Bloomington Thunder Weekly
March 11, 2014 - SPHL (SPHL)
Bloomington Thunder News Release
The Bloomington Thunder return home to finish the regular season in Central Illinois with five of the six remaining games on home ice.
Holding on: With six games remaining, the Thunder (18-30-2, 10th) are nine points out of the only playoff spot left in the Southern Professional Hockey League's President's Cup chase, which is currently held by the Mississippi Surge. Since the Surge hold the tiebreaker, the Thunder's elimination number is three, any combination of points missed by the Thunder and earned by the Surge.
Havoc head-to-head: The Thunder host the Huntsville Havoc this weekend for the first time after dropping all three games in Alabama earlier this month. The squads most recently met on February 28 in a 4-2 Havoc win. Mike Henderson scored both Thunder goals that night in his debut with the team, and he leads the Thunder in goals against the Havoc while Eddie Olczyk, Travis Granbois and Nic Polaski also each have two points against Huntsville. Nick Lazorko has three goals and two assists for five points to pack the Havoc against the Thunder, followed by Justin Cseter and Leland Fidler each with three points. The Havoc have five skaters who have registered at least 40 points, led by Lazorko with 46 (29 goals, 17 assists) followed by Mike Gurtler (15g, 29a, 44 points), Stuart Stefan (18g, 24a, 42p), Josh Harris (18g, 23a, 41p) and Cseter (8g, 32a, 40p). Granbois leads the Thunder with 40 points (12g, 28a).
Last time out: The Thunder could not light the lamp in either game in Western Georgia last weekend, suffering their eighth and ninth shutout losses by scores of 2-0 and 4-0. The Thunder played without defenseman Paul Arnott with an upper body injury suffered the previous week, and right wing Kory Kaunisto, who missed both weekend games due to an injury suffered from a major boarding penalty in last Tuesday's game against Peoria. The Thunder finished the season series with a 1-5-0 record against the Cottonmouths with four of the losses coming on shutouts. The Snakes' Saturday win clinched the seventh playoff berth, leaving one spot still to be claimed.
Meet the Thunder: Thunder players will meet with fans at Winner's Bar and Grill on South Main Street just a few blocks south of U.S. Cellular Coliseum on Wednesday from 5 till 7 p.m. with domestic bottles just $1.50.
Big weekend: Specials are featured with all three games this weekend against the Huntsville Havoc. Friday's 7:05 p.m. face-off is on Pepsi Date Night in which two lower end tickets are available for only $20 when bringing a Pepsi product to the U.S. Cellular Coliseum box office. Saturday's 7:05 p.m. game is a Kids Eat Free Night presented by SERVPRO where kids 12 and under eat free hot dogs, corn dogs, popcorn, nachos and fries until the first Thunder goal. Saturday is also the Thunder's St. Patrick's Day celebration with special jerseys worn by the team and auctioned immediately after the game. Sunday's 3:05 p.m. contest is a Kids Day with admission just $5 for kids 12 and under plus $3 kids meals, followed by a post-game skate for all ages with the players and $2 skate rental available from the Pepsi Ice Center.
The Thunder visit Peoria next Tuesday, March 18 for the final road game followed by the regular season finales against the Pensacola Ice Flyers on Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. Games can be heard inside U.S. Cellular Coliseum on 93.7 FM on online at WJBC.com and America One subscription video. Links to the broadcasts are on the team web site. For group discounts, contact the Thunder office at 309-434-2980, and for single-game and individual tickets, visit or call the U.S. Cellular Coliseum box office at 309-434-2679. The latest Thunder information can be found on Facebook, Twitter (BLMThunder) and www.bloomingtonthunder.com.
SPHL Stories from March 11, 2014
- Harrington's Late Goal Lifts RiverKings - Mississippi RiverKings
- Columbus' Andrew Loewen Named Easton Player of the Week - SPHL
- Bloomington Thunder Weekly - Bloomington Thunder
- Ice Flyers Set SPHL Consecutive Point Streak Record - Pensacola Ice Flyers
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