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PrairieThunder Extend Streak to 11

February 9, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


ROCHESTER, MI--- The Bloomington PrairieThunder has rolled to a franchise record 11-game unbeaten streak, giving them an 8-0-0-3 record during that span. The Thunder has earned 19 out of 22 possible points since their last loss in regulation, which occurred on January 16th in Muskegon. Since then, seven out of 11 of Bloomington's games have ended in a shootout. The PrairieThunder have also found ways to earn points at home during the 11 game stretch, posting a 5-1-0-1 record in seven games played at US Cellular Coliseum, earning four straight wins.

Muskegon continues to lead the IHL in power play goals, scoring a total of 47 goals on the man advantage in 45 games played. The Lumberjacks have the best power play percentage at 22.3% with Port Huron close behind with a 20.8%. On the other end, the Icehawks are leading the league in the penalty kill, killing off 200 of 231 chances they have faced in 47 games, giving them an 86.6% rating when being a man down.

With nine weeks left in the regular season, the playoff race is beginning to heat up. With the standings shifting after every game, no team has solidified their spot at the top. Port Huron leads the pack with 59 points, but close behind are Muskegon and Fort Wayne, who are tied for second with 56 points, and Kalamazoo who currently sits in fourth with 54 points. Rounding up the bottom two spots are Bloomington (44 points) and Flint (38 points), where the Generals have played the most games in the IHL with 49.

AROUND THE "I"

Bloomington PrairieThunder - (3-0-0-1) - The PrairieThunder has a franchise record 11-game unbeaten streak with seven during the stretch extending to a shootout (4-3 record in the shootouts). Since coach Jarrod Skalde made some major roster changes following the January 3rd game, the PrairieThunder has a 10-2-0-3 record and in all of 2009, the team is 10-3-1-3. Since becoming the team's Number One line in the January 9th game, Jon Booras, Henry Kuster and Jan Jas have combined to score 60 points for 25 goals and 35 assists in 15 games. Rookie defenseman Nick Goyens scored his first professional goal in Saturday's game at Kalamazoo and rookie goaltender Ryan Ludzik recorded his first professional assist in Sunday's game against Kalamazoo. Jan Jas has scored the winning goal in four of the team's last six wins. With two wins during the week, goalie Ryan Ludzik moved his overall record above .500 for the first time this season. After starting the year with a 1-4 record, Ludzik has posted an 8-3-0-3 record and has won three straight and his unbeaten in his last seven starts (5-0-0-2).

Flint Generals - (1-1-0-0) - Center Jordan Boman has scored both of his goals on the road in Muskegon in consecutive games (1/31 & 2/7). Forward John DiPace scored what proved to be the game winning goal in his 400th pro game in Muskegon on Saturday night. That was his first game-winning goal on the road this season. The other came in the regular season home opener versus Port Huron (4-3) on October 23rd. He now has 297 career points, just three shy of the 300 mark. Goaltender Bill Zaniboni earned his second consecutive victory over his former Lumberjack teammates with the 3-2 victory on Saturday night. The other victory was posted on December 13th, 4-2 over Muskegon. Both games produced 40+ saves for Zaniboni. Steve Rymsha still leads the IHL in goals (29). Rymsha has scored at least one point in 30 of his last 35 games and 37 of his 47 games played.

Fort Wayne Komets - (1-0-1-0) - Komets pulled to within three points of first-place Port Huron earning three out of a possible four points in the two games played. Friday night the Komets won their fifth straight home tilt against Flint this season 3-1.Sunday the Komets fell 4-3 in overtime to the visiting Muskegon Lumberjacks to remain unbeaten in regulation three games straight. Streaking Komets: Forwards Mathieu Curadeau (3a), Leo Thomas (1g, 3a) and Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn (3a) all have three-game point and assist scoring streaks. Goalie Sebastien Laplante has a four-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1-0) in three straight starts. Pence hits 100: Defenseman Jake Pence skated his 100th pro game Sunday vs. Muskegon. Comcast Report Card Night earns A+: Friday night the Komets not only celebrated a 3-1 win over visiting Flint, but also celebrated another successful Comcast Report Card Night crowd of 10,000+ (10,077). Students turned in their report card A's for tickets and earned a $5,000 donation for the Literacy Alliance from Comcast Cable. The Komets lead the IHL and rank second in minor league pro hockey in average per game attendance at 7,850, up 4% over last year in Fort Wayne after 24 home games.

Kalamazoo Wings - (2-2-0-0) - On the season, Kalamazoo is 25-3-0-0 when scoring three or more goals and 2-16-0-0 when being held to fewer than three goals. Lucas Drake played in his 300th career game last Saturday versus Bloomington. The K-Wings will begin their second consecutive four games in five days this Wednesday, February 11th versus the Bloomington PrairieThunder. The game is a rescheduled contest from Sunday, February 22nd. Rick Cleaver leads all rookies in goals scored with 16. Glenn Detulleo is on a three-game goal streak. Kalamazoo is on a season-high tying three-game road losing streak. Rod Aldoff is one goal shy of 100 in his career. Defenseman Casey Handrahan is tied for 5th among all IHL in assists with 22. Kalamazoo is 19-2-0-0 when scoring the games first goal, both loses have come on the road against Bloomington. The K-Wings will host the Port Huron Icehawks this Saturday during the 9th Annual Pink Ice Game, presented by WWMT, The CW 7 and WKFR. The K-Wings are 5-3-0-0 on pink ice and are riding a five-game winning streak in the yearly classic.

Muskegon Lumberjacks - (1-1-0-2) - This past week, the Lumberjacks have played in four consecutive one-goal games with three of those extending to either overtime or the shootout. For the week, they were 1-1-0-2. Through their first 20 road games of the season, the 'Jacks have a winning record of 10-7-2-1. The last time Muskegon has a losing record on the road was way back in the 1996-97seaoson. Muskegon has a busy schedule in the month of February, playing 14 games in 25 days with nine of those on the road. Goaltender John Ceci recorded his first victory in a Muskegon uniform Sunday evening in Fort Wayne, where the 'Jacks won 4-3 in overtime. Center Todd Robinson is currently riding a six-game point streak, scoring one goal and dishing out 11 assists (12 points) during that span. Darryl McArthur has climbed into second place among IHL defensemen with 14 power play assists. Center Billy Collins equaled the Muskegon single game high for most shots on goal with 12 on February 4th at Bloomington.

Port Huron Icehawks - (1-1-0-0) - After a six game drought in which he did not register any points, Icehawks left wing Tab Lardner broke his scoreless streak in a big way on Wednesday, notching a hat trick on Wednesday to lead the Icehawks to a 5-2 victory over the Kalamazoo Wings. It was the Icehawks first hat trick since Brent Hughes accomplished the feat on March 28th of the 2007-08 season. With the game winning tally on Wednesday, Lardner now leads the league in game winning goals with six. Icehawks defenseman Jamie Lovell is ranked second with five. Friday's 4-2 loss at Kalamazoo marked the first time that the Icehawks have lost back-to-back games on the road since late November. After struggling at home in the beginning of the season, the Icehawks have won their last three consecutive home games and are 7-2-1-0 in their last ten home contests. They are 13-9-1-0 at home overall. The Icehawks are undefeated when they lead after the second period this season (20-0). The Icehawks have been outshot just 13 times in 47 games this season. They have outshot their opponents 1,606-1,345 overall, lead the league in first period (552) and third period shots (516) and are ranked second in overall shots, just behind Fort Wayne. They are 17-10-1-0 when outshooting their opponent.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 9, 2009


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