PrairieThunder makes up ground in push for playoffs
Published on February 12, 2007 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
The Bloomington PrairieThunder (15-33-2) moved within eight points of the eighth and final United Hockey League playoff berth with back-to-back victories in its last two outings at home against Fort Wayne on Saturday and against Quad City in Moline on Sunday.
The PrairieThunder has 32 points and trails Port Huron (17-27-6, 40 points) by eight points for the final berth with 26 games remaining. Chicago (18-28-2, 38 points) is sandwiched between the two teams. The PrairieThunder has six games remaining against Chicago and two with Port Huron, including a matchup Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Port Huron.
The contest with Port Huron is the second of a three-game road trip for the PrairieThunder, which opens its road swing at Flint (23-25-4) at 6:30 p.m. Friday. A stop in Fort Wayne (33-14-2) for a 4 p.m. Western Conference contest Sunday concludes the trip.
The PrairieThunder, which has a 6-17-2 record on the road, is winless in three games against Flint; 2-2 (including a shootout loss) versus Port Huron and 2-5 against Fort Wayne. The PrairieThunder is 0-2 in games at Flint; 0-2 in Port Huron and 0-3 in Fort Wayne.
Bloomington registered a 3-2 shootout victory at the MARK in Moline on Sunday in its last outing with Jon Booras and Mike Zbriger scoring goals in regulation. Greg Koehler and Booras registered goals in the shootout with Booras notching the game-winner.
"It was a big confidence booster for the team," said winning goalie Steffan Braunlich, who stopped 37 of 39 shots and four of five in the shootout. "The guys really played hard over the weekend and it's good to see them get some positive results.
"I just tried to take things one shot at a time in the shootout and make the saves. The guys made it easier on me by scoring some big goals. This is a big for me because I have been struggling."
PrairieThunder coach Derek Booth cited the team's aggressive play for its last two victories.
"We played with more grit and determination," said Booth. "The two things that have helped us the last few games are that we are finishing our checks and our goaltending."
Booras, who notched his second game-winning goal of the season, scored his first goal on a break-away seconds after coming out of the penalty box. He scored his goal in the shootout as the fourth of five shooters with the playoff match even at 1-1.
"I deked him (the goalie) earlier in the game, so I thought if I came down and let a quick shot off I'd catch him off guard," said Booras. "This was a huge win because this is a tough place to play in and get a win."
PrairieThunder 'Player of the Week'
Bloomington PrairieThunder center Tyler Rennette became the first player in franchise history to earn the Lone Star Restaurant "Player of the Week" honor in back-to-back weeks, it was announced Monday.
Rennette scored one goal and added four assists in four games last week for five points. He has scored eight points in the last six games and has 34 points, one behind leader Mike Zbriger for the team-leading 35.
Rennette had a goal and an assist against Quad City on Friday for two points. He also had an assist in the PrairieThunder's last two games, which resulted in victories. For the season, the veteran has scored 13 goals and added 21 assists, despite missing 11 games in December because of an injury.
Other Players of the Week have included Jon Booras (twice), Ryan Gillis, Alex Goupil, Jarad Bourassa, Jeff Reynaert and Mike Zbriger.
PrairieThunder rumblings
- Rookie forward Mike Zbriger leads the PrairieThunder in scoring with 35 points. Zbriger snapped a six-game
scoring drought last week and has four points in the last five games. Zbriger scored 19 of his points while he was with Flint. Zbriger was traded to the PrairieThunder at the first of January. He has played 18 games with the PrairieThunder and has scored three goals with 13 assists for 16 points. Among rookies in the UHL, Zbriger is tied for first in power play goals with eight and seventh in scoring with 35 points.
- Five players have scored in double-digits in goals for the season: Zbriger 18 (15 with Flint); Greg Koehler 15 (13
with Chicago); Alex Goupil 14 and Brad Thompson 10.
- Goaltender Jeff Reynaert ranks fourth in the UHL in saves with 1,136.
- The PrairieThunder has a 9-16 record at U.S. Cellular Coliseum and a 6-17-2 record on the road.
- Bloomington is 4-2 in shootouts. PrairieThunder shootout results among current active players: B.J. Gaustad 3-5, Alex Goupil 2-6, Tyler Rennette 1-3, Jon Booras 1-2, Greg Koehler 1-1, Jarad Bourassa 0-2, Brad Thompson 0-1, Trevor Baker 0-1 and John Spoltore 0-1.
- The PrairieThunder has a 9-21 record against Western Conference teams and a 6-12-2 record against Eastern Conference teams. 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.
- The PrairieThunder posted a 1-5 record in October; 5-6 in November; 2-11-2 in December; 4-8 in January; and 3-3 in February.
- Bloomington ranks third in overall average attendance in the UHL, drawing an average of 3,645 people for 25 games. The league average is 3,367. There has been a total of 91,147 people attend PrairieThunder games to date. The PrairieThunder trails Rockford for second in attendance. The IceHogs have draw4,639 more people in the same number of home games.
- Each time the PrairieThunder scores four or more goals in games at U.S. Cellular Coliseum, its fans are treated to free Big Mac's the day following the game at the seven Twin Cities McDonalds. Thus far, the PrairieThunder has scored four or more goals eight times meaning 6,316 Big Macs have been given out for free. The latest time was Sunday when 794 were handed out.
- 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 home crowd - 5,488 (Jan. 27, 2007 vs. Chicago).
Against Flint
- Nov. 24 - at Flint 3, Bloomington 1
- Dec. 10 - at Flint 4, Bloomington 2
- Dec. 26 - Flint 4, at Bloomington 1
Against Port Huron
- Nov. 18 - at Port Huron 1, Bloomington 0
- Nov. 25 - at Bloomington 3, Port Huron 1
- Dec. 22 - at Port Huron 4, Bloomington 3
Against Fort Wayne
- Oct. 14 - at Bloomington 4, Fort Wayne 2
- Oct. 28 - at Fort Wayne 4, Bloomington 1
- Nov. 23 - at Fort Wayne 5, Bloomington 2
- Dec. 29 - Fort Wayne 5, at Bloomington 3
- Jan. 20 - at Fort Wayne 6, Bloomington 1
- Jan. 24 - Fort Wayne 4, Bloomington 3
- Feb. 10 - at Bloomington 4, Fort Wayne 2
PrairieThunder coach
The PrairieThunder is coached by Derek Booth, the Southern Professional Hockey League Coach of the Year last season at Fayetteville (NC). 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 78-76-8 career record including this season.
PrairieThunder leaders
- Goals scored - Mike Zbriger - 15 (12 with Flint)
- Assists - Tyler Renette - 21
- Points - Mike Zbriger - 35 (19 with Flint);
- Shots - B.J. Gaustad - 140
- Penalty minutes - Jarad Bourassa - 80 (17 with Rockford)
- Wins - Jeff Reynaert - 10
- Saves - Jeff Reynaert - 1,136
- Save percentage - Steffan Braunlich - .901
PrairieThunder records:
Playing at home: 9-16-0
Playing on the road: 6-17-2
PrairieThunder scores first: 11-10-1
Opponent scores first: 3-24-0
PrairieThunder leads after 1st period: 8-3-1
Opponent leads after 1st period: 2-16-1
PrairieThunder leads after 2nd period: 9-2-0
Opponent leads after 2nd period: 1-25-0
Tied after first period: 5-14-0
Tied after second period: 5-6-2
Game goes into shootout: 4-2
One-goal games: 8-8-2
PrairieThunder has more shots on goal: 7-10-0
Goals for per game: 2.44
Goals against per game: 3.82
Shots per game: 29.28
Shots against per game: 36.42
Penalty killing record: 62-321 (80.7 percent)
Power play opportunities: Bloomington 34-277 (12.3 percent)
Shorthanded goals: 7
Last 10 games: 3-7
Last 5 games: 3-2
Scoring by periods:
Bloomington 40 46 32 4 - 122
Opponents 58 59 72 2 - 191
Recent PrairieThunder transactions
- Feb. 2 - Place defenseman Dion Hyman on non-roster spot
- Jan. 29 - Sent defenseman Andrew Lacker to Chicago to complete Koehler trade
- Jan. 24 - Waived forward Andre Niec
- Jan. 23 - Obtained center Greg Koehler from Chicago for future consideration
PrairieThunder on injured reserve
- None
Coming up next for the PrairieThunder
- Feb. 16 - PrairieThunder at Flint, 6:30 p.m.
- Feb. 17 - PrairieThunder at Port Huron, 6:30 p.m.
- Feb. 18 - PrairieThunder at Fort Wayne, 4 p.m.
Upcoming PrairieThunder promotions
- February is Kroger Month. (Fans can turn in receipts from Kroger stores at the box office and receive a free game ticket with the purchase of a game ticket)
- Feb. 21 - Wine, Women and Hockey presented by Fox and Hounds Day Spa
- Feb. 24 - PrairieThunder Fleece blanket giveaway to the first 1,500 fans 21 and over sponsored by Bud Light
- Feb. 24 - Appearance by Quick Change dress team, which recently appeared on Oprah
- Feb. 24 - UHL Battle of the Bands
- Feb. 25 - Normal Community state championship team honored
- Feb. 25 - Pantagraph/Insight Kids Day ($6 kids tickets and $3 kids meal special including trading card of Chip, the PrairieThunder mascot)
- Appearance by Cosmo and Wanda sponsored by Insight
PrairieThunder tickets
- 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.prairiethunderhockey..com Tickets are priced at $10, $12, $15 and $20.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 12, 2007
- PrairieThunder makes up ground in push for playoffs - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Komet winger K.J. Voorhees retires - Fort Wayne Komets
- UHL names weekly award winners - IHL 2
- Jackals Split Weekend Series With Chicago - Elmira Jackals
- Flags End Week 18 with a Win - Port Huron Flags
- Mallards Complete 2-0-1 Weekend - Quad City Mallards
- Kalamazoo Wings Week in Review - Kalamazoo Wings
- Rennette earns weekly honor again - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Komets post six-point week - Fort Wayne Komets
- Generals Weekly Recap - Flint Generals
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