PrairieThunder hits the road for three straight games
Published on November 16, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
- The Bloomington PrairieThunder (4-7-0, 8 pts.) and the Rockford Icehogs (6-5-0, 12 pts.) meet for the third time this season. Rockford has won the previous two meetings, 5-3 and 5-1, at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington. The PrairieThunder have won two of its last three games, while Rockford snapped a two-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over Fort Wayne on Wednesday.
- Port Huron had a 3-10-0 record ahead of Friday's home game against Flint. The Flags dropped their last decision, 2-1, Wednesday at home against Flint and are in the midst of a three-game losing streak.
- Kalamazoo had an 8-3-0 record ahead of Friday's game at Muskegon. The Wings lost their last outing on Wednesday at home against Muskegon, 3-1.
Last time out
Defenseman Jeff Mushaluk scored what proved to be the winning goal 2 minutes, 37 seconds into the third period to help the Bloomington PrairieThunder to a 4-3 victory over the Elmira Jackals before 4,298 people at U.S. Cellular Coliseum on Saturday night.
Mushaluk, who told Coach Derek Booth earlier in the week that this weekend's series with Elmira would be his final games, scored his goal without an assist. It was the second time this season Mushulask had scored the winning goal.
The victory moved the PrairieThunder record to 4-7 in United Hockey League action. Elmira dropped to 7-4.
The PrairieThunder erupted for three goals in the first period for the first time in franchise history after Elmira had taken a 1-0 lead on a Dale Lupul goal at the 14:59 mark.
Alex Goupil scored his first of two goals three minutes later on a power play off an assist by Tyler Rennette and Jon Jankus. Teammate Brad Thompson put the PrairieThunder ahead, 2-1, at the 6:29 mark off another assist by Jankus.
Goupil, who was playing only his second game with the PrairieThunder scored another power play goal with 1:14 remaining in the first period to give Bloomington a 3-1 cushion.
PrairieThunder goalie Steffan Braunlich had 35 saves on 38 shots to earn his first victory of the season. Against the Icehogs
- Oct. 21 - Fifteen penalties made for a rough night at U.S. Cellular Coliseum as the Icehogs scored three power-play goals on their way to a 5-3 victory before 4,027 people. Rockford owned a 35-28 shots on goal advantage. Jesse Bennefield had two goals and an assist to lead Rockford.
- Nov. 3 - Preston Mizzi scored two goals and added an assist to power Rockford to a 5-1 victory before 3,110 people Friday night at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. Mizzi scored his goals in the second and third periods. The PrairieThunder took a 1-0 lead early in the first period on a Garett Cameron goal off an assist by Mathieu Brunelle and Jon Jankus at the 6:29 mark before the Icehogs took control.
Against Port Huron - First meeting of the season
Against Kalamazoo - First meeting of the season
PrairieThunder leaders
- Goals scored - B.J. Gaustad, Jason Lawmaster, Mathieu Brunelle, Alex Goupil - 3 - Assists - Tyler Rennette - 10 - Points - Tyler Renette - 12 - Shots - Mathieu Brunelle - 34 - Penalty minutes - Jason Payne - 20 - Wins - Jeff Reynaert - 3 - Saves - Jeff Reynart - 197 - Save percentage - Steffan Braunlich - .911
PrairieThunder on injured reserve
- Center Trevor Baker 21 day as of Oct. 26, retro-active to Oct. 23 - Defenseman Mark Phenow - 21-day as of Oct. 24, retro-active to Oct. 22
PrairieThunder transactions
- Nov. 16 - Waived forward Brock Becker
- Nov. 14 - Waived forward Ander Niec
- Nov. 13 - Acquired forward Brad Bonello from Port Huron
- Nov. 12 - Placed defenseman Jeff Mushulak on team suspension
- Nov. 9 - Signed forward Alex Goupil
- Nov. 6 - Acquired defenseman Ryan Gillis and defensemen Jeff Cameron from Port Huron for left wing Garett Cameron, defenseman Chris Bogas and defenseman Sam Webber
- Nov. 1 - Forward Jon Jankus signed and added to roster;
waived forward Jason Cassels
- Oct. 26 -Signed forward Mike Adamek, defenseman Tim Schneider and defenseman Andrew Lackner
Waived defenseman Mike O'Donnell
- Oct. 21 - Signed forward Jon Boorus and defenseman Sam Webber
Waived forward Jeff Marler and Phil Cherneski
- Oct. 19 - Signed forward Jeff Marler
- Oct. 16 - Placed Greg Mauldin on non-roster spot
- Oct. 12 - Signed center Tyler Rennette
Signed defenseman Mike O'Donnell
- Oct. 10 - Signed forward left wing Jason Payne
PrairieThunder rumblings
- The PrairieThunder are embarking on its longest road trip of the season with five games away from home during an eight-day span. The PrairieThunder returns home for a Nov. 25 game against Port Huron at 7:05 p.m.
- Defenseman Jason Lawmaster is expected to return to the lineup after missing the last two games with an injury.
- Brad Bonello makes his season debut for the PrairieThunder Friday night after being acquired from Port Huron earlier this week to complete a six-player deal that also brought defensemen Ryan Gillis and Jeff Cameron to the PrairieThunder.
- Center Trevor Baker and defenseman Mark Phenow are both recovering from hernia surgery.
- The PrairieThunder has a 3-2 record in November. It posted a 1-5 record in October.
- The PrairieThunder has a 3-4 record against Western Conference teams and a 1-3 record against Eastern Conference teams.
- The PrairieThunder is coached by Derek Booth, the Southern Professional Hockey League Coach of the Year last season at Fayetteville (N.C.). The FireAntz compiled a 31-19 record last season and advanced to the league playoffs. This is Booth's third year as a head coach and he has a 67-50 career record including this season.
- The PrairieThunder competes in the Western Conference of the UHL with the Fort Wayne Komets, the Quad City Mallards, the Chicago Hounds and Rockford Icehogs. Competing in the Eastern Conference are the Elmira (N.Y.) Jackals, the Flint (Mich.) Generals, the Port Huron (Mich.) Flags, the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Wings and the Muskegon (Mich.) Fury .
- PrairieThunder franchise firsts: First goal - Tyler Rennette (Oct. 13 at Muskegon), First goal at U.S. Cellular Coliseum - Andre Niec (Oct. 14 vs. Fort Wayne), Largest crowd - 5,102 (Oct. 14 vs. Fort Wayne).
- Fans can get the latest PrairieThunder news by clicking on its Web site at prairiethunderhockey.com. They can order tickets for all home games by calling the box office at 309-434-2679 or on-ilne at www.uscellularcoliseum.com Tickets are priced at $10, $12, $15 and $20.
Quoting Coach Booth
"It's a situation where sometimes going on the road is a good situation. You don't have to put a big show on like when you're at home. You don't have to try to win games by five goals. Sometimes you can win those ugly games. That's what we're hoping for this week. With the new guys in the lineup, we want to keep things simple and not try to put the big show on."
"I'm looking forward to see how our team responds on a long road trip. I think with the guys we've brought in they have elevated the caliber of our play. It's tougher and more stressful trying to win games on the road."
"Rockford is a good team. They are well-rounded. They have some unbelievable defense and some solid goal-scoring forwards. It's going to be a tough game, but with what we've got in our lineup now, I think we have a better shot at beating those guys."
"Port Huron is kind of in the same boat as us. They are still gelling as a team, trying to get the chemistry together and trying to bring in better players. Then we go into Kalamazoo, the defending champions. It's a good caliber team and it's going to be nice to see how we stack up with those guys. Three big games for us that we have to be ready for."
Quoting defenseman Ryan Gillis
"I think we're fast and have some good skill up front. Overall, we're a deep team with guys who can score on all three lines and guys who can play defense. I think we have a pretty good mix."
"It will definitely be exciting going against my old teammates. You always want to do well against the team that traded you. Myself, Jeff (Cameron) and Brad (Bonello) are looking forward to that. You try show the old team that they made a mistake by getting rid of you."
International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 16, 2006
- PrairieThunder hits the road for three straight games - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Flags Weekend Promotions - Port Huron Flags
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
