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Blaze Score Three Straight to Slow Rush

January 28, 2012 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


BLOOMINGTON - The Bloomington Blaze, presented by Mid-Illini Credit Union, scored three unanswered goals and sealed a 4-2 win over the Rapid City Rush on Saturday night at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

For the second straight night, the Blaze gave up an extra-attacker goal on a delayed penalty when Shawn Limpright scored from the left wing with 1:59 remaining in the opening period to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at the first intermission.

The Blaze evened the game with 9:37 left in the second period when Mark Znutas scored off a rebound from the back wall, assisted by Jordy Trottier and Luke Popko.

Bloomington caught a good bounce to take a 2-1 lead with 14:16 left in the third period when Doug Krantz threw a loose puck toward the slot from the left wall and it bounced off the shoulder of a Rush defender into the net. Travis Granbois and Chris Ferazzoli picked up the assists. The Blaze extended the lead to 3-1 on Kyle Laughlin's drive from the left wing on a delayed penalty with an extra attacker with 9:15 left in regulation, with assists going to Jordy Trottier and Luke Popko. The Rush made the game even more interesting with 34.7 seconds remaining when Scott Wray took a pass at the doorstep and converted to cut the Blaze lead to 3-2, but when the Rush emptied their net on the ensuing face-off, Luke Popko converted with 17.8 seconds left into the empty cage for the final score.

The Blaze outshot the Rush 43-22, as Zane Kalemba improved to 12-12-1 in the Bloomington net. The Blaze improve to 15-23-2 while the Rush fall to 20-14-2. The crowd of 3,785 was the largest of the season at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The Blaze host the Rush in a rematch on Monday at 7:05 p.m. The game was moved a day later than originally scheduled due to Sunday's concert featuring Lady Antebellum at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. Fans who buy tickets to Monday's game may, at that time, buy the same number of tickets for the Tuesday, February 7 game against the Evansville IceMen for only $1 each. More information on the Blaze can be found at www.bloomingtonblaze.com, Facebook, Twitter (BLMBlaze) or by calling 309-434-2980.

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