PrairieThunder treks to Muskegon
Published on February 12, 2009 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
It's on to Muskegon for the Bloomington PrairieThunder as it looks to start another unbeaten streak after having a franchise-best and International Hockey League season-high unbeaten string stopped at 11 on Wednesday in Kalamazoo.
Bloomington, which has won six of its last eight games, plays the Lumberjacks at L.C. Walker Arena on Friday in a 6 p.m. contest that can be heard on WTRX (93.7 FM) with Greg Halbleib on the broadcast.
The PrairieThunder returns home Monday to face Flint in a special 3:05 p.m. Kid's Day game, sponsored by U.S. Cellular, at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
Vouchers for a free ticket to the game have been distributed to 10,000 elementary school children (kindergarten through fifth grade) at various schools in Bloomington-Normal and throughout McLean and Livingston counties.
Kid's meals, consisting of a hot dog, chips and soft drink, will be available for $3 and there will be a 30-minute skate with the players following the game.
The PrairieThunder has a 20-23-1-3 record for 44 points and fifth place in the tightly-bunched standings. Bloomington trails Kalamazoo by just 12 points for the fourth and final post-season playoff berth with 29 games remaining.
Muskegon has a 26-14-3-3 record (58 points) and in second place, just one point behind leader Port Huron. Fort Wayne is third with 57 points, while Kalamazoo has 56.
Bloomington was 19 points away from a playoff berth at the beginning of 2009. But since coach Jarrod Skalde made some major personnel changes following the Jan. 3 game, the team has responded by posting a 10-3-0-3 record.
The PrairieThunder is 8-1-0-3 over its last 12 games, with seven going to a shootout. The PrairieThunder is 4-3 in the shootouts and lost for the first time in regulation Wednesday since a 7-4 setback at Muskegon on Jan. 16.
Bloomington is 7-13-0-2 on the road and holds a 13-10-1-1 record at home. The PrairieThunder is 5-5-1-0 against Muskegon with a 2-3 record at L.C. Walker Arena.
The Lumberjacks are 16-7-1-2 at home and lead the league in goals scored with 185.
The PrairieThunder is 9-2-0-2 when leading after the first period with an impressive 11-3-0-1 record when leading after two periods. Bloomington is 12-1 when scoring five or more goals and 8-0-0-1 when limiting the opponent to two or fewer goals.
Ludzik in net
Rookie goaltender Ryan Ludzik has a 8-1-3 record over his last 12 starts and is on a seven-game unbeaten streak to move his season mark to 9-7-1-2. He started the year 1-4.
He has dropped his goal against average nearly one point to 3.72 and improved his save percentage nearly two points to .894 over the last month. His last loss in regulation came Jan. 15 in Port Huron.
No crying Wolfe
The PrairieThunder has been in good hands when Ludzik hasn't played too.
Jason Wolfe, who was signed by the PrairieThunder a week ago, was unbeaten in his first four starts (3-0-0-1) before suffering his first loss Wednesday at Kalamazoo. He has a 3-1-0-1 record and three of the five games Wolfe has been involved in have been shootouts. He has stopped 15 of 18 shots in the shootouts and had a string of 14 straight snapped against the Wings.
Player of the Month
Bloomington PrairieThunder player Jon Booras is the reigning International Hockey League Pepsi Player of the Month for his performance during January.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Booras finished the month of January with 19 points (8 goals, 11 assists) and a plus-7 rating in 13 games, while leading the PrairieThunder to a 7-3-1-2 record.
No. 1 line clicking
The No. 1 line of Henry Kuster, Booras and Jas has been clicking since joining forces 15 games ago. The trio has scored 26 goals with 37 assists for 63 points. The PrairieThunder has a 10-3-0-3 record with this trio on the frontline beginning Jan. 3.
Jas has scored 22 points in 20 games with a plus-7 rating since joining the team. He has scored at least one point in 14 of the 20 games he has played with Bloomington. Jas has scored a point in 11 of the last 14 games.
Kuster has 19 points in 16 games and 48 between his time in Muskegon and Kalamazoo to rank ninth in the league. He scored a goal 29 seconds into his first game with the PrairieThunder on the way to a four-point night (2 goals, 2 assists). See below for Booras statistics.
Shootouts galore
In its first 35 games, the PrairieThunder had been extended past regulation two times, while earning one shootout victory and one overtime loss.
In its last 12 games, the PrairieThunder has been involved in seven games that have been extended past regulation and into shootouts. The team has a 4-3 record in those games.
Injury list
Goaltender Scott Fankhouser is on the 45-day injured reserve list with a high ankle sprain. During his recovery time, Fankhouser has taken on a more active role in coaching, administration and community services.
Defenseman Jason Lepine continues on the injury list while recovering from ACL surgery. He expects to return to action in March.
Leaders of the pack
Center Jon Booras has already surpassed his career-high point total for a season with 62 in 46 games. He has 26 goals and 36 assists. Last season he had 57 points (29 goals, 28 assists) in 74 games.
He is third in the league in scoring and has already notched more assists than he had last season. Booras is also second in the league in goals scored and power play goals with 10 and first with three short-handed assists.
Booras has scored at least one point in 34 of the 46 games he has played, including multiple-point efforts 18 times. He has scored at least one point in 14 of the last 17 games.
Booras is the franchise leader in games played (193), goals scored (70), assists (86) and points (156).
Shaun Fisher is the team's top scorer among defensemen with 24 points (5 goals, 19 assists), while Bill Bagron is the top scoring rookie with 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists).
Slapshots, etc.
Brett Holmberg has scored at least one point in 13 of the last 18 games he has played for 17 points. He missed two games with a concussion. The second-year player has already tallied 44 points in 44 games to surpass the 31 he scored last year in 76 contests.
He currently ranks 10th in the league in scoring.
Marty Standish has scored 28 points in the last 28 games. There have only been 11 times in the 34 games Standish has played with the PrairieThunder that he hasn't recorded a point.
Standish holds the record for the quickest goal scored to start a game (11 seconds) in franchise history. Four times this season, the PrairieThunder has scored a goal within the first 42 seconds of the game. Those scores came 11, 29, 38 and 42 seconds into a game.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 12, 2009
- U.S. Cellular sponsoring Kid's Day - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Skalde to hold post-game sessions - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- PrairieThunder treks to Muskegon - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Pink Ice This Saturday - Kalamazoo Wings
- Miracle On Ice Star Visiting Flint - Flint Generals
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