PrairieThunder On Road For Three

November 5, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release


Upcoming games: Friday (Nov. 6) at Port Huron at 6:30 p.m. CT; Saturday (Nov. 7) at Port Huron at 6:30 CT; Sunday (Nov. 8) at Muskegon at 4 p.m. CT.

Radio: All road games can be heard on WTRX (93.7 FM). Greg Halbleib has the call.

B2 network: All road games can be seen live on the b2 network at Six Strings Entertainment Center, 512 N. Main Street, Bloomington. Doors open two hours prior to broadcast. Children are welcome when accompanied by an adult.

Records: Bloomington (5-2-0-0, 10 points); Port Huron (4-1-0-0, 8 points); Muskegon (3-3-0-0, 6 points prior to Friday game at Dayton and Saturday game at Quad City)

Tickets: Tickets for all PrairieThunder games are available at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum box office, calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or 309-585-0507, ext. 304.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Bloomington PrairieThunder, sitting all alone on top of the International Hockey League standings, tackles its first consecutive game road trip of the young season when it treks to Port Huron for back-to-back games Friday and Saturday, then heading to Muskegon for a Sunday matinee contest.

The PrairieThunder will be seeking to match a franchise record of five straight victories when it takes on the IceHawks. Bloomington is off to its best start ever, but enters a place that hasn't been kind to it over the last three years.

Port Huron holds a 14-3-0-1 mark over the PrairieThunder in McMorran Arena, including a 7-1 record last year. The IceHawks lead the all-time series, 26-10-0-1, and won nine straight against Bloomington a year ago.

"This is a big test for us," said PrairieThunder coach Jarrod Skalde. "Obviously, we've had our troubles with Port Huron in the past. They are a well-coached team and play in a building that's difficult to get points in.

"We put together a nice little run at home (four straight wins), but we need to be able to carry that momentum on the road. We need to bring the same confidence and work ethic we had at home on the road."

Bloomington is 1-2 in road games, while Port Huron is undefeated in three home games.

The IceHawks return 10 players from last year's playoff team, but are without two of its top three scorers. One notable missing player is Jamie Carroll, who now skates with the PrairieThunder. Carroll was the third-leading scorer for Port Huron with 80 points a year ago.

Carroll had one goal and two assists in the PrairieThunder's 6-3 victory over Quad City in its latest outing Wednesday. He is second on the team to Craig Macdonald in scoring with seven points. Macdonald has nine points.

Port Huron is led by right wing Mike Kinnie with six goals and two assists for eight points. Goaltender Larry Sterling has a 3-0 record with a .928 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average. Both earned league Player of the Month honors for October.

The PrairieThunder, playing its first stretch of four games in five days, will be out to gain a measure of revenge against Muskegon. Bloomington opened the season with a blistering 9-3 setback at Muskegon.

"We've already had our trouble in Muskegon," said Skalde. "This game should serve as a good measuring stick for us to see where we've come since that game."



International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 5, 2009


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