Bloomington Blaze Weekly

December 12, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


THIS WEEK'S GAMES:

Friday, December 16, 7:05 p.m.- vs. Dayton Gems, U.S. Cellular Coliseum

Saturday, December 17, 7:05 p.m.- vs. Dayton Gems, U.S. Cellular Coliseum

Sunday, December 18, 3 p.m. Central- at Dayton Gems, Hara Arena

The Bloomington Blaze, presented by Mid-Illini Credit Union, play three games in three days for the second straight weekend, all against Turner Conference rival Dayton. The Gems (8-9-4, 6th Turner Conference) won the last meeting 6-2 on November 25, the last Blaze home loss, in a game that contained a combined 133 penalty minutes. The Blaze are 1-3-0 against the Gems, with the lone win coming on opening night in Bloomington 5-4 in overtime. Friday is another Pepsi Date Night; bring a Pepsi product to the U.S. Cellular Coliseum box office to buy a reserved seat ticket and a second ticket is free, and with the purchase of any combo meal, the second of equal or lesser value is free. Call the Blaze office for tickets and information on group and multi-game packages at 309-434-2980.

LAST TIME OUT: The Blaze (5-13-2, 7th Turner Conference) are coming off four straight home wins, including a 3-1 victory on Friday over the Fort Wayne Komets and a 4-2 Saturday triumph over the Tulsa Oilers. In both cases, the Blaze gained revenge for previous road losses. In Friday's win, the Blaze scored first with a Luke Popko tally midway through the opening period, then broke a 1-1 with about five minutes left in regulation with goals by Vladimir Nikiforov and Jon Booras only 27 seconds apart. On Saturday, Chris Chambers scored his first Blaze goal just 2:13 into the game, and Jon Booras added two second-period tallies, including the game-winner, plus an assist and Jason Dale sealed the win with an empty net goal. Zane Kalemba picked up the wins in goal both nights, making 35 saves on Friday and 28 saves on Saturday. Sunday broke the two-game winning streak in a hard-fought affair at the Ford Center in Evansville, as the IceMen collected a 2-1 victory. Vladimir Nikiforov scored the only Bloomington goal to tie the game in the first period, but the IceMen scored the game-winner on a Matt Pierce goal at 5:26 of the third period.

PERSONNEL MOVES: The Blaze on Saturday signed goaltender Mark Sibbald, who earned Goaltender of the Year honors last season in the Southern Professional Hockey League. The Ridgeway, Ontario native is in his third professional season, with all but 12 games spent with the Huntsville Havoc. In ten games this season with Huntsville, he was 4-4-2 with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. Goalie Rob Mattison was waived; he did not see action in three games on the Bloomington roster.

FLICKERS: Jon Booras has surged into the lead offensively for the Blaze, as he now holds team highs in goals (9) and points (22); Brodie Sheahan has the most Blaze assists with 15...Booras and Vladimir Nikiforov were the hottest flames for the Blaze in the weekend's action, each scoring five points, Booras with three goals and two assists and Vladi with two tallies and three helpers...Zane Kalemba has the most saves in a single game in the CHL so far this season with 52...the Blaze are now 4-0-1 when leading after two periods...Aaron Dawson is tied for fifth in the CHL for most goals by a defenseman (5)...Mark Znutas is tied for fifth in scoring among defensemen, and his 14 points puts him tied for eighth in scoring among CHL rookies; he is tied for fourth among rookies in assists with 11...Craig Cescon leads the Blaze with 56 penalty minutes...the Blaze have scored first in eight of the previous 20 games.

NIKI-FIVE-OV: Right wing Vladimir Nikiforov was named the CHL Oakley Player of the Week last week after registering five goals and an assist in the week's three games, including a hat trick in last Thursday's second period against Evansville. He has scored a point in six of his seven games with the Blaze, and has burned the brightest on the team in that time with 12 points (seven goals, five assists) and a plus-four rating. Nikiforov is in his fourth professional season, and most of his pro career has been spent in the ECHL.

BLAZIN' THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Blaze players are making several stops throughout the community this week. Players are visiting Meatheads, 701 N. Main St., Normal from 5 p.m. till 7 p.m. for Meatheads Monday. Players and mascot Scorch are also visiting Olympia West Elementary School in Stanford at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, and players and Scorch are visiting the Peers in Action special needs class at Normal West High School on Thursday afternoon.



Central Hockey League Stories from December 12, 2011


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