Icehawks Sweep K-Wings, Gear Up For Three Contests This Week

Published on November 10, 2008 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Port Huron Icehawks News Release


PORT HURON, MI - The Port Huron Icehawks gained ground in the International Hockey League standings last weekend with two big wins over the Kalamazoo Wings. The Icehawks scored nine goals in two games to sweep the home-and-home series with the K-Wings and improved to 4-5-0-0 on the season.

After starting the season 0-4, the Icehawks have now won four of their last five games and are on a three game winning streak at home.

The Icehawks wins were boosted in a big way by rookie goalie Kevin Desfosses who stepped in for injured netminder Larry Sterling. Desfosses posted his first professional win on Friday with a 4-1 victory over Kalamazoo and came back on Saturday and blanked the K-Wings 5-0 for his first professional shutout. In total, he stopped 59 of 60 shots he faced over the weekend. For his efforts, Desfosses was named Southern Sports Supply Goaltender of the Week by the International Hockey League.

Desfosses is 2-1-0-0 this season, has given up just four goals against, and leads the league in both goals against average (1.33) and save percentage (.950).

With the weekend's wins, the Icehawks jumped into a tie with Bloomington for fourth place in the league. The two teams will battle to gain ground in the standings this week when they meet for the first time this season on Tuesday and again on Friday. The Icehawks wrap up the weekend with a trip to Flint on Saturday.

The Icehawks host the PrairieThunder on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., then travel to Bloomington on Friday for another meeting with the team. While the Icehawks are on a hot streak, the PrairieThunder have struggled as of late. They started the season 3-1, but have now lost three of their last four games. Last season, the Icehawks won the season series with the PrairieThunder 10-3-0-2.

Saturday's game versus the Generals will mark the fifth meeting between the rivals this season. Flint, who is currently 4-6-1-0 on the season, has won three of the four contests between the teams.

Special Deliveries: After struggling on special teams as of late, the Icehawks reversed the trend in a big way this weekend with three power play goals and one shorthanded goal. Jamie Lovell scored a power play goal in the first period on Friday to snap a five game dry spell on the power play for the Icehawks.

First Period Finesse: The Icehawks have found success in the first period this season. They lead the league in first period goals with 18 and have outshot their opponents 18-8 in the opening stanza. The Icehawks are 2-3 when leading after the first period and 4-0 when leading after the second period this season.

Milestone Watch: Nine-year pro Daniel Tetrault reached a career milestone on Friday as he played in his 500th professional game. Several Icehawks are also quickly approaching milestones. Tab Lardner is one assist shy of 200 in his pro career, Nick Lindberg is three games away from playing in his 250th pro game and Jason Chafe needs two assists to reach 50 in his pro career.

Hot Hands: Forward Jeremy Tucker has been extremely productive since taking a spot on the Icehawks top line. He is on a five game point streak and a four game assist streak with seven points (3g, 4a) in that span. He had 14 points in 61 games with Port Huron last season.

The Icehawks defensive core has also produced offensively this season. Defenseman Ian Turner (3g, 5a), Daniel Tetrault (3g, 3a) and Jamie Lovell (2g, 4a) are all among the league's scoring leaders for defenseman.

Get Your Tickets: Tickets for all Icehawks home games are available now at the Icehawks office, McMorran Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations and www.ticketmaster.com. The Icehawks have introduced several ticket discounts this season, including $5 tickets for kids and seniors on Sundays and buy one, get one free tickets for Tuesday games. For more information call 810-966-3800 or visit www.porthuronicehawks.com.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 10, 2008


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