Gems Quiet PrairieThunder With 4-3 Victory

Published on November 27, 2010 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Dayton, OH- Two teams that came into tonight's game with two different streaks on the line. The Gems were looking to break a small two-game losing skid, while the PrairieThunder were searching for their third straight road victory.

Bloomington would jump out to an early 2-0 lead within the first 15 minutes of the opening period. Craig Macdonald gave the PrairieThunder a 1-0 lead when he buried the puck into a wide open net after the Gems got caught on a missed assignment in the defensive zone. Then Travis Granbois made it 2-0 at the 14:37 mark. The Gems despite trailing by two did not panic, stuck to their game and with less than four minutes remaining, defenseman Nathan Oke ended the Gems scoreless streak at 93:39 and cut the Bloomington lead to one when he smashed home a shot from the point for his second goal of the season.

Building off of the late goal by Oke, the Gems offense continued their aggression early in the second and at the 4:18 mark, rookie Nick Canzanello finished off an odd man rush when he pushed the puck into a wide open net to tie the game at 2-2. Gems starter Jeff Jakaitis was much busier in the second and after only seeing six shots on goal in the first, had to stop 18 in the second. Tom Boudreau game the Gems their first lead of the night later in the second at the 16:28 mark and that would be enough to take a 3-2 lead into the final stanza of play.

A majority of the third period was spent on defensive hockey by both teams, after each team had combined for only seven shots on goal through the first seven minutes of the period. Then as the offensive game picked up, so did the penalties and the Gems were handed a key power play. Leading scorer Erik Boisvert increased the lead to 4-2 when he wristed home a shot from the left wing circle at the 16:15 mark. But as they have done a couple of times this season, the Gems took two key penalties with under two minutes remaining giving Bloomington a 6-on-3 man advantage after they pulled goaltender Bobby Phillips. Immediately after they had called a timeout to set up the scoring chance on the power play, the PrairieThunder sliced the Dayton lead to 4-3 with just over a minute to play. Still on the power play, Bloomington had their chances to tie the game but Jakaitis and the Dayton defense did just enough to escape with a 4-3 victory.

With the win the Gems are now 9-5-1 overall and 6-3-1 on home ice. They lead the season series with the PrairieThunder 2-0 and the two teams will meet six more times this season, two more in Dayton and four more in Bloomington.

Individual game tickets are available for purchase in advance. For more information call the Gems offices at 937-275-7777 or log onto our website at www.daytongems.com. You can also catch us on facebook at facebook.com/daytongems. The Gems return home to Hara Arena this Thursday, December 2nd to take on the Evansville IceMen at 7:00 p.m. Thursday will be another Thirsty Thursday which features $1.00 Bud Light Drafts on sale throughout various locations in the arena (fans must show legal ID). The Kettering Medical Center is proud to be the official title sponsor of the Gems for the 2010-11 season.

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Central Hockey League Stories from November 27, 2010


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