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Early Third Period Goals Enough for Win

October 24, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Bloomington Thunder News Release


Bloomington Thunder Celebrate a Goal
Bloomington Thunder Celebrate a Goal
(Bloomington Thunder, Credit: Nikki D Photography)

BLOOMINGTON, Illinois - A three-goal lead quickly turned into nail-biter for the Bloomington Thunder as they topped the Sioux Falls Stampede 4-3 on home ice. Mitchell Chaffee scored his first USHL goal and it turned out to be the winner in the Friday night affair from the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. It was the first win on home ice for the Thunder who held off late power play chances from the reigning Clark Cup Champions.

"It was a good gutsy effort for these guys. We knew it wasn't going to be some pot at the end of the rainbow tonight. It was going to be a grind it out kind of game," said Head Coach and General Manager Dennis Williams after the win. "I'm happy and happy for these guys, but we can't forget about tomorrow. Now it's time to reset and get refocused."

The third period was an out of this world scoring charge for the Thunder who scored three goals in under five minutes. Veteran defenseman Butrus Ghafari (Western Michigan University) started the charge to give Bloomington the 2-1 lead at the start of the final period. His first of the year was a power play blast from the blue line that rang off the post and just under a minute and a half into the period.

Tarek Baker (University of Minnesota) grabbed his second point of the night, scoring his second goal of the year on a spinning shot under two minutes later. Baker and Ghafari tied for the lead in points on the night, each with two. Chaffee's goal on the power play gave the Thunder a 4-1 lead on a rebound in front of the net. The special teams helped the Thunder to a win, going 2-3 on the power play and killing three of four on the night.

The scoreboard was uneventful through one period, but the Thunder turned on the heat in the second. They recorded 22 shots in the period and were able to get the equalizer. Jake Slaker (St. Lawrence University) broke into the zone and caught a pass from Alec Mehr for a one-on-one with the goaltender Stefanos Lekkas (University of Vermont). Slaker netted the first goal for the Thunder and his first of the year at the halfway point of the game. Matt Foley (Yale University) also scored his first USHL point, an assist on the play.

Coach Williams discussed the second period as a turning point saying, "As we came out in the second it was night and day. We threw 22 shots on net. We were skating, we had good chances, we were just buzzing in the offensive zone."

An even first period saw just one goal to break the scoreless tie. Josh Passolt scored on a shot that bounced up and into the Thunder net at 13:34 of the first. The Stampede would be held off the board until the third. The team leader Parker Tuomie (Minnesota State University-Mankato) notched his seventh goal of the season to make it 4-2 and begin a comeback for Sioux Falls.

Bloomington's Blake Gober would be called for kneeing and ejected from the game, resulting in a five-minute power play for the herd. Lawton Courtnall scored a power play goal on the ensuing man advantage. However, his goal did not come until the final minute of the power play. Then Logan Lambdin was called for high sticking with 2:14 left in the game, but the Thunder kill stood strong to hold on for the win.

"We decided to make it fun at the end of the game," mentioned Coach Williams with a smirk. "We end up without two of our best penalty killers in that time. But a good kill up until they scored their goal. We killed off four minutes without a shot and I think the only shot they had (on that power play) was the goal."

Despite his first loss of the year, Lekkas made 35 saves on 39 Thunder shots. At the other end of the rink, Hayden Lavigne (University of Michigan) made 24 saves in his fourth win of the season.

Bloomington heads to Madison to take on the Capitols in the FastHockey game of the week. Catch the game for free on FastHockey.com. Puck drop between the two sophomore organizations is 7 p.m. The game will also be available on the Thunder's broadcasting network, WJBC.com starting at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show.

NEXT HOME GAME: Friday, October 23rd - 7 p.m. - Bloomington hosts the Sioux Falls Stampede to wrap up a three game home stand. Draft beer and soft drinks will be on sale from 6-7 p.m. The night is presented by McLean County Orthopedics. Tickets can be purchased without service fees by going to the Thunder Box Office at the corner of Front St. and Madison St. For more information please contact the Thunder office at (309) 434-2980.

Season and Partial Ticket Plans: The 2015-16 season has begun, but we can still reserve your seat for every Bloomington Thunder game at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. You'll have a chance to win a pair of Chicago Blackhawks regular season tickets during the season along with other great promotions if you get season tickets.

Can't make it to every game? Check out 20 and 10-game ticket plans starting at only $100. Make it a voucher pack and get all the same benefits with more flexibility.

Check out our ticket pricing and reserve your tickets by calling (309) 434-2980.




Images from this story

Bloomington Thunder Celebrate a Goal
Bloomington Thunder Celebrate a Goal
(Nikki D Photography)		   

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