Bloomington Thunder Weekly
November 26, 2013 - SPHL (SPHL)
Bloomington Thunder News Release
The Bloomington Thunder celebrate the Thanksgiving weekend with a home-and-home series with their neighborhood rival, including a return home for the first time in two weeks on Saturday before hitting the road for another two weeks.
Last time out: The Thunder dropped a pair of contests in Lafayette, La. last weekend, losing 4-2 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday to the Louisiana IceGators. Patrick Schafer led the Thunder in his first two games with the club with one goal and two assists. The Thunder scored first on Saturday, but their only lead of the weekend lasted just 4:14. The Thunder split the four-game series with the IceGators over the past two weeks with each team winning two games on their home ice.
We miss you: The Thunder have been away from home for two weeks and won't return for nearly two weeks after Saturday's contest. The Peoria Rivermen host the Thunder at 7:15 Friday night before the teams rematch at U.S. Cellular Coliseum on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Saturday is another Kids Eat Free Night sponsored by SERVPRO with kids 12 and under enjoying free hot dogs, corn dogs, nachos, fries and popcorn from the gate opening at 6 p.m. until the Thunder score their first goal. Mid-Illini Credit Union is giving ice scrapers to Thunder fans at Saturday's game.
Against the Rivs: The teams have not met since opening weekend on October 25 and 26 with the Rivermen taking both contests by scores of 5-1 in Peoria and 7-6 in Bloomington. For the Rivermen, Garrett Vermeersch has collected half of his season's 10 points against the Thunder on four goals and one assist with four points each coming against the Thunder from Nick Prockow (3 goals, 1 assist), Tyler Fernandez (2 goals, 2 assists) and Joe Schiller (4 assists). For the Thunder, Dan Barczuk (3 goals) and Ron Cramer (1 goal, 2 assists) each have three points against their rival.
Leading the way: The Rivermen have four double-digit scorers in Nick Prockow (5g, 7a), Tyler Fernandez (5g, 6a), Garrett Vermeersch (6g, 4a) and Parker Stanfield (3g, 7a). The Thunder are led with 11 points each from Dan Barczuk (5g, 6a) and Kevin Walrod (4g, 7a). Walrod is sixth in Southern Professional Hockey League rookie scoring. Tyler Noseworthy is third in team scoring with nine points (4g, 5a).
Roster shifts: The Thunder have signed center Patrick Schafer to a contract and brought on defenseman Brandon Hew for a three-game professional tryout. Schafer played eight games earlier this season in the SPHL with the Pensacola Ice Flyers, collecting one assist. He recorded one goal and two assists in his first two games with the Thunder last weekend. Hew did not register a point in two games last weekend. He played four seasons at Amherst College, scoring four goals and 18 assists for 22 points with 50 penalty minutes in 92 career games. The Thunder also this week released forward Darick Ste-Marie, who had registered two goals and four assists for six points in nine games this season.
Not-so-special teams: The Thunder are last in the SPHL in both the power play and penalty kill. Bloomington is 6-of-46 on the power play for 13 percent and has given up a league-leading 17 power play goals in 67 chances for a 74.6 percent kill rate. The Thunder lead the SPHL in penalty minutes (318) and minor penalties (84). Peoria has given up a league-leading four shorthanded goals, while their power play is fifth (12-73, 16.4 percent) and their kill is ninth (12-50, 76 percent).
Following the Thunder: Thunder games can be heard inside U.S. Cellular Coliseum on 93.7 FM and world-wide on WJBC.com and viewed on America One Sports. Links to the broadcasts are on the home page of www.bloomingtonthunder.com. All road games can be viewed at Six Strings, 524 N. Center St. in downtown Bloomington. The latest on the Thunder is also available by liking the team on Facebook and following on Twitter (BLMThunder). For information on the team including group and multi-game discounts, call 309-434-2980.
SPHL Stories from November 26, 2013
- Fernandez Gets the Call to Wheeling - Peoria Rivermen
- Bloomington Thunder Weekly - Bloomington Thunder
- Real Snow is Coming to Pensacola this Holiday Season - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Louisiana's Jeff Grant Named Easton Player of the Week - SPHL
- RiverKings Take Spark out of Surge - Mississippi RiverKings
- Rivermen Unveil New Year's Day Jerseys and Deals - Peoria Rivermen
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