Fury Finish Week 1-3-0-0, Hold On To Fourth
Published on April 7, 2008 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release
MUSKEGON - The Muskegon Fury pulled three points ahead of Kalamazoo for the final spot in the IHL playoffs on Wednesday, then watched that lead diminish to one point over the weekend, as the Fury finished the week 1-3-0-0.
Wednesday in Flint, Isaac Reichmuth made 41 saves in net and Cassidy Preston got his first game-winning goal of his career as the Fury won, 2-1.
The Fury headed in to the first intermission with a 1-0 lead thanks to a power play goal. In his first game back with the Fury, Jeff Nelson helped set up Robin Bouchard 13 minutes and 44 seconds into the game, giving the Fury the lead. Philippe Plante also assisted on the goal, Bouchard's 29th of the season.
Flint tied the score 1-1 early in the second period, when Josef Fojtik scored on the power play off an assist from goalie Eric Marvin 37 seconds into the period. The Fury were able to re-take the lead, when Preston put in a rebound of a Jay Hardwick shot 17:14 into the period, giving the Fury the 2-1 lead at the second intermission.
Friday in Port Huron, the Ice Hawks struck twice in 45 seconds in the third period and went 3-for-3 on the power play, dropping the Fury 5-3.
In the third period, Josh Aspenlind took advantage of a Fury turnover and beat Isaac Reichmuth unassisted 2 minutes and 3 seconds in to make it 4-3. The Ice Hawks went on the power play 42 seconds later, and scored 3 seconds later off the faceoff, when Jamie Lovell blasted a slap shot in from the left point to make it 5-3.
The Fury opened the scoring late in the first period on the 5-on-3 power play, when Robin Bouchard blasted a shot in from the right point. Jeff Nelson and Philippe Plante assisted on the goal. The goal gives Bouchard 12 seasons of 30-plus goals, while the assist gave Plante 300 career points.
In the second, the Ice Hawks scored three times in 7 minutes and 37 seconds to take a 3-1 lead. Kris Vernarsky scored on the power play at 2:07, then at 5:48 Tab Lardner made it 2-1 on a breakaway goal. Jamie Carroll added a power play goal at 9:41 to give the Ice Hawks a 3-1 lead. Mark Cadotte made it 3-2, tipping one past Larry Sterling at 13:48. The goal was Cadotte's 14th of the season. Billy Collins scored his 34th of the year at 18:24 thanks to a tough effort in the corner of the Ice Hawk zone by Collins and Justin Rohr. Rohr and Cassidy Preston assisted on the goal, which left the game tied 3-3 at the second intermission.
Saturday in Muskegon, Fort Wayne's Kevin Reiter made 22 saves to record his eighth shutout of the season as the Komets dropped the Muskegon Fury, 2-0.
Luciano Aquino scored 14 minutes and 6 seconds into the second period, then Justin Hodgman added an insurance goal 3:22 into the second for Fort Wayne.
Clayton Pool made 38 saves in net for the Fury, taking the loss. Muskegon went 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Komets were 0-for-6.
Sunday at Flint, the Fury missed out on an opportunity to tie Flint for third place in the International Hockey League, falling to the Generals 4-1.
After a scoreless first period, Flint lit the lamp three times in the second. Michel Beausoleil made it 1-0 early in the third period, then Jon DiPace made it 2-0 5 minutes and 5 seconds into the second period on the 4-on-4. Josef Fojtik scored on the breakaway with 1:28 left in the second, giving Flint a 3-0 lead at the second intermission.
Billy Collins scored his 35th goal of the season for the Fury, putting in the rebound of a Cassidy Preston shot 6:05 into the third period to make it 3-1, snapping a scoreless streak of over 120 minutes for the Fury. Flint came back with a power play goal from Jordan Fox with 7:40 left, putting the game on ice for the Generals.
Clayton Pool stopped 30 of the 34 shots he faced in net for Muskegon, taking the loss. Chad Alban stopped 28 shots to get the win for Flint.
The Fury fall to 34-34-3-2 on the season. Muskegon has 73 points and sits one point ahead of Kalamazoo for the final playoff spot in the IHL. Both teams have three games this week, with Muskegon holding the tiebreaker if the teams finish tied. Wednesday, the Fury play at Fort Wayne. Friday is the Fury's final home game of the season, as Muskegon takes on the Bloomington Prairie Thunder. Saturday, both teams return to Bloomington for the final game of the regular season for both franchises.
RIEDEL'S ROLL ENDS
With no points Wednesday, the 13-game point streak of Dan Riedel was snapped. The streak was the second-longest in the International Hockey League this season. Riedel's 27 goals, 22 assists and 49 points lead all Fury rookies.
BOUCHARD REACHES 30
The Fury's Robin Bouchard scored his 30th goal of the season on Friday during the Fury's loss to Port Huron. Bouchard has now scored at least 30 goals 12 times in his professional career.
SEGAL REACHES 100
Muskegon's David Segal played in his 100th career game Saturday at Flint. Segal in second in the IHL and leads the Fury with 262 penalty minutes this season.
PLANTE REACHES 300
Fury defenseman Philippe Plante scored his 300th career point Friday, assisting on Robin Bouchard's power play goal against the Port Huron Ice Hawks. Plante and Bouchard are tied for the team lead with 41 assists this season.
MILESTONE WATCH
Mark Cadotte is six assists away from 300 for his career and 11 goals shy of 200 for his career. David Herring needs three points for 50 in his career. Robin Bouchard needs five goals for 600 in his career.
UPCOMING EVENTS
On April 11, the Fury will have a pre-game awards ceremony and a post-game jersey drawing. The Turner Cup will also be on display during the entire game at Walker Arena. For information on any Fury event, call Kara Hillstead at (231) 726-3879 ext. 223. On Monday April 14th, the Fury will hold a jersey auction at Buffalo Wild Wings on Harvey St. near the Lakes Mall in Norton Shores. Muskegon will be auctioning off their white jerseys beginning at 7 p.m. Proceeds from the event benefit Every Woman's Place, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The event is sponsored by DTE Energy.
SEASON TICKET DEPOSITS
Deposits for season tickets are now being accepted for the 2008-09 season. For $50, you can reserve your seat. Full details on season ticket packages will be available in late April. For more information, call Kara Hillstead at (231) 726-3879 ext. 223.
FURY ON THE AIR
Muskegon Fury players Sheldon Wing and Rob Kwiet will join broadcaster Matt Tjapkes on the Fury Hotline show tonight. The show airs live from Cuti's Sports Bar and Grill on the corner of Seaway and Laketon in Muskegon and on West Michigan's 94 K-Rock (94.1 FM) from 7-8:30 p.m.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from April 7, 2008
- K-Wings Weekly - Kalamazoo Wings
- Three Port Huron Icehawks Receive IHL Weekly Honors - Port Huron Icehawks
- PrairieThunder's Parsons Earns IHL Honor - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- PrairieThunder Sets Professional Hockey League Record - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Port Huron Icehawks Finish Week 3-0-0-1, Clinch Playoff Berth - Port Huron Icehawks
- IHL Weekly Honors For Week Twenty-Five - IHL 2
- Bloomington Sets New IHL Record - IHL 2
- PrairieThunder Looks To Close Season On Streak - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Fury Finish Week 1-3-0-0, Hold On To Fourth - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Komets set franchise record 113 points, extend win streak to eight games - Fort Wayne Komets
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