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Icehawks Clinch Berth In Turner Cup Playoffs

March 23, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Port Huron Icehawks News Release


PORT HURON, MI - The Port Huron Icehawks picked up four of six possible points in the standings during Week 23 in International Hockey League action and on Saturday became the first team to clinch a berth in the Turner Cup Playoffs.

The Fort Wayne Komets followed suit on Sunday and earned their trip to the playoffs with a 4-2 win over Bloomington.

With just 10 games remaining in the regular season, Port Huron is fighting to secure the regular season championship. The standings are tighter than ever, with just four points separating the top three teams. The Icehawks are also waiting to see who their opponent will be in the first round. First seed will play the fourth seed and second seed will play the third seeded team.

The Icehawks continue to lead the pack with a record of 39-18-6-3 and 87 points, though the Komets are hot on their heels with 86 points and a record of 37-17-3-9. The Muskegon Lumberjacks are just four points out of first with 83 points and have one game in hand on the Icehawks and Komets. Their magic number to earn a playoff berth is one, which can be obtained through a Lumberjacks win or a Bloomington loss. Kalamazoo is currently holding on to the fourth and final playoff spot with 77 points.

Port Huron will wrap up a five game road trip with three games this week. They take on the Kalamazoo Wings on Wednesday, the Bloomington PrairieThunder on Friday and Fort Wayne on Saturday. The Icehawks are unbeaten in regulation in their last five games overall (3-0-1-1) and unbeaten in their last eight road games (5-0-2-1). They hold an overall road record of 20-7-3-2.

The Icehawks are tied in the season series with the K-Wings (6-5-1-0), lead the series with PrairieThunder (11-0-1-1) and trail versus the Komets (6-6-2-0), though they have won five of six meetings in Fort Wayne this season.

A Look Back: The Icehawks split a home-and-home series with the Komets on Tuesday and Friday. On Tuesday, Konstantin Shafranov scored with just 43 seconds left in regulation and again in overtime to lead the Komets to a 2-1 victory at McMorran Arena. The Icehawks got their revenge on Friday and defeated the Komets 3-2 in a shootout at Fort Wayne. Nick Lindberg scored in the shootout to lead Port Huron to victory.

On Saturday, the Icehawks again found themselves in a shootout, but with opposite results, as Robin Bouchard scored to give the Lumberjacks a 3-2 shootout victory over Port Huron. Lindberg, Derek Patrosso and Jamie Carroll all missed on their attempts for the Icehawks.

Streaking Smolinski: Center Bryan Smolinski is riding a five game assist streak, with four goals and eight assists in that span. The NHL veteran has 17 points (5g, 12a) in 12 games with Port Huron this season. Smolinski is also nearing a pair of career milestones. He is five games shy of 2,000 professional games and seven goals away from 300 pro goals.

Snowball Recalled To AHL: Icehawks right wing Robert Snowball was recalled on Saturday to the Lake Erie Monsters in the American Hockey League. He did not play with the Monsters over the weekend, however. The enforcer has had several stints in Lake Erie. He was originally called up to the Monsters in the AHL on February 14 and scored his first AHL goal in his first shift that evening. He was reassigned to Port Huron on February 27 then recalled to Lake Erie on March 6. He was reassigned to Port Huron again on March 17. Overall, he has one goal, one assist, 10 penalty minutes and a +4 rating in 5 games with the Monsters.

Team Leaders:

Points: Steve Rymsha, 77

Goals: Steve Rymsha, 37

Assists: Jamie Carroll, 45

PP Goals: Steve Rymsha, 11

PP Assists: Jamie Carroll, 20

SH Goals: Tab Lardner, 3

Shots: Jamie Carroll, 249

GW Goals: Tab Lardner, 9

PIM: Jason Selleke, 113

+/-: Derek Merlini, +26

Playoff Tickets On Sale Now: Individual playoff tickets and tickets for the Icehawks four remaining home games are available now at the Icehawks office, McMorran Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations and www.ticketmaster.com. Packages for the first round of the playoffs are also available now for Icehawks season ticket holders. For more information call 810-966-3800 or visit www.porthuronicehawks.com.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 23, 2009


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