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Blaze Weekly; Gilbert Named Player of the Week

November 5, 2012 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


The Bloomington Blaze, fueled by Mid-Illini Credit Union, sit in second place just two points behind the leader as they continue a road swing after taking two of three games last weekend, with the weekend's leading scorer earning top player honors for the week.

Last week :

Friday, November 2- @Bloomington Blaze 5, Quad City Mallards 4

Saturday, November 3- Bloomington Blaze 6, @Quad City Mallards 3

Sunday, November 4- @Quad City Mallards 6, Bloomington Blaze 4

This week:

Friday, November 9, 7:05 p.m.- Blaze at Missouri Mavericks, Independence Event Center

Saturday, November 10, 7:05 p.m.- Blaze at Missouri Mavericks, Independence Event Center

Next home game:

Tuesday, November 13, 7:05 p.m.- Blaze vs. Allen Americans, U.S. Cellular Coliseum

Quad running: The Blaze took two out of three hard-fought battles with the Quad City Mallards during the past weekend. In Friday's 5-4 win at home, the Blaze trailed 2-0 after a period but scored three times in the second, but the Mallards then tied the game twice more, sending action to overtime with an extra-attacker goal with 1:22 left. Steve Makway kept the Blaze alive in the shootout in the fifth round, and Sebastien Trudeau earned the game-winning goal with his tally in the 11th round. On Saturday, the Blaze won their fifth straight game in their first road contest, a 6-3 decision in Moline behind a hat trick from David Gilbert. On Sunday, the Blaze lost for the first time since opening night after the Mallards overcame a 2-1 deficit with four goals in the final period for a 6-4 win.

Gilbert nabs player of week: David Gilbert registered a break-out weekend with 8 points (4g, 4a) in the three games against Quad City, earning him the latest Oakley Central Hockey League Player of the Week nod. Included in the total is a hat trick in Saturday night's win at Moline and a 4-point night (1g, 3a) in Friday's home victory. The Chateaugay, Quebec native and Blackhawks prospect moved into second in team scoring with 11 points (4g, 7a). He is riding a four-game point streak with all but one of his points coming during that period.

The tall, dark stranger there : The Missouri Mavericks host the Blaze in a pair of weekend matchups in suburban Kansas City. The Blaze defeated the Mavericks 7-5 in the squads' only exhibition game on October 12 in Bloomington. The Mavericks (2-3-2) have dropped three straight games, all to Wichita last weekend although Sunday's game was a 4-3 overtime decision. Sebastien Thinel leads the Mavericks with 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) while Kellen Tochkin has scored a team-leading four goals. The Blaze return home on Tuesday, November 13 to face the league-leading Allen Americans in what could be a matchup of the top two teams in the early Central Hockey League race.

Lighting the lamp: A Bloomington sweater apparently increases goal production from defenseman Jesse Dudas. He is the team's top goal scorer, lighting the lamp six times which is already a single-season career high, including juniors. Dudas' previous top scoring season was 2009-10 when he registered four goals in just 17 games with Bloomington's previous team.

Tip your hat: David Gilbert registered a break-out weekend with 8 points (4g, 4a) in the three games against Quad City. Included in the total is a hat trick in Saturday night's win at Moline and a 4-point night (1g, 3a) in Friday's home victory. The Chateaugay, Quebec native and Blackhawks prospect moved into second in team scoring with 11 points (4g, 7a). He is riding a four-game point streak with all but one of his points coming during that period.

Blaze anatomy: Before last weekend's contests, the Blaze placed forward Charlie Townsend on the 7-day injured reserve list and moved defenseman Tysen Dowzak to the 14-day IR.

Junior Blaze update : The Junior Blaze fell to 7-4-0 after dropping a pair of weekend games on home ice to the top team in the Midwest Junior Hockey League, the Hartland Hounds. Kyler Schmor scored the only two Bloomington goals in Friday's 8-2 loss, and the Hounds improved to 18-0-0 with a 3-0 victory on Sunday. The Junior Blaze take this weekend off before visiting Holland, Michigan for three games Nov. 16-18.

Following the Blaze : All Blaze games can be heard on WJBC.com and fans inside U.S. Cellular Coliseum can listen to the WJBC broadcast on 93.7 FM. Fans are invited to watch all Blaze road games at Gill Street Sports Bar and Restaurant, 3002 Gill St. west of Airport Road in Bloomington. Like the Blaze on Facebook and follow the team on Twitter (BLMBlaze), and remember to check in during games for special social media prizes. Team information can be found at www.bloomingtonblaze.com . Season, group, and multi-game ticket packages are available by calling the Blaze office at 309-434-2980.

Return of the Pass: To celebrate the Blaze's hot start and due to popular demand before the holidays, the Blaze are bringing back the season Blaze Pass offer for one week only. For $99, a Blaze Pass book contains vouchers for each of the remaining 28 home games. Blaze Passes are only available through 3 p.m. Friday, November 9 by calling 309-434-2980.



Central Hockey League Stories from November 5, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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