Blaze Drop Home Finale to Gems

Published on March 17, 2012 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


BLOOMINGTON - The Bloomington Blaze, presented by Mid-Illini Credit Union, concluded the home portion of their inaugural season by giving up five goals in the second period to fall 6-1 to the Dayton Gems on Saturday night at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The Gems struck first on a power play rebound goal by Damien Surma with assists to Nick Fanto and Jonathan Ornelas with 2:22 left in the opening period.

Dayton poured five goals past Blaze goaltender Zane Kalemba in the second period. Surma scored again on a power play 5:49 after the intermission assisted by Matthew Larke and Brett Lutes, and the Gems' Matt Baxter tacked on an unassisted goal just 54 seconds later with a slap shot from the left point. The Blaze broke onto the board at 7:50 into the middle chapter with Vladimir Nikiforov's 21st goal of the season, assisted by Kyle Laughlin and Jon Booras, to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Gems made it 4-1 on a two-on-one breakaway at 9:32 with a Tim Hartung goal from the right side on a pass from Brandon Naurato. The second period onslaught continued with another Gems power play goal by Jonathan Ornelas with a wrister from the right circle, assisted by Nick Fanto and Kyle Bochek, to put Dayton ahead 5-1 with 2:15 left in the frame, and with only 44.8 seconds left, the Gems made it 6-1 with Brandon Naurato's top shelf goal from the right circle, assisted by Nick Schneider and Tim Hartung.

Each team put 41 shots on net. Larry Sterling earned the win for the Gems to improve to 10-12-5. Both teams were given four power plays, and the Gems scored on three of theirs while the Blaze came up empty. The Gems moved into sixth place with the win, breaking their tie with the Blaze. Bloomington finished 14-16-3 on U.S. Cellular Coliseum ice. Saturday's crowd of 4,810 was the Blaze's largest of the season.

Blaze end-of-season player awards were presented before the opening face-off, featuring Jon Booras voted as Most Valuable Player. Zane Kalemba was named Most Improved Player, Vladimir Nikiforov earned Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year honors were given to Ryan Palmer, Jason Dale was named Favorite Player and Travis Granbois was tabbed as the Player's Player. The awards were determined by voting by fans, players and front-office staff.

The Blaze conclude the season this week with four games on the road. The final week's schedule includes games on Monday and Tuesday nights at 7:35 p.m. Central at Rapid City, a 7:05 p.m. face-off on Friday at the Missouri Mavericks and the season finale in Moline at 7:05 p.m. Saturday against the Quad City Mallards. All Blaze games can be followed live on WJBC.com and CHL-TV, and fans are invited to watch road games at Gill Street Sports Bar and Restaurant, 3002 Gill Street in Bloomington.

Season ticket information for the 2012-2013 campaign is available by calling the Blaze office at 309-434-2980. Complete information on the Blaze can also be found at www.bloomingtonblaze.com, Facebook and Twitter (BLMBlaze).

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2012


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