Icehawks Enter Week One Point Out Of First Place

Published on December 9, 2008 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Port Huron Icehawks News Release


PORT HURON, MI - The Port Huron Icehawks kicked off December on a high note last weekend with two road wins in International Hockey League action. They are currently at second place in the IHL standings with a record of 12-9-0-0 and 24 points in the standings, just one point behind the first place Muskegon Lumberjacks.

This week the Icehawks face three contests in five days. They return home for a contest with the Fort Wayne Komets today, then hit the road for games at Bloomington on Friday and Fort Wayne on Saturday.

The Icehawks currently trail the season series with the Komets 1-2-0-0. When the team's last met on November 28th, the Komets skated to a 5-3 win. It was the last loss suffered by the Icehawks, as they have gone on to win three games in a row. The Komets have won both showdowns at McMorran Arena, while the Icehawks stole a win at Memorial Coliseum.

This week's games will be a battle between the two top power play units in the league, as the Komets currently lead the league on the power play and the Icehawks are ranked second. The Icehawks are 2-19 with the man advantage versus the Komets, while Fort Wayne is 5-16 against Port Huron.

The Icehawks are undefeated versus Friday's opponent, the PrairieThunder, this season with a record of 3-0-0-0 in the season series.

After playing eight of their 12 games on the road in November, the Icehawks enjoy a more balanced schedule in December with six home games and six road games. They play five of their last seven games this month on home ice. The road has been kind to the Icehawks, however. They won five of their eight road games last month and have emerged with the league's best away record to date (7-5-0-0).

Roster Moves: The Icehawks made several roster moves this week. Jeremy Tucker was added to the 30-Day Injured Reserve List. To add speed in his absence, the Icehawks signed veteran Matt Elich to a PTO. A ten year professional with 16 games experience in the NHL, Elich began the season with Flint and had 14 points in 20 games. The Icehawks also waived forward Joel Gasper, who was then picked up by Flint.

Streaking Hawks: Derek Merlini (2g, 3a) is on a five game point streak, Nick Lindberg (2g, 5a) is on a four game assist streak and point streak, and Jeff Zehr (1g, 2a) and Daniel Tetrault (1g, 4a) have both put up points in their last three games.

First Period Scoring: Six of the nine goals the Icehawks scored last week came in the first period. The Icehawks have outscored their opponents by nearly double (37-16) in the opening period this season. They continue to lead the league in first period goals. The Icehawks have not fared as well in the second period. They have been outscored by their opponents 29-14 in the second this season.

Special Teams: The Icehawks are currently ranked second in the league on the power play overall, converting on 18.0% of man advantage situations (18-100). The Icehawks special teams were perfect versus Muskegon on Friday as they converted on two of two power play opportunities and killed off all four Muskegon penalties. The Icehawks are ranked fourth overall on the penalty kill, killing off 81.2% of penalties.

Offensive Blueliners: The Icehawks have gotten scoring production from their defense this season. The six defensemen have combined for a total of 51 points so far this season and have accounted for 16 of the team's 74 goals. The goals include six power play goals and three game winning goals.

Three defensemen - Ian Turner (3g, 12a), Daniel Tetrault (4g, 8a), and Jamie Lovell (5g, 6a) - are ranked among the league defense scoring leaders. Lovell is also ranked second in goals by defensemen and shootout goals (1), and fourth in shots (53), while Tetrault and Derek Merlini, who has also seen time at the forward position this season, are tied with Muskegon's Kyle Kos for second in defensemen plus/minus with a +10 rating. Lovell, Tetrault and Merlini are also tied for second in power play goals by defensemen with two each.

Milestone Watch: Jamie Carroll recorded his 50th professional assist last Thursday in Bloomington. Several other Icehawks are approaching career milestones. B.J. Adams is one assist shy of 100 professional assists, Jeremy Tucker needs one point to reach 50 and Daniel Tetrault is four points shy of 300 in his pro career.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from December 9, 2008


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