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Blaze Win Second Straight Behind Nikiforov Hat Trick

December 1, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


BLOOMINGTON - The Bloomington Blaze, presented by Mid-Illini Credit Union, led by a hat trick from one of their newcomers, defeated the Turner Conference-leading Evansville IceMen 6-2 on Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. The win was the second straight for the Blaze, with both victories coming over division leaders.

Bloomington broke open the scoring on the first shift of the game, when Jon Booras scored at close range just 34 seconds into the game, assisted by Vladimir Nikiforov and Ryan Palmer. The IceMen evened the game just 3:08 into the opening period on a rebound tally from Philippe Plante. The Blaze regained the lead in the period's final minute when Brodie Sheahan put back his own rebound next to the right post to give the Blaze a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

The Blaze extended the lead with a second-period hat trick from Vladimir Nikiforov, who took advantage of turnovers for unassisted goals 1:44 and 4:17 into the period and capped the hat trick on a power play goal assisted by Mark Znutas at 13:53 of the second frame. Evansville finally broke the four-goal Blaze streak after Mario Boillard redirected a slap shot with 46.6 seconds remaining in the period to send the teams into the second intermission with the Blaze leading 5-2.

Bloomington made it a half-dozen scores on the night when Luke Popko took a feed in the slot from Matt Whitehead, who had grabbed a long pass from Omar Pacha.

The Blaze improve to 3-10-2, while the IceMen fall to 9-4-1. Zane Kalemba took the win in goal with 23 saves. The Blaze outshot the IceMen 39-25. Nikiforov's hat trick was the first for a Bloomington squad since December 22, 2010, when Brett Holmberg scored three times against the Mississipi RiverKings.

After the contest, veteran Blaze goaltender Marco Emond announced his retirement. Emond, 34, is a native of Quebec, and was in his 14th professional season and second campaign in Bloomington. The Blaze also waived forward Mike Zbriger before the game. Zbriger registered three goals and three assists for six points with a minus-six rating in 14 games.

The Blaze are headed to Tulsa to face the Oilers on Friday night at 7:35, followed by their first trip of the season to the new Ford Center to rematch with the Evansville IceMen at 5 p.m. Fans are invited to watch the game at Gill Street Sports Bar and Restaurant, 3002 Gill Street in Bloomington.

The Blaze return home next Friday, December 9 to face the Fort Wayne Komets and Saturday, December 10 to battle the Tulsa Oilers. Tickets and more information are available by calling the Blaze office at 309-434-2980.



Central Hockey League Stories from December 1, 2011


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