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Gems Begin Three Game Weekend Series with Blaze

December 16, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Dayton, OH - The Dayton Gems open up a three game weekend series against the Bloomington Blaze with a Friday night meeting inside the US Cellular Coliseum in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. The series continues in Bloomington on Saturday night before concluding with a 4pm matinee on Cassano's Italian Ice inside Hara Arena on Sunday.

The Gems (8-9-4) have lost four straight games but this weekend they have a chance to get back on track in a three-game series against the Bloomington Blaze (5-13-2). The Gems are 3-0-1 this season against the Blaze losing only the season opener for both teams in overtime. Bloomington is 4-3-0 in their last seven games with two of the three losses coming by one goal.

Gameday In Bloomington

Dayton travels to central Illinois for the fourth time this season to battle the first-year Blaze. While both Dayton and Bloomington sit 6th and 7th, respectively, in the Turner Conference, a whopping eight points separate the two clubs, with just seven points separating the top six teams. Bloomington returns home Friday looking to continue their impressive four game winning streak on US Cellular Coliseum ice. The Blaze most recently fell to first place Evansville 2-1 on the road.

Dayton Gems Game Notes

Scorin' Surma - Gems forward Damian Surma notched his team-leading twelfth goal of the season in the Gems 4-2 loss at Fort Wayne last Sunday.

PowerPlay Machine - While the Gems powerplay is ranked tenth best in the league, Dayton's Brandon Naurato leads the CHL in powerplay goals with 6 in his 19 games played.

Amazing Race - The CHL's Turner Conference continues to be bunched up, with six of the seven teams within a mere seven points of each other in the standings. Bloomington (12pts) sits 15 points below first place Evansville (27pts). Dayton is currently in sixth with 20 points.

Sharp Shooter - Despite spending time on the IR, Gems forward Charlie Townsend is still one of the tops in the CHL when it comes to shooting percentage, ranked third in the league with 3 goals in 11 shots (.273)

Tune Into Tonight's Game!

Catch all the action live on wave96.net and CHL TV starting at 7:50pm (eastern) with Gems broadcaster Kevin O'Boyle handling the call. Fans can also tune into the Internet radio broadcast anywhere in the world with Internet connection and on the go through their smartphone.

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