Blaze Ride Tough Third Period to First Road Win

Published on December 20, 2011 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


MOLINE, Illinois - The Bloomington Blaze, presented by Mid-Illini Credit Union, scored their first road win of the season with a hard-fought 4-2 win over the Quad City Mallards at iWireless Center on Tuesday night.

The teams traded goals within a minute in the middle stages of the first period to open the scoring. Omar Pacha scored his first goal on a rebound tally with 11:20 left in the frame, assisted by Chris Chambers and Kyle Laughlin, but John Snowden tied the game 58 seconds from the slot to even the game 1-1 after one period.

The Blaze were handed their first power play of the game with just over a minute gone, and scored five seconds later on a Mark Znutas drive from the slot assisted by Luke Popko. Again, the Mallards answered quickly, with Jared Brown tallying just 2:01 later to tie the game at 2-2.

Bloomington broke the tie with 7:38 remaining when Aaron Dawson powered a shot from the left point, assisted by Jerry Pollastrone and Brodie Sheahan, on their second power play goal of the night. With just over three minutes remaining, the Blaze were placed at a 5-on-3 disadvantage, but successfully killed the penalties before Jon Booras sealed the win with an empty net goal with 36 seconds remaining. Pollastrone earned the assist on the final goal.

Zane Kalemba earned the win in net to improve to 6-7-1, making 29 saves. David Brown took the loss with 26 saves in his season debut with Mallards, after being reassigned earlier in the day from the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League. The Blaze improve to 7-15-2, while the Mallards fall to 13-10-1, suffering only their second loss in December.

The Blaze return home for a Friday night contest with the Tulsa Oilers, with the opening face-off scheduled for 7:05. Friday is another Pepsi Date Night, when fans can bring a Pepsi product to the U.S. Cellular Coliseum box office when buying a reserved seat ticket and receive a second ticket free. Also, with the purchase of any combo meal, the second of equal or lesser value is free. The Blaze feature several ticket packages and group rates, and more information is available by calling the Blaze office at 309-434-2980. Fans are also invited to like the Blaze on Facebook, follow on Twitter (BLMBlaze) and visit www.bloomingtonblaze.com.

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 20, 2011


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