Fury keep rolling

Published on November 20, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO --- The Muskegon Fury continue to stay on top of the United Hockey League (UHL) standings as they are in the midst of their second eight-game winning streak of the season. The Fury captured back-to-back victories over the defending Colonial Cup Champion Kalamazoo Wings, and then capped the weekend with one-goal victories vs. Quad City and Flint.

Muskegon has scored four or more goals in 15 of their 17 games this season. The other two games were both this week and were both victories in which the Fury scored three goals.

The club currently has six more wins that any other UHL team, but the success has not been because of scoring alone. Goaltender Clayton Pool is off to an 11-0-0 record this season and leads all UHL netminders with a 1.91 goals against average (GAA) and a .936 save percentage (SPCT). His 11 consecutive wins set a new team record.

POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS - Members of the Muskegon Fury occupy the top ten spots among UHL leaders in plus/minus rating. Defenseman Dave Van Drunen leads the league with a plus-22 rating. Every skater on the squad has an even or better rating for a cumulative plus-170 rating as a team.

MILESTONE ATTENDANCE MARK - The UHL eclipsed the 20 million mark in all-time attendance over the weekend. The combined attendance of Sunday's home games for Kalamazoo and Flint helped push the league past the milestone of 20 million.

ALL IN THE FAMILY - Linesman Tyler Hawthorne worked his first UHL regular season game on Saturday when the Bloomington PrairieThunder visited the Port Huron Flags. His father, Jim Hawthorne, is currently working in his seventh UHL season as a referee.

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES - Both the Muskegon Fury (8-0-0) and the Fort Wayne Komets (7-0-0) have yet to suffer a loss on home ice this season. The success on home ice has vaulted each club to the top of their respective conferences as Muskegon leads the Eastern Conference and Fort Wayne sits on top in the Western Conference.

PUCK STOPPERS - Several goaltenders put together solid performances during the week. Kalamazoo's Tom Askey turned away all 25 shots by the Bloomington PrairieThunder on Sunday to earn his league-leading third shutout of the season. He registered a 2.04 GAA in three games during the week. Port Huron's Dustin Traylen stopped all 29 Bloomington shots on Saturday to record his first professional shutout.

Five different goaltenders had a GAA under 2.00 during the week: Rockford's Frederic Cloutier (1.00), Port Huron's Dustin Traylen (1.01), Fort Wayne's Kevin St. Pierre (1.50), Muskegon's Clayton Pool (1.67), and Flint's Jason Muzzatti (1.68)

SCORE FIRST, WIN OFTEN - During the sixth week of the UHL season, the team who scored the first goal won 13 of the 15 games. Fort Wayne is undefeated when scoring first this season (8-0-0). Muskegon (10-1-0) and Kalamazoo (9-1-0) both have just one loss when scoring first.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS - On Friday, the Rockford IceHogs hosted a "Support Our Troops" night. Fans brought items to the game which will be sent to troops stationed overseas as a part of Christmas care packages. Several UHL teams have similar nights planned along with multiple events for charity throughout the holidays and the rest of the season.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Bloomington PrairieThunder - (1-2-0) - The PrairieThunder had their two-game win streak snapped when they were shutout in back-to-back games over the weekend...Bloomington overcame a 3-1 deficit on Friday to gain a 4-3 shootout victory over Rockford. It was the first shootout for the team this season...Forward Mike Adamek had his first goal of the season in the win...Goaltender Steffan Braunlich has a .927 SPCT in his last three appearances combined. He currently ranks fifth among UHL goaltenders with .916 SPCT.

Chicago Hounds - (1-1-0) - Forward John Spoltore netted his first goal of the season on Friday. It proved to be the game-winner in the 4-1 victory vs. Quad City...Center Matt Amado scored on a penalty shot just 1:39 into Friday's contest. It was the first successful penalty shot of the season in the UHL...Defenseman Bob Rapoza is two games shy of moving into a tie for 15th place on the UHL all-time games played list...Coach Greg Puhalski faced his former club, Fort Wayne, on Saturday. His first trip back to Fort Wayne was not a triumphant one as the Hounds lost 6-2.

Elmira Jackals - (1-1-0) - Right wing Curtis Tidball had his 12-game penalty minute streak snapped in Saturday's 3-1 win vs. Flint. He had registered a penalty in every game this season and leads the UHL with 118 PIM's...Winger Yevgeny Lazarev had a pair of goals in Saturday's win. He leads the club with eight goals...Rookie defenseman Dale Lupul had his five-game point streak snapped on Saturday. It was his second five-game point streak of the season...Forward David Morelli ranks fourth in the league in shooting percentage (.300).

Flint Generals - (2-2-0) - The Generals snapped a four-game winless streak with a 2-1 win vs. Port Huron on Wednesday. It was their first home win of the season. They then won consecutive games for the first time this season when they beat Port Huron 3-1 on Friday...Goaltender Jason Muzzatti had a 1.68 GAA and a .940 SPCT in three appearances during the week...Forward Mike Zbriger ranks second among UHL rookies with nine goals... Gerard Miller ranks sixth among UHL defensemen in scoring with 11 points (5g, 6a).

Fort Wayne Komets - (2-1-0) - The Komets continue to lead the UHL in power play percentage (26%). They also rank second in penalty killing (88.9%)...Defenseman Mario Larocque is riding a seven-game point streak...After being held scoreless in his first 11 games, rookie defenseman Arthur Kiyaga recorded his first professional points when he dished out two assists in Friday's victory...Left wing J.F. Labarre broke a five-game scoring drought on Friday when he registered a "hat trick" (3g). Teammate Martin Gascon followed up with a "hat trick" the next night.

Kalamazoo Wings - (1-3-0) - Winger Tyler Willis surpassed 1,000 penalty minutes in his UHL career. He ranks 23rd on the all-time list...Kalamazoo is 0 for their last 27 power play opportunities...After missing nine games due to injury, defenseman Nick Toneys has three points (3a) in three games...Kalamazoo is the only team in the UHL to receive a point from every skater on their active roster...The K-Wings have not been shutout in a span of 142 games, the longest current UHL streak...Rookie B.J. Radovich ranks third in the UHL in shooting percentage (.375).

Muskegon Fury - (4-0-0) - Rookie center Elias Godoy is riding a league season high 11-game point streak...Center Todd Robinson has five of the team's seven shorthanded goals this season. That number leads the UHL... Defenseman Jon Insana is one point shy of 100 for his pro career...Center Scott Barnes has scored his eight goals this season on just 16 shots for a league-leading .500 shooting percentage...With their 6-5 victory vs. Quad City on Saturday, the Fury are now 6-0-0 vs. Western Conference opponents this season.

Port Huron Flags - (1-2-0) - Center Ryan Markham scored his fourth shorthanded goal of the season on Friday. That number ranks second in the league...Markham and center Mark Cadotte both had six-game point streaks snapped on Saturday...Defenseman Pat Sutton has seven points (3g, 4a) in seven games with the club this season...Three of the four games with Flint this season have had the final score of 2-1. The fourth had a 3-1 final score...Center Steve Hildenbrand has an even or better plus/minus rating in his last seven games.

Quad City Mallards - (0-2-0) - After being held scoreless in his first nine games of the season, forward Luke Stauffacher has four points (3g, 1a) in his last three games...Quad City netted five power play goals in Saturday's 6-5 loss to Muskegon. Six different Mallard players had multi-point games...Forward Sean Starke is riding a four-game point streak...Defenseman Sergei Durdin netted his first goal of the season in Saturday's loss. He has three points (1g, 2a) in his first five games with the club this season.

Rockford IceHogs - (2-0-1) - After losing their first two home games the season, the IceHogs are unbeaten in regulation during the last five (4-0-1) on home ice...In Friday's contest, Rockford tallied just six penalty minutes. Over the last four games, the IceHogs have allowed just two goals in 25 opponent power play opportunities... Rookie forward Kaleb Betts had his four-game point streak snapped in Saturday's 3-1 win vs. Kalamazoo...After being held scoreless in his first 11 games, defenseman Jarad Bourassa has an assist in back-to-back games.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 20, 2006


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