Fury Move Back into Fourth
Published on March 17, 2008 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release
MUSKEGON - By taking five of a possible six points over the weekend, the Muskegon Fury moved back into fourth place in the International Hockey League with a record of 2-0-0-1 on the week.
The Fury's record is now 30-27-3-1, good for 64 points. Muskegon tails Flint by one point for third place and Port Huron by four points for second place in the IHL standings. The Fury lead Kalamazoo by two points with one game in hand on the K-Wings.
Friday night, Robin Bouchard scored a goal and two assists, including his 1,200th career point and the game-winning goal, to lead the host Fury past Flint 4-3.
Bouchard came off the bench to be the extra attacker for the Fury thanks to a delayed penalty, and fired one from the bottom edge of the left circle past Bill Ruggiero and into the net with 9 minutes and 11 seconds left in the contest. The goal was assisted by Billy Collins and Kyle Kos, and was scored just 35 seconds after Flint tied the game at 3-3.
The Generals scored first in the contest at 4:18 of the second, but the Fury answered at 7:57 when Collins wrapped the puck inside the right post from behind to tie the game at 1-1. Bouchard and Kos assisted on the goal. The Fury took at 2-1 lead with 39.8 seconds left in the period when Dan Riedel fired a slap shot in for his 19th of the season off assist from Kos and Philippe Plante.
Flint's Jared Dumba tied the game 1:08 into the third, but the Fury answered 58 seconds later. Bouchard fed Collins right in front of the goal, and Collins connected for his second of the game (27th of the season) to give the Fury a 3-3 lead. The Generals' Justin Depretis tied the game on the power play at 10:14 of the third, setting up Bouchard's game-winner, his 25th of the year.
Clayton Pool got the win in net for Muskegon, stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced. The Fury outshot the Generals 38-26.
Saturday night, Muskegon hopped over Kalamazoo and back into fourth place in the IHL with a 4-1 home win over the K-Wings.
Bill Zalba got the scoring started for the Fury, taking a feed from Sheldon Wing in for the breakaway and scoring on the backhand for his seventh goal of the season 7 minutes and 46 seconds into the contest. Dave VanDrunen also assisted on the goal.
The K-Wings lone goal came 11:57 into the first off the stick of Nick Bootland, the IHL's leading scorer, tying the game at 1-1.
In the second period, Dan Riedel intercepted a pass from Kalamazoo goalie Jeff Reynaert in the right corner of the Kalamazoo zone and fed Robin Bouchard in the left circle. Bouchard blasted in his 26th goal of the season to make it 2-1 7:43 into the period. Riedel later picked the pocket of Travis Granbois in the Kalamazoo zone and blasted his own shot past Reynaert, his 20th of the year, to make it 3-1 with 7:29 left in the second.
Bouchard added his second goal of the game 12:04 into the third, taking a feed off a Billy Collins face-off win in the right circle and planting one into the top right corner of the net to make it 4-1.
Clayton Pool got the win in net for Muskegon, stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced. Reynaert took the loss, stopping 23 of the 27 Fury shots he faced.
Sunday afternoon, Port Huron scored on the fourth skater of the shootout to edge the Fury, 4-3.
The Fury got on the board first, when Dan Riedel and Billy Collins executed a perfect give-and-go in the Port Huron zone, with Riedel putting it in the net just 36 seconds into the game. Robin Bouchard also assisted on the goal. Riedel made it 2-0 with 1:05 left in the first on the power play, his 22nd of the year, off feeds from Collins and Adam Bartholomay to make it 2-0 heading into the first intermission.
The Ice Hawks struck three times in the second, once on the 5-on-3, once on the power play and once at even strength, to take a 3-2 lead into the third. The Fury also lost the services of Billy Collins, who was given a game misconduct 5:42 into the period.
The Fury pulled even 5:01 into the third, when Dave VanDrunen scored his fourth of the season on the power play from Bouchard and Mark Cadotte, tying the game at 3-3. The teams went scoreless though the remainder of regulation and in overtime, setting up the shootout.
Riedel went first for Muskegon beating Larry Sterling, but the Ice Hawks came right back with a goal from Steve Hildenbrand. Both teams failed to score on the next two skaters, setting up a sudden-death scenario. Adam Bartholomay went first for the Fury and was denied by Sterling. Jamie Lovell ended the game, beating Clayton Pool to give the Ice Hawks the win.
Pool took the overtime loss in net for Muskegon despite stopping 36 of the 39 shots he faced.
Muskegon falls to 30-27-3-2 on the season, and has 65 points. The Fury return to the ice on the road at Bloomington Friday and Saturday nights.
This week, the Fury have three contest. Thursday and Friday nights, the Fury are on the road at Bloomington. Saturday, Muskegon hosts the Port Huron Ice Hawks at 7:30 p.m. at Walker Arena.
ROBIN BOUCHARD
The Fury's Robin Bouchard reached 1,200 career points with his second assist of the game Friday against Flint. Overall, Bouchard has a four-game streak with multiple points. Over that span, he has 10 points on five goals and five assists. Bouchard needs just eight goals for 600 in his professional career.
MILESTONE WATCH
Philippe Plante needs seven points for 300 in his career. Mark Cadotte is seven assists away from 300 for his career and 13 goals shy of 200 for his career. Chris Kovalcik is two games away from 200 for his career. David Segal is nine games away from 100 for his career.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Fury's game March 22 against Port Huron will be a win-win. If the Fury win that contest, everybody in attendance receives a free ticket for the March 30th game against Kalamazoo. After the game on March 30, several Fury players will be available for autographs and pictures behind section 102 at Walker Arena. For information on any Fury event, call Chrissy Pearce at (231) 726-3879 ext. 235.
FURY ON THE AIR
Muskegon Fury players Robin Bouchard and Mark Cadotte will join broadcaster Matt Tjapkes on the Fury Hotline show tonight. The show airs live from Cuti's Sports Bar and Grill on the corner of Seaway and Laketon in Muskegon and on West Michigan's 94 K-Rock (94.1 FM) from 7-9 p.m.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 17, 2008
- Irish Eyes Are Smiling - Kalamazoo Wings
- Magers named IHL Goalie of the week - IHL 2
- Countdown to Face-Off - Kalamazoo Wings
- Fury's Bouchard, Riedel Earn Weekly Honors - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- K-Wings Weekly - Kalamazoo Wings
- IHL Weekly Honors For Week 22 - IHL 2
- Second Place Icehawks Face Three Opponents This Week - Port Huron Icehawks
- Komets Capture The Huber Trophy - IHL 2
- Fury Move Back into Fourth - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Komets clinch IHL Huber Trophy, extend record home win streak to 20 - Fort Wayne Komets
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