on October 13th, stopping 29 shots to shutout the Toledo Storm while the offense pounded their way to a 8-0 victory. His home debut at Trenton one week later wasn't quite as pretty, but he made 21 saves on 25 shots allowing the Titans to slip past the Greensboro Generals 5-4. Regan recorded his third victory four nights later at the South Carolina Stingrays, stopping 42 of 45 shots in regulation and overtime, and 4 of 5 shots in the shootout for a 4-3 Titans win. Regan finished the month of October with a pair of back-to-back road victories (October 27th and 28th), stopping 21 of 22 shots to defeat the Pee Dee Pride 2-1 and making 19 saves on 22 shots to defeat the Charlotte Checkers 5-3. While many other players on the Titans' roster made a strong case for Titanic's October Player of the Month Award, it was impossible to pass up the goaltender who went 5-0-0 with a 2.16 goals against average and a .923 save percentage! However, in due fairness, the Trenton Titans' other great netminder deserves an honorable mention. Scott Stirling's 1-2-0 record in October masks his excellent performance in the net for Trenton: a 1.68 goals against average and a .931 save percentage. The Titans scored a total of just one goal in the two games that he took a loss in! Once again, the Trenton Titans have the best goalie tandem in the East Coast Hockey League!

The Trenton Titans are off to one of the best starts in the ECHL this season with a solid 9-2-1 record ! (Games through 11/16/00). The Trenton Titans opened their 2nd season with a blast on October 13th, a 8-0 road victory over the Toledo Storm! Stewart Bodtker tallied a hat trick and a pair of assists to lead the Titans' offense while Brian Regan stopped 29 shots for the shutout. Jed Whitchurch, Benoit Morin, Mike Hall (2), and Sandy Cohen also notched goals in the season opener. The Wheeling Nailers put up more of a fight two nights later, but goaltender Scott Stirling stopped 29 of 31 shots to hold them off for a 3-2 Titans road victory in his Titans debut. Eric Brule, Paul Spadafora, and Sandy Cohen registered goals for Trenton in the game. The Titans continued their winning ways in their home debut on October 20th, rallying to defeat the Greensboro Generals 5-4. Stewart Bodtker bagged a pair of goals along with lantern lighters from Mike Hall, Benoit Morin, and Jed Whitchurch. Brian Regan made 21 saves for his 2nd victory as the Titans improved to 3-0.

The following night, the Titans got their first taste of defeat when Richmond Renegades netminder Rastislav Stana made 30 saves to shutout Trenton at Sovereign Bank Arena. Scott Stirling stopped 20 of 21 shots to take the tough loss in the 1-0 game. The Titans rebounded on October 24th with a 4-3 shootout road victory against the South Carolina Stingrays. Defensemen Vince Williams and Kam White each notched goals, along with one from Mike Hall and the shootout game-winner from Cail MacLean. Brian Regan stopped 42 of 45 shots in regulation and overtime, and allowed only 1 of 5 shots in the shootout for his 3rd win of the season. Two nights later, Trenton suffered its first road loss when ECHL goaltending fixture Nick Vitucci added the Titans to his lengthy list of victims, posting 35 saves for a 3-1 Greenville Grrrowl victory. Newcomer Aniket Dhadphale scored the lone Trenton goal while Scott Stirling stopped 18 of 20 shots in another tough loss.

The Titans bounced back the next night at Pee Dee, defeating the Pride 2-1 on a pair of Cail MacLean goals. Brian Regan stopped 21 of 22 Pee Dee shots to improve to 4-0-0 on the season. The Titans rallied for 3 third period goals the following night for a come-from-behind 5-3 road victory over the Charlotte Checkers. Scott Bertoli, Mike Hall, Cail MacLean, Sean Molina, and Kam White each registered goals while Brian Regan stopped 19 shots for his 5th victory of the month. The Titans and Checkers traveled to Trenton for two more matches to start the November schedule. Cail MacLean's 3rd career Titans hat trick was complimented by a pair of goals from Aniket Dhadphale and single tallies from Paul Spadafora and Sandy Cohen. Brian Regan stopped 22 shots for another "W" as Trenton outshot Charlotte 47-24 en route to the 7-2 victory. The third consecutive victory improved Trenton's season record to 7-2-0. However, the Checkers avoided the 'series sweep' the next night with an overtime goal for the 3-2 victory. Sandy Cohen and Scott Bertoli scored the Titans' goals as Scott Stirling suffered the overtime loss to fall to 1-2-1 despite making 27 saves.

A week after their overtime loss, the Titans were back on the road at Roanoke where they derailed the Express 4-1. Stewart Bodtker and Benoit Morin each recorded a pair of goals while Brian Regan won lucky number 7 with 30 saves. Regan boosted his record to 8-0-0 with 26 saves on November 14th when Cail MacLean scored late in the 3rd period to break a 1-1 deadlock with the Johnstown Chiefs. Aniket Dhadphale scored the other goal in the game that lifted the Titans to 9-2-1 on the season. A great start on the Road to the Kelly Cup!

Each month, Titanic will dare to compare the performance of the 2000/2001 Titans against the benchmark set by last year's team. We'll handle the obvious comparison first: through November 13th (11 games), the Titans were 4-5-2 (.455) last season. This year, Trenton is riding high atop the Northeast Division with an 8-2-1 (.773) start at the same point! The reason why: the Titans goal production rose from 3.18 goals per game for the first 11 games last year to 3.73 goals per game this year. Meanwhile, goals allowed evaporated from 3.27 per game to 2.09 per game! Trenton's home record of 3-3-2 last season is closely paralleled with a 2-1-1 start this year, but the Titans are 6-1 on the road this season compared to a 1-2 road start last year! How do the 2000/2001 Titans compare to the LAST 11 games of the 1999/2000 regular season? Goal production is down sharply from the 4.91 goals per game rate that Trenton posted down the final stretch, but the new Titans are still allowing less goals per game than the 2.45 pace from the end of last season. In their final 11 games last season, the Titans were 2-2-1 at home and 5-1 on the road, so it appears that they picked up right where they left off.

The scoring leaders through 11 games last season: Mike Hall (4-11-15 in 11), Cail MacLean (7-3-10 in 7), Jed Whitchurch (3-5-8 in 9), and D.J. Mando (0-6-6 in 11). Scoring leaders this season: once again, Mike Hall (5-11-16 in 11) and Cail MacLean (7-5-12 in 10), joined this time by Stewart Bodtker (7-6-13 in 11) and Scott Bertoli (2-7-9 in 11). The goaltending comparison: Bujar Amidovski (3-3-0, .930, 2.18, 1 ShO) versus Brian Regan (7-0-0, .929, 1.98, 1 ShO) - a virtual draw when you consider the performance of the offense and defense around them. Stephen Valiquette (1-3-1, .882, 4.01, 0 ShO) versus Scott Stirling (1-2-1, .922, 2.01, 0 ShO) - the win/loss record may appear similar, but Stirling's goaltending performance wins by a mile. Another key factor in Trenton's 2000/2001 success: power play goals are up from 8 to 13 for the same stretch last season. Are the Titans tougher? Last season's penalty leaders: D.J. Mando (24 PIM in 11), Jeff Mercer (19 PIM in 2), and Chris Masters (17 PIM in 10). This season: Benoit Morin (60 PIM in 11), Stewart Bodtker (42 PIM in 11), and Kam White (36 PIM in 10). But don't be mislead, overall penalty minutes are only up from 229 to 247 for the same 11-game stretch. The enforcer roles are just more clearly defined for the 2000/2001 Titans then they were at the beginning of last season.

The final comparison for the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 Titans' teams is personnel movement. After 11 games, Eon MacFarlane and Jeff Mercer had already been traded last year, while Todd Barclay and Eric Brule were sent packing already this season. The newest arrival: Eric Brule was just getting started with the Titans at this point last season, while Aniket Dhadphale got more of a head start this year. Striking similarity: Cail MacLean disappeared on a call-up by this point in both seasons (a day apart). Last year, Jarret Whidden was the player who began the season on the roster, but never got to play in a regular season game for the Titans. This year, Eric Silverman was the 'Titan Who Never Played'. Overall, the 2000/2001 Titans are well-stocked and compare quite favorably to last season's team, which is good news in their Quest for the Kelly Cup!

Simply put, former Trenton Titans goaltender Bujar Amidovski is in a funk ! After a very respectable 1999/2000 season with Trenton (ECHL) and Philadelphia (AHL) last year, beloved Titans netminder Bujar Amidovski has found himself in quite a funk this season. After 7 starts with the ECHL's Florida Everblades, Bujar is 3-2-1 (acceptable) but with an uncharacteristic 4.27 goals against average and a horrid .846 save percentage. He is in his worst slump since turning pro in 1998 with the Louisiana IceGators (he appeared briefly with the Dayton Bombers in 1996/1997, but returned to juniors for the 1997/1998 season). Amidovski was an ECHL All-Star goalie for the IceGators in 1998/1999, posting a 17-5-3 record with an excellent 2.32 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. In a call-up to the AHL's Saint John Flames, he posted a 2-2-0 record with a shaky 4.69 goals against average and an .872 save percentage. However, Bujar's fine goaltending in the ECHL garnered a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers' organization. In 2 strong games with their AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, Bujar went 2-0-0 with a 2.50 goals against average and .917 save percentage.

In 1999/2000, the Flyers assigned Bujar Amidovski to their brand new ECHL affiliate, the Trenton Titans. He immediately won a strong following in Trenton with his solid goaltending: 19-11-3 with a 2.49 goals against average and .918 save percentage. His performance started the entire franchise off on the right foot. He performed even better in 6 games for the Phantoms, posting a 3-1-0 record with a 1.92 goals against average and .938 save percentage. It appeared on the surface that the Flyers had a goaltender for the future in Bujar. It was in the final weeks of the 1999/2000 season, that the buzz around Bujar began to shift. The Flyers had goaltenders John Vanbiesbrouck and Brian Boucher holding down the fort in the NHL with Neil Little as their starter with the AHL's Phantoms. Amidovski had earned the backup position with his strong glove work. On March 8, 1999, the Flyers acquired Quebec Citadelles (AHL) goaltender Dan Murphy and assigned him to the Phantoms. This was a slap in the face to Bujar, who thought things were going well in his career. One excuse given was that the Flyers were merely stocking up on goaltenders like Murphy to expose to the upcoming NHL expansion draft. It sounded plausible at the time, but never played out that way (Murphy has now worked his way down the ladder to Trenton).

Amidovski returned to the Titans for the finish of their season and playoff run but had lost the limelight to Taras Lendzyk. In five postseason appearances, Bujar was 2-3-0 with a 3.07 goals against and .898 save percentage compared to Lendzyk's 6-3-0 (2.48 .926) performance. Despite the disappointing conclusion to his season, Amidovski's fans were optimistic about his future with the Flyers organization. The optimism was extinguished during the Summer when the Philadelphia Flyers made it blatantly clear that Bujar Amidovski didn't figure into their oganization depth chart. His contract was not renewed, leaving him as a free agent.

What went wrong for Bujar? Despite his impressive stats in goal, a dark cloud hovers over Bujar. The mumbled concensus throughout the hockey world seems to be that Amidovski has a poor work ethic and is not well motivated. It certainly didn't show on the ice, but several coaches have openly criticized his long-term commitment to the game. Evidently, the Flyers' organization believes that it was a big enough stain on his resume not to keep him around. Bujar's stock in the free agent market also seemed to suffer due to the bad buzz surrounding him. He attracted a lot less interest than you would expect a two-time ECHL All-Star goaltender to draw.

The dark clouds over Bujar's career seemed to part when the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes signed him to a two-year, three-way (NHL/IHL/ECHL) contract for the start of the 2000/2001 season. Injuries created the opening necessary for Amidovski to start the new season with the Hurricanes' IHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones. In three appearances, hardly a fair test, Bujar was mediocre (0-1-0 3.83 .889) with the Cyclones. He was assigned to the ECHL's Florida Everblades and has been struggling in goal ever since.

Bujar's funk is especially disappointing to fans when we see how other former Titans are faring. While much-maligned former Titans netminder Stephen Valiquette is experiencing a reality check (1-3-1 3.93 .894 with the AHL's Springfield Falcons) after becoming the 1st Titan to debut in the NHL with the New York Islanders last year, forwards Ruslan Fedotenko and Todd Fedoruk are making the most of their taste of the NHL. Fedotenko has tallied 3 goals and 3 assists in 10 games with the Flyers and is making strong impressions, possibly earning a very long stay in the NHL. Fedoruk has also earned some praise with his toughness and solid play in the big league (1 goal, 16 penalty minutes in 7 games) and should remain high on the call list even if his NHL stint ends soon. But for Bujar Amidovski, it seems that the NHL is still far far away. Another former Titans netminder, Mike Tamburro, is even outperforming Bujar with a 5-5-0 record (3.44 .892) this season. Whatever it takes, Bujar Amidovski needs to break free from his funk. First, he needs to find a new attitude to clear the bad buzz if he would like to see the NHL from the net instead of the stands. Then, he can focus on getting his groove back and earning a call-up to the IHL. Marc Magliarditi's spot on the Cyclones' roster is ripe for the picking with his current stats (2-3-2 4.52 .848), but Bujar will need to earn the opportunity to replace him. Does Bujar Amidovski have the talent to play in the NHL? There are thousands of ECHL fans who believe that he does. The puck is in his court, be he has to beat the funk!

The ongoing battle between a former NHL enforcer and Titans enemy Todd MacFarlane takes another Twist: As Spawn creator Todd McFarlane promised, his battle with former St. Louis Blues enforcer Tony Twist didn't end with the jury's decision to award Twist $24.5 million for MacFarlane naming a comic strip villain after him. St. Louis, Missouri circuit court Judge Robert H. Dierker Jr. has tossed out the jury's verdict ruling that it was "against the manifest weight of the evidence". Judge Dierker ruled that it was irrational for the jury to believe that MacFarlane's use of Twist's name benefited MacFarlane or damaged Twist in any tangible way. Attorney Robert Blitz plans to file an appeal on behalf of his client Tony Twist. Check out Twisted Justice for the background behind this case.

In other hockey related litigation, former Richmond Renegades player Forrest Gore is suing the Hampton Roads Admirals, former Admirals player Trevor Johnson, and former Admirals Head Coach John Brophy for $1 million ($500,000 in compensatory damages, $500,000 in punitive damages) for injuries that he suffered in a playoff game between Richmond and Hampton Roads on April 9, 1999. Gore claims that Johnson intentionally speared him with the butt end of his stick, causing a broken cheekbone and eye damage. The incident allegedly followed Brophy's instructions to the Admirals players (Johnson included) to injure Gore. An ECHL review of the incident concluded that it was Johnson's elbow that hit Gore's face when they collided and that Gore was already falling at the time of the collision, worsening the impact. Johnson received a one-game suspension from the ECHL for the incident, while Gore missed the remainder of the playoffs due to the injuries. A similar lawsuit stemming from a CHL game was settled out of court last month. Former Wichita Thunder player Todd Howarth sued the Oklahoma City Blazers and former player Simon Olivier for $2.2 million for a February 9, 1999 incident in which the butt end of Olivier's stick allegedly caused permanent eye damage, facial bone fractures, and two concussions, ending Howarth's career. In that incident, the CHL suspended Olivier for the remainder of the 1998/1999 season (32 games) and the 17 games the following season in which Wichita and Oklahoma City met. Terms of the settlement were not released.

Titanomachia is now posted ! The titanic Crossword Puzzle for die-hard Trenton Titans fans, Titanomachia, is now online! Good Luck!

What's new on "The Unofficial Web Site of the Trenton Titans" this month ? The newest addition to The Unofficial Web Site is the Titanomachia Crossword Puzzle. Apart from that, I've just been trying to keep up with all of the action of the Titans' 2nd season. However, I would like to mention a wonderful Titans' photo gallery outside of the site that Cathy Hanes told me about: Brian Westerholt's Titans Gallery at InTheCrease.com. Brian took dozens of excellent photos of the Trenton Titans when they played the Greensboro Generals last season.

As always, The Unofficial Web Site of the Trenton Titans is open to suggestions, corrections, contributions, and even criticism. You can send feedback to trentontitans@yahoo.com