Blaze Tie Late, Fall in Shootout to IceMen

February 7, 2012 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


BLOOMINGTON - The Bloomington Blaze, presented by Mid-Illini Credit Union, tied the game in the final seconds but suffered their second shootout loss in a row with a 5-4 decision to the Evansville IceMen at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The Blaze started the scoring with 9:30 left in the first period when Travis Granbois deflected a Craig Cescon drive from the left point, with the second assist given to Brandon Richardson.

Bloomington added to the lead with 16:09 left in the second period when Vladimir Nikiforov raced down the right wing and blasted a drive inside the left post for his 14th goal of the season and sixth against Evansville. Doug Krantz and Omar Pacha assisted. Offenses swung into a higher gear, as the IceMen finally broke onto the scoreboard with 8:47 left in the middle frame when Josh Beaulieu scored on a second rebound. Evansville collected the tying goal on another rebound with 6:24 left from Matt Pierce. Just over a minute later with 5:22 left in the second, Omar Pacha recorded his fifth goal of the season, an unassisted tally on a slap shot from the left point. Then, just 1:07 later, Brian Bicek scored from close range inside the right post on the glove side to bring the IceMen even again at 3-3.

Evansville took its first lead just 1:52 into the third period when Malcolm Gwilliam trickled a short rebound in at the right post. The Blaze used the extra-attacker for heroics in the final seconds of regulation, tying the game with 11.4 seconds remaining on a deflection by Luke Popko, assisted by Jason Dale and Vladimir Nikiforov, to send the game to overtime.

After a scoreless overtime, Evansville's Todd Robinson and Brian Bicek scored, while the Blaze came up empty in four tries.

Both teams failed to covert on the power play, with the Blaze handed five chances and Evansville three man-advantages. The Blaze outshot the IceMen 46-30. Brian Mahoney-Wilson took the loss in goal to fall to 2-4-0, while Evansville netminder Bryan Gillis improved to 18-4-1. The IceMen broke a three-game losing streak to move into a first-place tie in the Turner Conference with the idle Fort Wayne Komets with a record of 26-12-4. The Blaze fall to 15-24-4.

The Blaze continue their busy week with the only road game of the period on Thursday night, a 6 p.m. face-off at Hara Arena in Dayton. The Blaze return home on Friday for an activity-filled night at U.S. Cellular Coliseum, as the first 1,200 fans receive a Blaze cap compliments of Carpets Plus Color Tile, and the Blaze will wear special jerseys commemmorating the Central Hockey League's 20th anniversary season that will be auctioned after the game. Friday is also a Pepsi Date Night, when fans who bring a Pepsi product to the box office when buying a reserved seat get a second ticket free, and combo meals are two for one.

More information on the Blaze can be found at www.bloomingtonblaze.com, on Facebook and Twitter (BLMBlaze) or by calling 309-434-2980.



Central Hockey League Stories from February 7, 2012


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