Bloomington Thunder Weekly
Published on November 19, 2013 under SPHL (SPHL)
Bloomington Thunder News Release
Strang-ing things together: Max Strang is the Easton Player of the Week in the Southern Professional Hockey League after picking up both wins in goal over the league-leading Louisiana IceGators last weekend. Strang made 36 saves including seven in overtime in the Thunder's 3-2 triumph on Friday, then turned back 42 of 45 shots on Saturday in a 5-3 victory. During the weekend, the rookie from Gilbertsville, Pa. registered a 2.40 goals against average and a .940 save percentage.
Thunder rolls: The Thunder put together their first back-to-back wins on home ice over first-place Louisiana last weekend. The Thunder scored Friday's game-winner with 11.8 seconds remaining in overtime when Darick Ste-Marie stole the puck at center ice and scored on a breakaway after Thunder regulation goals from Tyler Noseworthy and Burke Gallimore. On Saturday, the Thunder surged from behind for a 5-3 win on goals from Kyle Watson, Dan Barczuk, Noseworthy and Gallimore followed by an empty-net score from Dennis Sicard.
Engineering some scoring: Barczuk leads the Thunder with five goals and 10 points, followed by nine points (3 goals, 6 assists) from Kevin Walrod. Both skaters share the team's best plus-minus rating of +5. Noseworthy (4 goals, 3 assists) and Travis Granbois (7 assists) are tied for third in team scoring with seven points.
Gator bait: Louisiana is led in scoring by Chris Wilson's 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) followed by 12 points each from Jason Cohen (6 goals, 6 assists) and Jake Trask (5 goals, 7 assists). Matt Robertson is the only other skater with double-digits scoring (6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points). Adam Stuart (2 goals, 1 assist) and Shawn McNeil (1 goal, 2 assists) collected three points each for the Gators in Bloomington while Dan Barczuk (1 goal, 2 assists) and Travis Granbois (3 assists) also rang up three points last weekend against the Gators.
Calling them up: Teams at the AA level have noticed the strength of the Thunder roster by calling up four players in the season's first month, more than any other SPHL team. The latest to see time at the AA level is right wing Nic Polaski, who was loaned to the Denver Cutthroats of the Central Hockey League on Monday. Polaski joins defenseman William Lacasse and goalies Max Strang and Garrett Bartus as Thunder players who have been called up this campaign.
Isn't that special: The Thunder did not give up a power play goal in eight chances last weekend, although they have given up a league-high 13 power play goals and are last on the penalty kill at 75 percent. The Thunder were 1-of-6 on the power play during the two games and their man-advantage conversion is 5-for-39 for 12.8 percent, ninth in the SPHL. The IceGators are 9-for-48 with the fourth-best power play at 18.8 percent and have the league's top penalty kill at 92.7 percent, giving up only three power play goals this season in 41 chances.
Helping Washington rebuild: The Thunder will be joining the Peoria Rivermen with efforts to help residents of Washington and Pekin rebuild after about 1,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in Sunday's tornado. Friday, December 20 has been designated "Central Illinois Strong Night" when the Rivermen host the Thunder at Carver Arena. Special jerseys will be worn by the Rivermen that night and auctioned after the game with all proceeds going to the local American Red Cross efforts to help area residents affected by the devastating storm. Both teams' players and staff are planning to assist with clean-up of the storm's aftermath.
Junior honors: The Bloomington Junior Blaze won two of the three home games last weekend over the Michigan Ice Dogs, winning 10-4 and 4-0 before dropping Sunday's finale 6-4. The weekend accomplishments earned Midwest Junior Hockey League weekly honors for Dylan Farmer as Player of the Week and Steven Smoltz as Defenseman of the Week. Farmer recorded nine points in the three games (6 goals, 3 assists) while Smoltz repeated as the league's top blueliner of the week with a 13-point weekend (5 goals, 8 assists). Smoltz leads MWJHL defensemen in scoring with 27 points and is sixth overall. The Junior Blaze travel to suburban Detroit to take on the Berkley Bruins on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Information on the juniors can be found at www.bloomingtonblazejr.com.
Tracking the Thunder: Fans are invited to watch all road games at Six Strings, 524 N. Center St. in downtown Bloomington. Face-off time is 7:05 p.m. from the Cajundome in Lafayette, La. on Friday and Saturday. The Thunder then travel to Peoria on Friday, November 29 and are next at home on Saturday, November 30 against the Peoria Rivermen. Thunder games can be heard for free on WJBC.com and viewed via subscription on America One Sports with links to the online broadcasts on the home page of www.bloomingtonthunder.com. Games can also be heard inside U.S. Cellular Coliseum on 93.7 FM.
Group and multi-game discount packages are available by calling 309-434-2980 with team information available by liking the Thunder on Facebook, following on Twitter (BLMThunder) or visiting the team web site at www.bloomingtonthunder.com.
SPHL Stories from November 19, 2013
- RiverKings and Boy Scouts Partner for Fundraiser - Mississippi RiverKings
- Ice Flyers Announce Fifth Anniversary Logo, Jersey, and Festivities - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Bloomington Thunder Weekly - Bloomington Thunder
- Thunder Netminder Max Strang Named Easton Player of the Week - SPHL
- Rivermen Reshape Injury-Riddled Roster - Peoria Rivermen
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