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About the Dayton Bombers

• The Bombers are part of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), which has affiliations with 24 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League in 2006-07. A total of 303 former ECHL players have moved on to the NHL, including a record 47 during the 2005-06 season.

• The Bombers recently signed a two-year deal with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.

• Their affiliation extends through next season. Dayton has been the Blue Jackets' East Coast Hockey League affiliate since the 2000-01 season. Columbus is also partnered with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.

• The Bombers finished 20-46-6 last season. They have a two-year record of 43-86-15 under Don MacAdam and co-owner Costa Papista, who purchased controlling interest from a group headed by Tim Reilly in July 2004.

Did you know?

This year the Bombers will have the tallest player in the ECHL with 6-foot-9 defenseman Lane Mason.

Home opener: The Bombers vs. Florida Everblades

When: 7 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Ervin J. Nutter Center, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Fairborn.

Tickets: $25 front row, $16 adult gold, $12 adult silver, $8 youth younger than 18, $10 senior citizens, military, college, Wright-Patt Credit Union members.

More info: Call (937) 775-4747 for ticket information, or visit www.daytonbombers.com.

On the docket: Pregame tailgate party, 5 p.m. under tent at Gate 3. Face painting, balloons, cornhole, magnet giveaway, postgame skate, Ford F-150 shootout (shoot to win the car at the first intermission). Sign up to become an organ donor and receive tickets to a Dayton Bombers or Blue Jackets game.

Hockey terms

Blue lines: Two blue lines running parallel across the ice that divide the rink into three zones called the attacking, defending and neutral (or center) zones; defending blue line is the line closer to a player's own net; attacking blue line is the one farther from his net. These are used in determining offsides.

Boards: The wooden or fiberglass wall surrounding the rink to keep the puck and players from accidentally leaving the rink. All rinks have shatterproof glass above the boards for additional protection.

Boarding: Player or goalkeeper checks an opposing player in such a way as to cause him to be thrown violently into the boards.

Check or checking: Any contact initiated by a defending player against an opponent to get the puck away from him or slow him down. There are two main types of checks — stick check and body check. These are only allowed against a player in control of the puck or against the last player to control it immediately after he gives it up; checking after too many steps or strides becomes charging, which is a penalty.

Crease: The red lines that form the semi-circular area in front of the goal, within which attacking players must not obstruct the goaltender's movement or vision.

Cross-checking: A cross check is a check rendered with both hands on the stick with arms extended while the check is being delivered.

Deke or deking: A decoying or faking motion by the puck-carrier. It's an art — making a defensive player think you are going to pass or move in a certain direction when you're not. There are shoulder dekes, stick dekes and head dekes.

Face-off: The method of starting or resuming play: The referee or linesman drops the puck between the sticks of two opposing players.

Icing: Occurs when a player or goalkeeper of a team equal or superior in numerical strength to the opposing team, shoot, bat or deflect the puck from his own half of the ice beyond the goal line of the opposing team.

Power-play: An attack by a team at full strength against a team playing one man (or two men) shorthanded because of a penalty (or penalties) that resulted in a player on the opposing team receiving penalty-box time.

Red line: The line that divides the length of the ice surface in half.

Slap shot: The player raises his stick in a backswing, with strong hand low on the shaft and the other hand on the end as a pivot. As the stick comes down toward the puck, the player leans into the stick to put all his power behind the shot and add velocity to the puck. These shots can produce puck speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.

Spearing: A major penalty in which a player illegally jabs, or even attempts to jab, the point of his stick blade into another player's body. Spearing is one of the most serious infractions a player can commit.

Wings: Two players who flank the center on his right and left sides and, with him, make up the attacking unit or forward line.

Zamboni: The brand of machine used to clean the ice.

2006-07 teams in the ECHL

Alaska Aces

Augusta Lynx

Bakersfield Condors

Charlotte Checkers

Cincinnati Cyclones

Columbia Inferno

Dayton Bombers

Florida Everblades

Fresno Falcons

Gwinnett Gladiators

Idaho Steelheads

Johnstown Chiefs

Las Vegas Wranglers

Long Beach Ice Dogs

Pensacola Ice Pilots

Phoenix RoadRunners

Reading Royals

South Carolina Stingrays

Stockton Thunder

Texas Wildcatters

Toledo Storm

Trenton Titans

Utah Grizzlies

Victoria Salmon Kings

Wheeling Nailers