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Icehawks Look To Continue Winning Into New Year

December 28, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


ROCHESTER, MI--- The Port Huron Icehawks are looking to continue their winning ways as they wrap up 2009 and carry it on into the New Year. The Icehawks, who are tied for first place with Muskegon (41 points), have won nine of their last ten games and are currently riding a three-game winning streak, outscoring the opposition 15-7 in those three contests. They have also won eight straight home games, which ties Muskegon for the league high so far this season.

Port Huron has the league's top penalty kill, killing off 109 of 121 opportunities (90.1%), while having the league's second best power play rating, going 27 for 132 (20.5%) on the man advantage. Defenseman Daniel Tetrault and forward Mike Kinnie have been the most prolific goal scorers for Port Huron on the power play, each recording five goals apiece so far this season. Forward Nick Lindberg has also been productive, dishing out nine assists on the man advantage.

Flint's Rob Nolan got the best gift a goalie could get for the holidays, his first professional shutout. The shutout came on December 26th, when the Generals shut out the Dayton Gems 3-0. Nolan made a total of 22 saves to earn his first pro shutout in his first pro season of hockey. The same night, Bloomington netminder Andrew Martin recorded his fourth professional shutout and his first of the 09-10 season. Martin stopped all 33 shots he faced from Quad City to earn the 6-0 victory over the Mallards.

Dayton rookie netminder Ryan Mior remained called up to the American Hockey League (AHL) over the holiday break. Mior, who was called up by the Rochester last Monday, has started the last three straight games for the Americans. In those three contests, he posted a 2-1-0 record, giving him a 3-2-0 record, a 2.62 goals against average and .924 save percentage in five AHL starts, all coming in the month of December.

AROUND THE "I"

Bloomington PrairieThunder (1-1-0-0)- The PrairieThunder is 14-0-1-1 when leading after the first period and 12-0-1-1 when leading after the second period. Center Jon Booras has had an assist in six straight games and has scored seven points during the six-game stretch. Rookie defenseman Cole Ruwe scored his first goal of the season (26 games) Sunday. Likewise, defenseman Justin Sawyer scored only his third professional goal (and second of the season) in Saturday' s game. Sawyer is in his fifth professional season and has played in 217games. Defenseman Jason Lepine had a sting of five straight games where he scored at least one point snapped in Saturday' s game. During the five-game stretch Lepine scored seven points after scoring only four in the first 19 games.

Dayton Gems (0-2-0-0)- The Gems were shut out by the Generals Saturday by a score of 3-0. It was the second time this season Dayton has been held scoreless. Dayton has three rookies ranked in the top six in scoring. Jonathon Ornelas (19 points) is tied for second, followed by Mike Vaskivuo (16 points) who is tied for fourth, while Sam Blooming (15 points) is ranked sixth. Defenseman Joe VanCulin is tied for first among all IHL defenseman in goals scored with five. The Gems most prolific scoring period is the second. They outscore the opposition 37-27 during the middle stanza, which is also the period where they produce the most shots on goal with 341. The Gems will begin a home-and-home series with the Komets Tuesday as they travel to Fort Wayne. Dayton has yet to win a contest at Memorial Coliseum.

Flint Generals (2-1-0-0)- The Gens did well in week number eleven of this IHL season, boasting a 2-1-0-0 record for the holiday week. Kinks are still being worked out on the ice for the Generals but they have done a better job of taking advantage of home ice, winning five of their last six at Perani. John Ronan has certainly picked up his offensive game lately, riding an eight game point streak where he has tallied six goals and four assists. The Flint Generals will be guest baggers at the VGs in Davison on Davison Rd. tomorrow from 1:30pm -5:30pm. The Gens are currently promoting a food drive with Carriage Town Ministries and are aiming to fill 10 (ten) large garbage cans with non-perishable food items. There will be a few of the cans with the players at VGs for patrons to donate.

Fort Wayne Komets (1-1-0-0)- The Komets split two games played for week 11 of the 2009-10 campaign, winning 7-2 in Muskegon, then falling 4-1 in Flint Sunday. The Komets (15-10-0-1, 31 points) enter New Year's week tied with Bloomington for third place for the third straight week. The Komets tradition of New Year's Eve home games continues Thursday against Bloomington. The Komets are riding a seven-game New Year's Eve winning streak and are 35-13-3-1 over 52 home games on December 31st since the annual affair started in 1955. Colin Chaulk (C) finished the week riding a five-game point streak (4 goals, 7 assists) and three-game assist streak (5 assists). The veteran center also hit milestones of 800 career points and 500 points in his career with Fort Wayne (seven seasons).

Muskegon Lumberjacks (1-1-0-0)- When the Lumberjacks lost to Fort Wayne Saturday night 7-2, it was only their third loss in the last 22 games (16-2-0-3 in last 22 games). When they score the games first goal, the 'Jacks are 12-2-0-2 so far this year. In four-on-four situations this season, the Lumberjacks have outscored their opponents 7-0. Center Todd Robinson is four assists away from pro career 700 as he seeks to achieve the feat in 700 games. Robinson has played 697 pro career games. In his last five games, defenseman Jason Lawmaster has recorded six assists. Left Wing Brian Bicek has notched in five points (3 goals, 2 assists) in his last five games. With the Lumberjacks 4-2 triumph on Tuesday at Quad City, Rich Kromm tied Todd Nelson for most Muskegon coaching victories at 149.

Port Huron Icehawks (2-0-0-0)- The Icehawks are nearly perfect when getting a strong start this season. They are 8-1-0-0 when leading after the first period and 12-1-0-0 when leading after the second. Goaltender Larry Sterling has won his last six starts and is 6-1-0-0 for the month of December. His 2.20 GAA is the best mark in the IHL and he is ranked second in save percentage and wins. Sterling has stopped nearly 95% of the shots he's faced during the winning streak, allowing just ten goals on 198 shots. Mickael Bedard earned his first IHL hat trick in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Dayton Gems, giving him a total of six points on three goals and three assists in just two games this week. The offensive explosion moves Bedard into the team lead for goals with 15 and points with 30.

Quad City Mallards (1-2-0-0)- The Mallards yesterday snapped a six-game winless streak (0-4-2-0) by defeating Bloomington 3-1. The drought was the Mallards' second longest of the season. Kyle Jones yesterday made 32 saves to snap a personal five-game losing streak. The win was the first for Jones since he backstopped the Mallards to a 3-2 shootout victory in Fort Wayne on December 4.The Mallards last Saturday night were shut out for the first time this season by Andrew Martin and the PrairieThunder despite outshooting Bloomington 33-27. Patrick Levesque (12-14-26) has scored four goals and picked up three assists in his last four games. After notching a goal and an assist yesterday, Levesque has collected at least two points in three of his last four tilts.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from December 28, 2009


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