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Icehawks Lose Grasp On First Place As Season Winds Down

March 30, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Port Huron Icehawks News Release


PORT HURON, MI - The Port Huron Icehawks entered Week 24 in International Hockey League action with a narrow lead for first place, but during the week found themselves knocked out of the top spot for the first time since early January.

The Icehawks (40-20-6-3) picked up two of six possible points and slipped to a second place tie with the Muskegon Lumberjacks. With 89 points, the Icehawks and Lumberjacks currently trail the first place Fort Wayne Komets by five points.

With a 6-5 loss versus Kalamazoo on Wednesday, the Icehawks surrendered their grasp on first place. An Icehawks win on Friday versus Bloomington gave Port Huron the chance to take back first on Saturday in Fort Wayne, but the Komets remained hot and defeated the Icehawks 4-2.

With seven games remaining in the regular season, four teams - Port Huron, Muskegon, Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo - have secured a berth in the Turner Cup Playoffs. Home ice advantage is still up for grabs, however, as the season winds down.

The Icehawks wrapped up the season series with Fort Wayne last Saturday. With seven games left in the regular season, Port Huron will meet Bloomington, Kalamazoo and Flint two more times each and play Muskegon once. Four games are on home ice and three are on the road.

After wrapping up a five game road trip last weekend, the Icehawks return home to play three of their four games this week. They host Bloomington on Tuesday, travel to Kalamazoo on Friday, then head back to Port Huron to play Flint on Saturday and Muskegon on Sunday.

The Icehawks lead the season series with Bloomington (12-0-1-1), Flint (9-4-1-0) and Muskegon (7-3-1-2) and trail versus Kalamazoo (6-6-1-0).

A Look Back: On Wednesday, the Icehawks fell 6-5 versus Kalamazoo at Wings Stadium. The loss snapped a five game overall unbeaten streak and an eight game road unbeaten streak for Port Huron. On Friday, the Icehawks defeated the PrairieThunder 5-2 for their 12th win in 14 meetings with Bloomington. On Saturday, the Komets scored the first two goals of the game and went on to win 4-2. The loss was only the Icehawks second in seven games at Fort Wayne this season.

O'Connor Signed: The Icehawks signed defenseman Kevin O'Connor to a contract prior to Saturday's game in Fort Wayne. He helps fill the void left by the season-ending injury to Jamie Lovell. O'Connor (5-11, 180 lbs) comes to the Icehawks after three seasons at Western Michigan University (2006-2009). He also played four seasons of junior hockey with a variety of teams. The 24-year old native of Trenton, MI is the brother of Fort Wayne right wing Sean O'Connor.

Streaking Icehawks: Center Bryan Smolinski dished out helpers in all three games the Icehawks played last week to extend his assist streak and point streak to eight games (3g, 12a). He has 21 points (5g, 16a) in just 15 games with the Icehawks this season. Several other Icehawks are also enjoying streaks. Steve Rymsha is riding a four game point streak and three game assist streak (1g, 6a), and Nick Lindberg (2g, 3a) and Jamie Carroll (1g, 2a) are both on three game point streaks.

Milestone Watch: Smolinski, a 17-year veteran, is poised to reach a major career milestone this week. He is just two games shy of playing in his 2,000th professional game. He is also seven goals away from 300 pro goals.

Snowball Remains In AHL: Right wing Robert Snowball remains on call-up with the AHL Lake Erie Monsters. He played in last Thursday's game versus San Antonio and finished the game with one fight. In six games with Lake Erie, Snowball has tallied one goal, one assist, 15 penalty minutes and a +4 rating.

Staying Out Of The Penalty Box: The Icehawks have averaged the least penalties per game of any team in the league (17.13) and have tallied the least total penalty minutes (1,182).

Upcoming Promotions:

Tuesday, March 31 vs. Bloomington, 7:30 p.m. - On this and every Tuesday, tickets are buy one, get one free. McMorran Arena will be offering exclusive beer discounts. All draft beers are just $2. The first 100 fans will also receive a specialty Icehawks trading card.

Saturday, April 4 vs. Flint, 7:30 p.m. - The team will wear specialty Labatt Blue jerseys that will be sold in a silent auction throughout the game.

Sunday, April 5 vs. Muskegon, 5 p.m. - Bring the whole family to the rink to enjoy exciting hockey and exclusive discounts. Tickets are just $5 for kids 14-and-under and seniors 62-and-over. McMorran Arena will also be selling hot dogs for just $1.

Tuesday, April 7 vs. Kalamazoo, 7:30 p.m. - Join us for Fan Appreciation Night! The night will be filled with fun contests and giveaways. The game is also a Two For Tuesday. Tickets are buy one, get one free.

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 30, 2009


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