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Bloomington Blaze Weekly

January 14, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


The Bloomington Blaze, fueled by Mid-Illini Credit Union, enter the second half of the Central Hockey League season with three games- and a concert- at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

Last week:

Thursday, Jan. 10- Quad City Mallards 5, @Blaze 2

--The Blaze never got on track as they suffered their fourth loss in five games.

Friday, Jan. 11- @Blaze 3, Quad City Mallards 2

--Three straight Blaze goals, two by Tyler Gron, lifted the team in a typically-spirited Blaze-QC game.

Saturday, Jan. 12- Blaze 4, @Tulsa Oilers 2

--The Blaze held off a late Tulsa rally to stay unbeaten against the Oilers in five games this season.

This week:

Friday, Jan. 18, 7:05 p.m.- Denver Cutthroats at Blaze

--The Cutthroats won the only previous matchup, 5-1 on Nov. 28 in Denver. The Cutthroats return to U.S. Cellular Coliseum the following Tuesday, Jan. 22 to conclude the homestand.

Saturday, Jan. 19, 7:05 p.m.- Fort Worth Brahmas at Blaze

--The first meeting between the clubs this season after going 0-1-1 against the Brahmas last season. Popular local band Brushfire plays an hour-long set after the game.

Second half kickoff: The Blaze are two games into the second half of the Central Hockey League season tied for sixth place in the Berry Conference standings with Rapid City with 39 points on a record of 19-15-1. The Blaze are 11-7-1 on home ice.

Streaking: The Blaze only have two losing streaks this season, two games on Dec. 1 and 6 (Rapid City and Missouri) and three games on Dec.

29 and 31 and Jan. 4 (all Arizona). The Blaze wins on Friday at home against Quad City and Saturday at Tulsa are their first back-to-back wins since Dec. 16 and 21, home victories over Missouri and Rapid City.

We need them, stat: The Blaze lead several team and individual statistical categories. Jon Booras is second in the CHL in scoring with 48 points and 31 assists. Tyler Gron leads all league rookies with 21 goals and 35 points.

Sebastien Trudeau is tied for fourth among rookies with 25 points (12g, 14a) while Jared Walker is ninth in rookie scoring with 17 points (5g, 12a). The Blaze lead the CHL in goals per game (3.86) but are ninth in goals against (3.57).

That's closing in on eight combined goals per Blaze game. The Blaze top the league in goals (135), assists (235) and points (370) and have the top power play (26.7 percent). The Blaze are tops in the CHL with 33.4 shots per game but last in shots given up with 35.7.

Blaze anatomy: Forward Kyle Bochek was activated from the 7-day IR for Friday's game. Charlie Townsend remains on the 30-day IR. Forward Jay Barriball was recalled to Peoria Rivermen on Saturday; Barriball registered 1 goal and 1 assist in 4 games.

Junior Blaze update: The Junior Blaze suffered their worst loss of the season, 9-0 at Tennyson Chevrolet on Friday, but bounced back with 6-3 and 4-1 wins on Saturday and Sunday at the Great Lakes Lightning. Kyler Schmor registered a hat trick plus an assist on Friday while Gavin Carlson took the win in net both games including a 51-save effort on Sunday. Junior Blaze leading scorer Matt Donley was named MWJHL Player of the Week. The Junior Blaze host the Holland River Bandits on Friday and Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m.

Following the Blaze: All Blaze games can be heard on WJBC.com and fans inside U.S. Cellular Coliseum can listen to the WJBC broadcast on 93.7 FM.

Fans are invited to watch all Blaze road games at Gill Street Sports Bar and Restaurant, 3002 Gill St. west of Airport Road in Bloomington. Like the Blaze on Facebook and follow the team on Twitter (BLMBlaze), and remember to check in during games for special social media prizes. Team information can be found at www.bloomingtonblaze.com.

Season, group, and multi-game ticket packages are available by calling the Blaze office at 309-827-7678. For single-game and game day tickets, stop by or call the U.S. Cellular Coliseum box office at 309-434-2679.

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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.

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