Bloomington Blaze Weekly

Published on December 3, 2012 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


The Bloomington Blaze, fueled by Mid-Illini Credit Union, return home for a weekday contest before heading back to Oklahoma for a Saturday game. The Blaze remain in third place in the Central Hockey League standings with 23 points, one behind Wichita and four behind first-place Allen.

Last week:

Wednesday, Nov. 28--@Denver Cutthroats 5, Blaze 1

Friday, Nov. 30-Blaze 4, @Rapid City Rush 0

Saturday, Dec. 1-@Rapid City Rush 5, Blaze 3

This week:

Thursday, Dec. 6, 7:05 p.m.-Missouri Mavericks at Bloomington Blaze, U.S. Cellular Coliseum

Saturday, Dec. 8, 7:35 p.m.-Blaze at Tulsa Oilers, BOK Center

Gilbert scores "zhoals": David Gilbert (pronounced "zhill-BARE") led the Blaze with three goals during the week, pushing him into the team goal-scoring lead with 11 tallies. The Blackhawks product is third on the team in scoring (11g, 10a, 21 points) behind Jon Booras and Nicklas Lindberg.

Plugged in: The Blaze ended a drought of 14 consecutive power plays without a goal on Friday night at Rapid City, when Jared Walker scored his first professional lamp-lighter just 11 seconds into the Blaze's first man-advantage of the night. After scoring a power play goal in 10 of their first 12 games, the Blaze failed to convert in the next five games. The Blaze still own the second-best power play at 22.5 percent. Their 18 power play goal total is now third behind Allen and Wichita.

Jonny comes marching: Blaze forward Jon Booras now shares the CHL scoring lead with 27 points. His 20 assists leads the league.

Dudas doing it: Jesse Dudas continues to lead all Central Hockey League defensemen with 10 goals. Dudas is second in scoring among blueliners with 20 points.

Hey, rook: Tyler Gron leads all CHL rookies with 10 goals and has moved into a tie for the rookie scoring lead with 20 points. Sebastien Trudeau is tied for second among first-year players with 8 goals and is fourth in overall scoring with 14 points.

Blaze anatomy: Both Blaze goaltenders who began the season are now out with injuries. Pier-Olivier Pelletier has been out of the lineup since Nov. 10 with a lower-body injury. Dan Dunn entered the IR a week later and missed six games, but was knocked out of the game in his first contest back on Saturday by an illegal hit behind the net by Rapid City's Justin Sawyer. Dunn's status is not yet known. The league suspended Sawyer four games for the incident. The Blaze also placed forward Charlie Townsend on the 30-day IR.

Junior Blaze update: The Junior Blaze dropped three games on the road to the Soo Firehawks, losing 7-4 on Friday, 5-4 in overtime on Saturday and 4-3 on Sunday. Joseph Clemente led the Juniors with 3 goals and 3 assists. Matt Donley leads the Junior Blaze with 27 points (6g, 21a) followed by Cody Phillips with 26 points (7g, 19a). Jacob Lourash and Steven Smoltz share the team lead with 12 goals. The Junior Blaze take this week off before playing their next six games at home, beginning with contests against Tennyson Chevrolet next Friday, Dec. 14 and Sunday, Dec. 16.

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 309-827-7678.

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 3, 2012


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