Blaze Drop Third Straight to Sundogs

Published on January 4, 2013 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


BLOOMINGTON - The Bloomington Blaze, fueled by Mid-Illini Credit Union, could not overcome another early deficit and lost 4-1 to the Arizona Sundogs on Friday night at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The Sundogs scored first for the third straight game as Jake Hauswirth converted from the doorstep at the right post on assists from Derek LeBlanc and Mike Glaicar. Arizona made it 2-0 just 1:09 later on a Jason Morgan goal from nearly the same spot on assists by Cody Purves and Ron Meyers. The guests took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission when LeBlanc scored at the end of a power play from the bottom of the right circle with 1:31 left on assists from Chad Nehring and Matt McCready.

Arizona increased the lead to 4-0 with 2:40 left in the second period on a rebound goal by Jeff Kyrzakos off assists from Nehring and Matt Tassone.

The Blaze finally got on the board just 21 seconds into the third period on a 5-on-3 power play when Jon Booras collected a rebound of a Jesse Dudas shot off the back wall and poked the puck inside the right post, with the second assist given to Nicklas Lindberg. Tyler Gron connected from close range at the left post with 52.5 seconds left on a power play on assists from Dudas and Booras.

Dan Dunn took the loss with 16 saves while Adam Russo earned the win with 39 stops. The Blaze were 2-for-7 on the power play while the Sundogs were 1-for-5.

The Blaze match up with the Sundogs a final time on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum for the annual Guns and Hoses Night. Local police and firefighters play their annual game at 3 p.m. with admission included in the Blaze ticket. The Blaze will wear special Guns and Hoses jerseys to be auctioned after the game with all proceeds going to Special Olympics Illinois. THe Blaze will next be in action at U.S. Cellular Coliseum on Thursday, January 10 and Friday, January 11 at 7:05 p.m. against the Quad City Mallards before a trip to Tulsa on Saturday, January 12. For game day and single-game tickets, call or stop by the U.S. Cellular Coliseum box office at 309-434-2679. Information on the Blaze is available at 309-TC SPORT (827-7678), www.bloomingtonblaze.com, Facebook and Twitter (BLMBlaze).

Junior Blaze sweep: The Junior Blaze earned a weekend two-game sweep of the NWO Grrrowl with a 7-3 win on Friday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. The Junior Blaze set the tone early with a goal just 17 seconds into the game and led 3-0 with only 2:41 elapsed. Matt Donley recorded a hat trick plus three assists while Joe Clemente registered a five-point game with two goals and three assists. Steven Smoltz also recorded a goal and three assists. Will Rohleder earned the win in goal with 22 saves. The Junior Blaze are next in action for three games in Michigan next weekend with a game against Tennyson Chevrolet on Friday and the Great Lakes Lightning on Saturday and Sunday.

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Central Hockey League Stories from January 4, 2013


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