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Special note
In July 1999, Baltimore owner Dennis Townsend announced he was moving the Thunder to Pittsburgh, and in late September, the relocated team was named the "Pittsburgh CrosseFire". However, neither a logo nor colors have been unveiled. As the franchise continues to establish itself for the 2000 season, the Outsider's Guide will phase out this page in place of a new page. 1999 Season Recap Preseason championship favorites, the 1999 Baltimore Thunder instead got a taste of being the type of team they eliminated the year before in the semifinals, the Rochester Knighthawks. Just like the Knighthawks of '98, Baltimore began red-hot, winning its first five and invoking thoughts of a 12-0 season by the team's radio commentators. Also just like that Knighthawk team, though, Baltimore staggered down the stretch. After shockingly lopsided wins over Rochester, Toronto, and Buffalo (by seven, eleven, and seven goals, respectively), the Thunder ran into another team running hard out of the gates -- the New York Saints, who were coming out of a lengthy break after beating Rochester in the season opener. The Saints proved tougher than expected, but Baltimore pulled out a one-goal win in Uniondale. The cracks began to appear the following week, in a game against long-time rivals from the north, the Philadelphia Wings. Although the Wings were off to a franchise-worst start -- punctuated by a conspicuous lack of defense -- they held tight with the Thunder, and took Baltimore to overtime before finally falling, 18-17. The Thunder had to treasure this hard-fought win over cellar-dwelling Philadelphia for a long time, winning only once between the beginning of February and 27 March. Finally challenged for the league lead in late March, Baltimore travelled to Rochester and grounded the Knighthawks, 14-11. By then, though, the damage had been done. Toronto had crept into a tie for the lead, and Rochester remained not far behind. Concluding the regular season with a home game against the lowly Syracuse Smash, Baltimore let out all its frustrations. Having all but lost home-floor advantage in the playoffs the night before (with a one-goal loss at Toronto), the Thunder unleashed their league-leading offensive weapons on a defense that couldn't hold up, romping to a 26-17 victory and assuring at least one playoff game at the Baltimore Arena. The Rochester-Baltimore connections were reborn in the semifinals, with the same two teams that squared off in a 1998 semifinal meeting at the same arena and almost one year to the day after Baltimore put the last nail in the Knighthawks' 1998 coffin. This time though, Rochester had the hammer and nails, and buried the Thunder, 14-12. 1999 Baltimore Thunder Roster # Name Ht Wt Age Exp College 2 Werner Krueger 5-7 170 23 1 Johns Hopkins 4 Ryan Sanderson 5-8 176 23 2 R.I.T. 6 Paul Cantabene 5-11 185 28 5 Loyola College 7 Doug Knight 5-10 190 24 1 U. of Virginia 8 Brian Voelker 6-1 185 29 7 Johns Hopkins 10 Tom Ryan 6-2 192 28 4 Bowdoin College 11 Dan Martin 6-2 195 23 R Georgetown University 12 John Fay 6-0 185 22 R Duke University 13 Kip Fulks 6-0 190 26 3 U. of Maryland 16 David Evans 6-3 220 25 R Brown 17 Matt Shearer 5-10 175 25 1 Loyola College 19 Rob Shek 6-1 210 29 5 Towson State 20 Jesse Hubbard 6-1 195 23 R Princeton University 21 Tim Hormes 6-0 155 30 8 Washington 22 Gary Gait 6-2 210 31 8 Syracuse University 25 John Tillman 6-0 175 29 2 Cornell 26 David Daniecki 6-0 200 23 R Penn State 30 Erik Miller (G) 6-5 228 27 1 Salisbury State U. 34 Brian Reese 6-3 196 22 R U. of Maryland 38 Rodney Tapp 5-9 205 32 4 Whittier College 41 Joe Hiltz 5-8 190 30 1 None 42 Chris Sanderson (G) 5-8 180 24 R U. of Virginia 43 Hugh Donovan 6-4 225 25 R Bucknell University 47 Quint Kessenich 5-9 165 31 1 Johns Hopkins 66 Eric Gervais 6-1 190 22 R Loyola College 94 Matt Clune 5-9 165 22 R Towson University Dennis Townsend Owner Jim Ulman General Manager John Tucker Head Coach Dave Huntley Assistant Coach John Stewart Assistant Coach Rob Marra Strength & Conditioning Coach Brenda Hall Trainer Matt Jackson Equipment Manager Age refers to age as of beginning of 1999 season (26 Dec 1998) 1999 Baltimore Thunder Schedule and Results DATE OPPONENT BAL-OPP W/L REC POS ------------------------------------------------------------- Dec 25-27 -open date- 0-0 t-2 Sat Jan 2 ROCHESTER 7:35 20-13 W 1-0 t-1 Sat Jan 9 TORONTO 7:35 21-10 W 2-0 1st Sat Jan 16 @ Buffalo 8:00 22-15 W 3-0 1st Sat Jan 23 @ New York 7:30 15-14 W 4-0 1st Sat Jan 30 PHILADELPHIA 7:35 18-17 OT W 5-0 1st Fri Feb 5 @ Syracuse 8:00 14-15 L 5-1 1st Fri Feb 12 NEW YORK 8:05 18-15 W 6-1 1st Feb 19-21 -open date- 1st Sat Feb 27 BUFFALO 7:35 15-16 L 6-2 1st Mar 5- 7 -open date- 1st Sat Mar 13 @ Philadelphia 7:30 13-16 L 6-3 1st Mar 19-21 -open date- t-1 Sat Mar 27 @ Rochester 7:35 14-11 W 7-3 t-1 (1) Fri Apr 2 @ Toronto 7:00 15-16 L 7-4 2nd Sat Apr 3 SYRACUSE 7:35 26-17 W 8-4 2nd (2) Apr 9-11 -open date- t-2 -------------------------------------------------------------- Sat Apr 17 ROCHESTER 7:35 12-14 L 8-5 -------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Clinch playoff berth (27 March) (2) Clinch home semifinal game (3 April) Thunder record breakdown: vs BUF 1-1 Friday 1-2 vs NY 2-0 Saturday 7-3 vs PHI 1-1 Sunday 0-0 vs ROC 2-1 Other days 0-0 vs SYR 1-1 After win 4-4 vs TOR 1-1 After loss 3-1 home 5-2 December 0-0 road 3-3 January 5-0 overtime 1-0 February 1-2 1 goal 2-3 March 1-1 2 goals 2-4 April 1-2 after bye 2-3 second game* 1-0 * Second game of a multiple-game weekend. Go see a Thunder game! Baltimore Thunder Tickets to see the Baltimore Thunder at Baltimore Arena can be purchased through the team at the phone number above. Box office hours are from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM during the NLL season, and stays open for one hour after the game starts. Tickets are also available through TicketMaster outlets, Baltimore- and DC-area Hecht department stores, and the Lyric Opera House. Tickets can be charged to your Visa, MasterCard, or American Express card, or can be paid with a check or with old-fashioned cash. Personal checks are only accepted for family shows. Children under the age of two do not need a ticket. The Thunder operate a will call window, located on the Hopkins Street side of the arena and which opens two hours prior to the start of the game. Will call tickets will not be distributed to customer unless valid photo identification is provided at the time of pickup. To reserve handicapped-accessible seating, call the arena at 410.727.7811 for voice service, 410.347.2093 for TTY and TDD service. Parking is available in an 850-car garage which abuts the arena on Howard Street. Also, over 20,000 parking spaces are available in the general vicinity of the arena. Plenty of public transportation is available, if you choose not to drive to the arena. Light rail service runs between Hunt Valley and Glen Burnie, stopping on Howard Street directly in front of the arena, and operating during the following hours: weekdays 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM; Saturdays 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM; and Sundays 11:00 AM to 7 PM. Metro Subway runs between Owings Mills and the Johns Hopkins Hospital, operating weekdays from 5:00 AM to midnight and Saturdays from 6:00 AM to midnight (no service on Sundays). Bus service is also offered; call MTA at 410.539.5000 for further information. Directions: Take Interstate 95 to I-395 North. The arena is three blocks ahead on the right at the end of I-395. Alternatively, take I-83 South to St. Paul, then go south to Lombard. Turn right on Lombard and proceed north to the arena. Most of all, enjoy the game! Seating diagram of Baltimore Arena, courtesy of Arenamedia. Map of the area, courtesy of Mapquest. (approximately centered on arena location) Alter characteristics of Mapquest map above. |
