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Hogs hot, Generals charging

January 22, 2007 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO --- After taking a short break for the All-Star Classic, the Rockford IceHogs and Flint Generals have picked up right where they left off in making a climb up the United Hockey League (UHL) standings.

The IceHogs headed into the All-Star break riding a three-game winning streak where they outscored their opponents by a combined score of 16-6. In three games following the break, the offense has kept pace by outscoring opponents 16-7 in that span. Over the last ten games for Rockford, they have posted a 7-1-2 record. In the last 14 games, they have earned a 10-2-2 mark.

Contributing to the offensive surge of the IceHogs has been the return of winger Jesse Bennefield. He returned from nearly three weeks out of the lineup and has scored a goal in seven of his last eight games. Bennefield currently shares the team lead in goals (17) with rookie Nicolas Corbeil. A 2007 All-Star, Corbeil is riding a three-game point streak that included the game-winning goal in Sunday's victory vs. Bloomington. Team scoring leader Kevin Ulanski (12g, 30a), who was also a participant in the 2007 All-Star Classic, continues to pile up points for his club. He has multi-point games in five of his last six contests. Center Preston Mizzi is riding a four-game goal streak and has points in nine of his last 11 games.

Frederic Cloutier has been a force between the pipes for Rockford. The 2007 All-Star has registered a 1.91 goals against average (GAA) and a .936 save percentage (SPCT) over his last nine appearances.

The Flint Generals entered the All-Star break with a 3-1-1 record in their previous five games. Since the break, they have won three straight and have outscored their foes 16-7. The Generals have a 7-2-1 record over their last ten games. Prior to their surge, Flint had lost seven of eight contests.

Center Terry Marchant has found his scoring touch and now leads the squad in scoring. He is riding a five-game scoring streak and has multi-point games in six of his last eight contests. Right wing Mike Kinnie and veteran winger Bobby Reynolds are both in the midst of five-game point streaks. Reynolds has five goals over his past five games. After sitting out nearly seven weeks with an injury, winger Jan Jas returned to register points in seven straight contests. He has recorded a point in 15 of the 20 games he has played with the Generals this season.

The tandem of Jason Muzzatti and Bryan Worosz has split time in net for Flint during the recent team success. Muzzatti has posted a 4-0-1 record over his last five appearances while Worosz has won three of his last four starts posting a .936 SPCT during that span.

ALL-STAR RECAP - UHL All-Stars hit the ice for the midseason classic in Fort Wayne on Wednesday night. The Eastern Conference scored six unanswered goals in the second period to pull away and eventually win the game vs. the Western Conference by the score of 11-6. Elmira Jackals winger Brent Cullaton captured Most Valuable Player honors as he registered four points (2g, 2a) and a plus-5 rating. Nine different players for the Eastern squad scored goals in the game. Quad City winger Chad Woollard scored five points (2g, 3a) to pace the Western roster. Muskegon goaltender Clayton Pool, who leads the league with 27 wins this season, earned the victory in the offensive showcase. A complete box score and game statistics are available at the UHL website, www.theuhl.com.

DISPLAY OF SKILL - UHL All-Stars competed in a Skills Competition prior to the game on Wednesday evening. Elmira's Brent Cullaton won the "Fastest Skater" event defeating Quad City's Justin Chwedoruk in the finals. Cullaton had previously won the event twice in the Central Hockey League (CHL).

Muskegon left wing Mike Watt won the "Hardest Shot" competition by blasting a 99 mph shot in the finals. He edged Rockford defenseman Nathan Lutz who hit 98 mph on the radar.

In the "Breakaway Relay Challenge", the Western Conference shooters scored seven goals in ten attempts vs. the Eastern Conference goaltenders. West goaltenders allowed just three goals, including Rockford's Frederic Cloutier who stopped all five East shooters he faced.

NEW FOUND OFFENSE - Muskegon defenseman Dave Van Drunen found himself in an unfamiliar position during the 2007 All-Star Classic. He took a regular shift as a forward during the game. The move paid off for the Eastern Conference as Van Drunen scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the 11-6 win. He has yet to score a goal in regular season action this year. Ironically, the current league leader in plus/minus (plus-44) registered a minus-1 rating in the game.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Bloomington PrairieThunder - (1-2-0) - The PrairieThunder have scored 34 goals in nine games during January. In 15 games during the month of December, the club scored just 27 goals...Forward Mike Zbriger has 12 points (2g, 10a) in nine games since being acquired in a trade. He has multi-point games in five of the nine contests... Goaltender Jeff Reynaert made a combined 80 saves in games on Friday and Saturday, including 39 saves in the 3-1 win vs. Chicago on Friday. He ranks second among UHL goaltenders with 986 saves this season.

Chicago Hounds - (0-2-0) - Forward Tim Plett scored both Chicago goals, including one shorthanded, in Saturday's 8-2 loss to Rockford...Right wing Paul Caponigri has five points (2g, 3a) over his last four games and has registered an even or better plus/minus rating in each of his last five contests...Marty Magers leads all UHL goaltenders this season with 1,036 saves. He also ranks second in minutes played (1927:14)...All-Star Chris Busby (5g, 17a) ranks seventh in scoring among UHL defenseman.

Elmira Jackals - (1-1-1) - Defenseman Chris Mann played in his 100th pro game on Friday...All-Star defenseman Dale Lupul played in his 100th pro game on Sunday. He scored a goal in the game...Defenseman Scott Drevitch is ten games away from reaching 1,200 played in his pro career...Defenseman Eric Lind scored his first goal as a Jackal in Saturday's 4-3 shootout win vs. Quad City...Dave Lemanowicz stopped all 37 Quad City shots in regulation on Friday to earn a shutout. It was the first shutout by an Elmira goaltender this season.

Flint Generals - (3-0-0) - Defenseman Jeff Cameron recorded a "hat trick" (3g) in Friday's 7-4 win vs. Port Huron. It was his first game with the Generals since being acquired in a trade. It was the first hat trick of his pro career...Flint is on a season high four-game winning streak...The Generals are just one of two UHL teams to earn a victory in Muskegon this season...Defenseman Gerard Miller has points in 14 of his last 18 games...Center Shawn Snider has points in eight of the ten games he has played with the club this season.

Fort Wayne Komets - (2-0-0) - Left wing Matt Syroczynski netted a "hat trick" (3g), including the game-winner, in Saturday's 6-1 win vs. Bloomington. All three goals came on the power play. It was the first hat trick of his pro career...The Komets turned away all 11 opponent power play opportunities this week...Fort Wayne converted 7 of 17 (41.2%) power play opportunities of their own during the week...The Komets are 20-1-2 when leading after two periods...Fort Wayne leads the league in both home power play (26.4%) and home penalty kill (90.5%).

Kalamazoo Wings - (1-2-0) - Center Kory Karlander is riding a league season high ten-game goal scoring streak. He has scored the first goal of the game ten times this season which leads the UHL...Winger Tyler Willis has seven points in his last two games vs. Port Huron...Kalamazoo was held to just two shots in the first period vs. Flint on Sunday. The K-Wings have been held under 30 shots eight times this season with four of those coming vs. Flint... The team is 17-0-0 when leading after two periods...Kalamazoo has a league high 61 goals in the third period.

Muskegon Fury - (1-1-0) - In the second period this season, the Fury have outscored their opponents 69-28, including 32-10 on home ice...Defenseman Tom Galvin has registered a plus-10 rating over his first ten games with the team this season...Muskegon's six-game home win streak was snapped on Saturday in the 4-1 loss to Flint...In the last three shootouts for the club, goaltender Clayton Pool has stopped all 15 shooters he has faced...The Fury are 5-1 in their six shootouts this season...Eight Fury players have ten or more goals this season.

Port Huron Flags - (0-2-0) - Center Ryan Markham scored his fifth shorthanded goal of the season on Friday moving him into a tie for the league lead in shorthanded goals...Goaltender Paul Soli made his pro debut in a short relief appearance on Friday. The following evening he made 21 saves...The Flags have been outscored 28-13 during their recent five-game losing skid...Center Greg Bullock is riding a four-game point streak. He has points in 15 of his last 17 contests and has multiple points in seven of those games.

Quad City Mallards - (2-0-1) - Goaltender Jason Tapp recorded his first shutout of the season making 43 saves in the 1-0 shootout victory vs. Elmira on Friday. The win was the 100th of his pro career...Friday's win moved the Mallards above .500 for the first time this season...Quad City wrapped up a five-game road stretch on Sunday posting a 3-1-1 record...All-Star Don Parsons has a goal in four of his last five games. He leads the league with 29 goals and 18 power play goals...The Mallards play eight of their next 11 games on home ice.

Rockford IceHogs - (2-0-1) - The IceHogs are unbeaten in regulation over their last six games (5-0-1)...During the unbeaten stretch, Rockford is 13 of 39 (33.3%) on the power play. In the same stretch, the have allowed just three goals in 36 opponent power play opportunities...In his last ten decisions, All-Star goaltender Frederic Cloutier has posted a 7-1-2 record, a .941 SPCT, and a 1.83 GAA...Steve Martinson won the 550th game of his coaching career in Sunday's 7-3 win vs. Bloomington. His career record is 550-196-65 for a .718 winning percentage.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from January 22, 2007


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