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Gems Make Final Visit to Bloomington

March 17, 2012 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Dayton, OH - The Dayton Gems make their final trek to Bloomington, Illinois for a Saturday night faceoff inside the US Cellular Coliseum. Faceoff is set for 8pm eastern.

Most recently, the Gems dropped their first meeting with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees in a close 5-4 decision last night at Hara. Holding to a close end to end game through two periods, the Gems would mount a comeback effort to pull within a goal in the closing minutes of the third, but would be unable to tie the game before the final horn. Scoring for the Gems were Matt Larke, Nic Polaski and Brett Lutes (2).

Gameday In Bloomington

The Gems and Blaze meet for the thirteenth time this season, and final match in Bloomington. Saturday night marks the first appearance by the Gems inside US Cellular Coliseum since December 17, a 4-2 Gems win. Dayton looks to remain ahead of Bloomington and snap a three game winless streak with a Saturday night win.

Bloomington skates into Saturday night also fresh off a 4-1 loss to Missouri on Friday and enters with a 23-31-7 overall record. After a tough start to the season, the Blaze have played to a 14-15-3 record at home, and have overcome the early deficit in the standings to tie the Gems with 53 points in the Turner Conference. Bloomington's last win came against the Gems in a 3-2 shootout back on March 10 at Hara Arena, but have lost their last two games heading into tonight.

Dayton Gems Game Notes

Trainer of the Year - Dayton's Bryan Rogers was named the CHL's Athletic Trainer of the Year for 2012.

Jammed It for Jimmy - The Gems thawed the IceMen 4-3 in front of a season high crowd of 5,187 inside HaraArena on Saturday, January 28. Portions of the ticket proceeds went to local teen cancer patient Jimmy Jenks, whodropped the ceremonial first puck.

Sign of the Times - February 25 th 's win over the Sundogs opened with a unique performance of the NationalAnthem by Fairborn middle school students, who "signed" the anthem in sign language.

Man of the Year - Gems captain Greg Labenski was named a finalist for the CHL's prestigious "Man of the Year" award.

Stellar Sterling - veteran netminder Larry Sterling continues to battle near the top of the CHL stat chart,maintaining the league's 2nd best save percentage of .923.

All Star Lutes - Brett Lutes represented the Gem City as the lone Gems player participating in the 2012 All StarGame. Luteswould earn two assists and a +5 rating to help his CHL All Star team beat the CHL's Arizona Sundogs6-4.

The Closer - Dayton's Tim Hartung sits tied for most Game Winning Goals by a defenseman with 4, while leadingthe CHL's blueliners in Shootout Goals with 7. He was named CHL "Best shootout player" in 2012.

Powerplay Master - Brandon Naurato is tied for third in the CHL for most powerplay goals with 10.

Tune Into The Game Live!

Fans can cheer on their Gems by tuning into wave96.net or CHL TV starting at 8pm eastern time, with Gems broadcaster JT Szabo handling the play-by-play. Fans can also stream the game live from their smartphones through wave96.net and the free TuneIN radio app.

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