PrairieThunder hit the road
Published on November 19, 2008 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
BLOOMINGTON (Ill.) - The Bloomington PrairieThunder takes to the road for a pair of games this weekend in International Hockey League action after breaking a four-game losing streak in its last contest.
The PrairieThunder makes its first visit to Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo for a 6:30 p.m. contest on Friday before heading to Muskegon for its initial regular-season contest at L.C. Walker Arena on Saturday at 6 p.m. Both games can be heard on WTRX (93.7 FM).
Bloomington enters action with a 5-6 record, while Kalamazoo also has a 5-6 record and Muskegon is 7-3 ahead of Thursday's game at Flint.
There currently is a three-way tie for first in the league standings between defending champion Fort Wayne, Muskegon and Port Huron with 14 points. Bloomington, Flint and Kalamazoo are locked in a three-way tie for fourth with 10 points.
The PrairieThunder owns a 1-2 record on the road, while Kalamazoo is 3-2 at home and Muskegon is undefeated in four games on its own ice. Bloomington won its only meeting with Kalamazoo this season, 5-4, on opening night of the regular-season at U.S. Cellular Coliseum when Don Parsons scored four goals.
Bloomington has split its two games with Muskegon (both in Bloomington), losing 3-1 in the first game before taking a 6-4 decision Saturday night by rallying from a 2-0 deficit. Jon Booras had the winning goal that snapped a four-game Lumberjacks' winning streak.
Roster moves
The PrairieThunder obtained defenseman Geoff Patton in a trade with Muskegon for future considerations earlier this week and waived forward Geoff Rollins.
Number changes
Shaun Fisher has changed from No. 11 to No. 3, while Jacob Anderson will wear 25 rather than 32 and Patton will be in No. 5.
Nail returns to action
Forward John Nail has been given the green light to return to action after missing sixth straight games while recovering from a finger injury. Nail suffered a broken finger in practice Oct. 29.
Slapshots, etc.
Bloomington's Don Parsons needs just six goals to become the all-time leader in career goals scored in professional minor league hockey. Parsons moved into second-place on the all-time list with 672 in16 years. Former Flint coach Kevin Kerr is the all-time leader with 677.
Parsons has averaged 41 goals per season during his career. The Boston native also ranks 16th in all-time points scored at 1,292 (an average of just under 80 per season) and needs 17 to move into 15th spot. His goals and points scored are first among active players.
Parsons is 47th in all-time assists with 620 and is closing in on the 1,000th career games played mark. He broke into the all-time top 100 recently, ranking 97th with 967 games played. Both of those marks are second among active players.
Brett Holmberg has scored at least one point in nine of the first 11 games for 12 points. He had 31 points in 76 games last year as a rookie.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 19, 2008
- PrairieThunder hit the road - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Generals prepare for back to back games against Muskegon - Flint Generals
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
