Bloomington Thunder Weekly
October 29, 2013 - SPHL (SPHL)
Bloomington Thunder News Release
The Bloomington Thunder leave the state for the first time this weekend as they plan for a pair of games in Fayetteville, N.C. at 6:05 p.m. Central at the Crown Coliseum.
The Thunder and the Fayetteville FireAntz are both 0-2-0 after the opening weekend of play. The Thunder dropped both matches with the Peoria Rivermen, losing 5-1 in Bloomington in Friday's opener and falling 7-6 in a heartbreaker in Peoria on Saturday with the game-winner hitting the net with only 3.6 seconds remaining in regulation. The FireAntz dropped both games at home to the Huntsville Havoc by scores of 4-2 and 7-0.
Scratching the FireAntz: Bobby Reed and Zach Carriveau scored the only two goals for Fayetteville in the opening weekend. Former Bloomington goalie Dan Dunn worked between the pipes for most of the weekend and took both losses with an .837 save percentage. The FireAntz finished the 2012-13 regular season tied for first in the SPHL with 73 points (35-18-3) and recorded the most wins in the league, but were swept by Huntsville in two overtime games in the first round of the playoffs. The FireAntz begin their season with six straight home games.
Rising Thunder: The hockey world took note of the strength of the Thunder roster even before the season's first face-off as two players were already called up prior to opening night. Goalie Max Strang was sent to the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL on Thursday followed by goalie Garrett Bartus being called up to the Evansville IceMen of the ECHL on Friday.
Red light district: Thunder forward Dan Barczuk is one of only three SPHL skaters to score three goals in the opening pair of games last weekend, placing him tied for third behind Pensacola's Joe Caveney and Garrett Vermeersch of Peoria, who each lit the lamp four times. Barczuk is tied with Ron Cramer for the Thunder scoring lead with three points as Cramer collected a goal and two assists in the opening contests.
Sin bin din: Thunder forward Matt Puntereri is tied for third in SPHL penalty minutes (17) with former Bloomington skater Brandon Richardson of Fayetteville. The Thunder's Dan Barczuk and Dennis Sicard are tied for fifth with 14 PIMs.
Isn't that special: The Thunder are 2-7 on the power play for a 28.6 percent conversion rate good for fifth in the SPHL. However, the Thunder penalty kill has surrendered six goals, most in the league, for a kill rate of 60 percent, ninth in the 10-team circuit. The Thunder put the Rivermen on the power play 15 times last weekend, most in the SPHL.
Thunder chasing: The Thunder return to Bloomington next Friday and Saturday, November 8 and 9, to start a four-game homestand beginning with a pair of games with the Columbus Cottonmouths. Thunder fans are invited to watch all road games at Six Strings at 525 N. Center St. in downtown Bloomington. All Thunder games can be heard on WJBC.com and on pay-per-view video through America One with links to both found on the homepage of www.bloomingtonthunder.com. Pre-game for both contests this weekend is at 5:45 p.m.
Juniors return home: The Bloomington Junior Blaze (2-4-0) resume Midwest Junior Hockey League play with three games this weekend at U.S. Cellular Coliseum against the Traverse City Hounds (8-1-0). Game times are Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m.
For more information on the Thunder, including group and multi-game discounts, call 309-434-2980 or visit www.bloomingtonthunder.com, Facebook and Twitter (BLMThunder).
• Discuss this story on the SPHL message board...
SPHL Stories from October 29, 2013
- Bloomington Thunder Weekly - Bloomington Thunder
- Pensacola's Mitchell Good Named Easton Player of the Week - SPHL
- Ice Bears Owner John Axford Dies at 78 - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Former Captain Whitfield Voted into Rivermen Hall of Fame - Peoria Rivermen
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.
