PrairieThunder Announce Team Awards
April 20, 2010 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Craig Macdonald and Matt McIlvane earned multiple awards at the Bloomington PrairieThunder awards banquet Monday night at The Chateau.
Macdonald was voted by his teammates as the Most Valuable Player after scoring a career-high 90 points with a team-record 44 goals and 46 assists. He finished third in the International Hockey League in overall scoring and had a league-leading 11 game-winning goals.
He also established team records with 16 power play goals and three hats tricks. He was named the league's Player of the Week honor five times. He also earned the team award for Most Points during the season and was one of three players to take the ice for all 76 games.
McIlvane was presented with the Rookie of the Year, Unsung Hero and Coach's awards. He scored 11 goals with 13 assists for 24 points in 62 games. The rookie center spent the majority of the last month of the season on call-up with the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL.
His teammates voted him the Unsung Hero Award based on the role he took on the ice and in the locker room. PrairieThunder coach Jarrod Skalde awarded McIlvane with the Coach's Award for his work ethic, consistent performance throughout the season, the intangibles he brought to the ice, his community service work and his overall contribution to the team on and off the ice.
Jason Lepine was named the Rob Guinn Memorial Defenseman of the Year. He finished third in the league in scoring among defenders with a team-record 44 points on 11 goals and a team-record 33 assists. He also led the league with 17 power play assists.
Fellow defenseman Justin Sawyer was voted to receive the Player's Player Award as the best teammate, while rookie forward Mike Liambas was presented the Community Man of the Year. Liambas represented the PrairieThunder at numerous schools, community events and social functions.
The PrairieThunder finished with a 31-34-5-6 record and a club-record 72 points to tie Flint for a team-best fourth in the standings. The 31 victories tied a team record.
Team records also were set for fewest losses in a season, most victories at home (21), most goals scored (241), most assists (407), most points (648), most penalty minutes (1864) and most hat tricks (7).
International Hockey League 2 Stories from April 20, 2010
- 2010 Waiver Draft Results Announced - IHL 2
- 2010 IHL Turner Cup Playoff Schedule for Round One Announced - IHL 2
- Bedard And Sterling Earn IHL Monthly Honors For April - Port Huron Icehawks
- Komet Winger P.C. Drouin Named IHL Player Of The Month For April - Fort Wayne Komets
- Meijer IHL Monthly Honors For April Announced - IHL 2
- PrairieThunder Announce Team Awards - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Smolinski Named IHL Player Of The Week - Flint Generals
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