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IHL Kicks Off Opening Weekend

October 19, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


ROCHESTER, MI--- The International Hockey League 2009-10 season kicked off Friday night when the 2009 Turner Cup Champion Fort Wayne Komets traveled to Dayton to face-off against the Gems in their first game in the new IHL. Dayton forward Sam Bloom netted the first goal for the new Gems, scoring shorthanded on Komet goaltender Nick Boucher. The Gems dropped their first game in a tough loss to the two-time champions, earning one point in the 4-3 overtime loss.

Also opening Friday was the Flint Generals, who hosted the Muskegon Lumberjacks. The Generals, who are celebrating their 40th season of professional hockey, earned the win over the Lumberjacks, who are celebrating their 50th season of professional hockey. Flint's Jason Muzzatti earned his first win as a head coach in the 3-1 victory over the visiting Lumberjacks.

The Quad City Mallards kicked off their inaugural season in the IHL with a visit to Flint on Saturday night. Mallards forward Patrick Levesque scored the first goal of the season for Quad City. The Mallards scored two more to seal the 3-1 victory over the Generals.

Port Huron forward Mike Kinnie notched the first hat trick of the 2009-10 season when the Icehawks hosted the Komets on Saturday night to open their third season. Kinnie scored two goals on the power play and one even-strength, also earning the game- winning goal for the Icehawks. Port Huron went on to defeat Fort Wayne by a final score of 5-4. Kinnie was the only player to record a hat trick in the preseason, netting three goals against the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL.

AROUND THE "I"

Bloomington PrairieThunder (1-1-0-0)-The PrairieThunder look to keep their home opener unbeaten streak intact and move it to 4-0 Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum when they meet the Dayton Gems. Of the 12 goals scored between Muskegon and the PrairieThunder on Saturday in the Lumberjacks' 9-3 victory, six were scored in a 55-second span of the game. The Jacks scored three straight goals in a 27-second span in the second period and the PrairieThunder scored three straight goals in a 28-second span in the third period. Goaltender Paulo Colaiacovo earned his first victory in net in over a year when he defeated Dayton, 4-2, Sunday. Colaiacovo missed the entire 2008-09 season while recovering from a torn ACL. Jon Booras scored three points in two games over the weekend to push his career total to 200.

Dayton Gems (0-1-1-0)- The Dayton Gems made their return to Hara Arena for the first time in 29 years on Friday. Fans were treated to a spectacular opening as three jerseys were retired including Guy Trottier, Warren Back and Pat Rupp. Sam Bloom made his pro hockey debut a great one, scoring his first professional goal shorthanded in the opening period as the Gems fell 4-3 in OT to the Komets. Dayton Head Coach John Marks, and defensemen Phil Youngclaus and Preston Briggs were together with the former Pensacola Ice Pilots of the ECHL. On Friday night the Dayton Gems scored all three of their goals via special teams. The Gems struck for one shorthanded and two on the power play, including one five-on-three. Sunday, the Gems struck for two even strength goals and had the three lone power plays of the game.

Flint Generals (1-1-0-0)- The Generals kicked off their 2009-10 campaign on Friday, October 16th with a big 3-1 victory against the Muskegon Lumberjacks. This season marks the 40th year of professional hockey in Flint. The Flint Generals of IHL (1969-1985), the Flint Spirits of IHL (1985-1990), Flint Bulldogs of Colonial Hockey League (1991-1993), Flint Gener- als of Colonial Hockey League (1993-97) of the UHL (1997-07) and again of the IHL (2007-present). Generals goaltender Jean-Francois Labbe is just two games away from playing in his 900th career regular season game, number 898 came Friday, October 17th in the Generals season opener. Entering this season, Pascal Rheaume is just 20 goals away from reaching career number 600.

Fort Wayne Komets (1-1-0-0)- The Komets successfully began their defense of the Turner Cup with a 4-3 overtime win at Dayton Friday night. It marked the first time a Fort Wayne team traveled to Dayton, Ohio, and Hara Arena since March 15, 1980 when the Komets and Gems skated to a 4-4 tie. Al Sims has never lost a Fort Wayne season opener as head coach, winning his seventh Friday. Overall the Komets are 32-22-0-4 in 58 season openers, 15-14-0-3 when opening on the road. Matt Syroczynski (LW) was the only IHL player to have goals in each game played. The Komets were short- handed a league-high 16 times, surrendering an IHL-high five power play goals for the week. Guy Dupuis (D) led the IHL with 10 shots in the two games played. Nick Boucher faced the most shots of IHL goalies over the weekend with 74.

Muskegon Lumberjacks (1-1-0-0)- On their opening night Saturday night, the Lumberjacks saluted and celebrated 50 years of pro hockey in Muskegon by welcoming 25 of their legends and all-time greats, representing each of the previous four eras of Muskegon hockey; the Zephyrs (1960-65), the Mohawks (1965-84), the Lumberjacks (1984-92) and the Fury (1992-2008). In their home opening night 9-3 win over Bloomington, Lumberjacks rookies Matt Krug and Matt Robertson each scored their first ever pro goals. Center Todd Robinson (498) is just two games away from 500 with Muskegon. He ranks fourth all-time in games played. With his win Saturday night, Rich Kromm, in his second tour of duty as head coach, has collected 131 wins, which ranks him number two all-time for the Muskegon franchise.

Port Huron Icehawks (1-0-0-0)- For the first time in their three year history, the Icehawks won their season opener, as they beat the Fort Wayne Komets 5-4 on Saturday. In the last two seasons, the Icehawks dropped the first game of the season. The Icehawks open the new season with a 1-0 record versus Fort Wayne on home ice, despite going just 1-5-2-0 versus the Komets at McMorran Arena in the 2008-09 season. The Icehawks power play was key in Saturday's win, converting on three of eight power play opportunities (37.5%). They finished the weekend first in the league on the power play and tied for first on the power play at home. The Icehawks named their captains last week. Newcomer and veteran defenseman Kevin Hansen was elected captain, while Tab Lardner and Daniel Tetrault are serving as assistant captains.

Quad City Mallards (1-0-0-0)- The Mallards this Saturday will play their first regular season home game since the UHL Mallards defeated the Muskegon Fury 4-2 on April 1, 2007. The Mallards will face-off against the Komets, who last met on March 23, 2007 when the Mallards eked out a 7-6 shootout win in Fort Wayne. All-time the Mallards have gone 33-28-7 against the Komets. Shane Lovdahl last Saturday night recorded his first professional point- an assist on Juris Stals' game winning goal. Though the Mallards are a first year team, two pairs of Mallards are now teammates for a second straight season. Lipsett and defenseman Jason Goulet both played for Rapid City (CHL) last year. Defenseman Matt Burke and goaltender Kyle Jones both suited up for Phoenix (ECHL) last season.

IHL WEEKLY AWARDS

IHL Player of the Week

Kinnie completed opening weekend posting a total of three points, scoring three goals in one game played. He netted the IHL's first hat trick of the season Saturday in the Icehawks home opener against the Fort Wayne Komets. Kinnie scored two power play goals and one even-strength tally, helping push the Icehawks to a 5-4 win over the Komets. The 27-year-old Shelby Township, Michigan native currently leads the IHL in goals scored (3) and is tied for fifth in points after just one game played.

IHL Rookie of the Week

Krug had a big first weekend as a pro, scoring his first goal of his professional career for the Lumberjacks. He also dished out three assists, giving him a total of four points in two games played. Krug finished the two-game weekend with a plus-two rating. The 24-year- old Southfield, Michigan native's four points currently leads all rookies and all IHL defenseman in scoring after the first weekend of play.

IHL Goaltender of the Week

Laplante finished the weekend starting and winning the inaugural game played for the Mallards in the IHL. He posted a 1-0-0-0 record and a .964 save percentage, stopping 27 of 28 shots he faced from the Generals Saturday. The 28-year-old Casselman, Ontario native held Flint to just one goal, which was scored with 32 seconds left in the contest. Laplante had gone 119:32 in exhibition and the regular season without being scored upon. He currently leads all IHL goaltenders in goals against average (1.00) and is sec- ond in save percentage (.964).



International Hockey League 2 Stories from October 19, 2009


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