Sports stats

Gems Play First Road Game

October 29, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


For the first time this season, the Dayton Gems will take to the road to play their opponent away from the friendly confines of Hara Arena as they travel to Bloomington, Illinois, to battle the PrairieThunder. This will be the first of eight meetings between the two teams with five of those eight being in Bloomington and the other three games in Dayton. The two teams played 11 times last season, with Bloomington winning nine of the 11 contests including the last five in a row. The PrairieThunder finished last season 31-34-11 and were 1-2-0 after three games. The Gems finished last season at 25-46-5 and were 1-2-1 through the first four games last season. This will be Bloomington's fourth game, Dayton's fifth this season. With a win over the PrairieThunder, the Gems could move into a tie for first place. Bloomington is the only remaining unbeaten team in the Central Hockey League going into Friday's matchup with the Evansville IceMen.

SCOUTING REPORT ON BLOOMINGTON:

The PrairieThunder have yet to lose a game this season and the biggest reason for keeping that record perfect has to be the play of their starting goaltender Marco Emond. Earlier this week, Emond was named the Oakley CHL Goaltender of the Week after leading Bloomington to consecutive wins over Odessa and Tulsa. Combined in those two victories, Emond stopped 69/74 shots and carried a goals against average of 2.48, overall this season Emond has a goals against of 1.94 and save percentage of .938, both in the top five of the league leaders in both categories. Also factoring in on Bloomington's success is former Dayton Gem John Snowden, who leads the team in scoring with three goals in three games played. Forward Craig Macdonald loves playing the Gems, last season he recorded 25 points on 10 goals and 15 assists in the 11 games played versus the Gems.

GEMS GAME NIGHT:

Goaltender Jeff Jakaitis has been very busy up to this point, posting a 3-1-0 record, goals against average of 3.00 and save percentage of .917. He is averaging 33 saves per game and ranks tops in the league with 132 total saves. Player Assistant Coach Chris Lipsett leads the team in scoring with seven points (1G, 6A) in four games and is in the midst of a team and season high four-game point streak. Rookie Erik Boisvert leads the team in goals with four and rookie Kyle Bochek leads the team in penalty minutes with 13. The Gems are looking for their first three-game winning streak. Interestingly enough the Gems have been out shot in each of their three wins and the only game they outshot their opponent was during the lone loss of the season. The Gems currently rank second in the CHL on the power play having converted 6/20 attempts (30%), only Rapid City (35%) is higher.

SEASON SERIES (8 MEETINGS)

10-30-10 Dayton at Bloomington 8:05 p.m.

11-27-10 Bloomington at Dayton 7:30 p.m.

12-10-10 Dayton at Bloomington 8:05 p.m.

12-17-10 Dayton at Bloomington 8:05 p.m.

12-30-10 Dayton at Bloomington 8:05 p.m.

1-7-11 Dayton at Bloomington 8:05 p.m.

1-14-11 Bloomington at Dayton 7:30 p.m.

2-2-11 Bloomington at Dayton 7:00 p.m.



Central Hockey League Stories from October 29, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Dayton Gems Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central