PrairieThunder out to match unbeaten streak
Published on January 31, 2009 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
The Bloomington PrairieThunder looks to match the longest unbeaten streak in franchise history Saturday when it trevels to Kalamazoo to meet the Wings in a 6:30 p.m. International Hockey League game.
Bloomington, which is unbeaten in its last six games, has a 16-22-1-2 record (35 points) and trails Flint by one point in the standings. Kalamazoo is 25-16-0-0 (50 points). The Wings suffered a rare home loss in their last outing Friday to Muskegon, 5-0. Kalamazoo is 13-4 in home games.
The PrairieThunder has a a 4-0-0-2 mark over the last six games and a 6-2-0-2 record in its last 10 games. The team's latest victory was a 5-3 decision at home over Flint on Friday as Jan Jas scored the third hat-trick in franchise history.
Bloomington holds a 4-3 lead in the season series, but is 1-2 in games at Wings Stadium. The lone victory came in the last meeting between the teams in Kalamazoo when Bloomington registered a 6-2 win.
The PrairieThunder has a 5-12-0-1 mark on the road. Saturday's game is being billed as "On Golden Pond" with the ice colored gold in conjunction with a promotion with McDonald's restaurants in the Kalamazoo area.
Ludzik back in net
Rookie goaltender Ryan Ludzik didn't miss a beat in his return to the net Friday after getting a well-deserved night off Wednesday. Ludzik stopped 21 of 24 shots to move his record to 3-0-0-2 over the last five starts and even his season mark at 7-7-1-2.
In his last 10 starts, Ludzik has compiled a 5-1-1-2 mark during that stretch. He had no decision in one start.
Ludzik earned the IHL's Southern Sports "Goaltender of the Week" award for the third time this season last week after going undefeated in regulation in three games, posting a 1-0-0-2 record with a .933 save percentage and a 2.21 goals against average in 190 minutes of action.
The Niagara Falls, Ontario native faced 105 shots and saved 98, while allowing only seven goals in regulation and overtime (65 minutes per game). His last loss in regulation came Jan. 15 in Port Huron.
No crying Wolfe
The PrairieThunder was in good hands when Ludzik enjoyed his night off.
Jason Wolfe, who was signed by the PrairieThunder a week ago, made his first start Wednesday and earned the victory by stopping 41 of 44 shots in regulation and overtime, then stopped 10 straight shots in the shootout.
The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Wolfe had been playing with the New Mexico Scorpions of the CHL this season before signing with Bloomington. He had a 6-10-2 record.
No. 1 line clicking
The No. 1 line of captain Jon Booras and newcomers Jan Jas and Henry Kuster has been clicking since joining forces 11 games ago. The trio has scored 18 goals with 26 assists for 44 points.
Jas has scored 16 points in 14 games with a plus-5 rating since joining the team. He has scored at least one point in eight of the last 10 games and 20 of the 13 he has appeared in a Bloomington uniform. He has nine goals and seven assists.
Kuster scored a goal 29 seconds into his first game with the PrairieThunder on the way to a four-point night (2 goals, 2 assists). He has 13 points in 10 games. See below for Booras statistics.
Injury list
Goaltender Scott Fankhouser is on the 45-day injured reserve list with a high ankle sprain. During his recovery time, Fankhouser has taken on a more active role in coaching, administration and community services.
Defenseman Jason Lepine continues on the injury list while recovering from ACL surgery. He expects to return to action in March.
Leaders of the pack
Forward Jon Booras leads the PrairieThunder in scoring with 55 points (22 goals, 33 assists) in 40 games to rank fourth in the league. He has already notched more assists than he had last season (29) in 74 contests and needs three points to eclipse his career-high season point total of 57 last season.
Booras is second in the league in power play goals with nine. He has scored at least one point in 30 of the 40 games he has played, including multiple-point efforts 16 times. He has scored at least one point in 10 of the last 11 games.
He also is the franchise leader in games played (187), goals scored (67), assists (85) and points (152).
Shaun Fisher is the team's top scorer among defensemen with 20 points (4 goals, 16 assists), while Adam Tomkow is the top scoring rookie with nine points (3 goals, 6 assists).
Player of the Week
Rookie goaltender Ryan Ludzik is the reigning IHL Goalie of the Week after posting a 2-0-0-2 record last week.
Slapshots, etc.
Brett Holmberg has scored at least one point in 11 of the last 14 games he has played for 17 points. He missed two games with a concussion. The second-year player has already tallied 37 points in 36 games to surpass the 31 he scored last year in 76 contests.
Marty Standish has scored 24 points in the last 22 games. There have only been six times in the 29 games Standish has played with the PrairieThunder that he hasn't recorded a point. He has scored eight points in the last five games.
Standish holds the record for the quickest goal scored to start a game (11 seconds) in franchise history. Four times this season, the PrairieThunder has scored a goal within the first 42 seconds of the game. Those scores came 11, 29, 38 and 42 seconds into a game.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from January 31, 2009
- Icehawks blanked by Komets - Port Huron Icehawks
- Bloomington rides into Kalamazoo, leaves with 4-2 win on McDonald's Golden Ice - Kalamazoo Wings
- Thunder earn 4-2 victory over Kalamazoo - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- K-Wings Countdown to Face-Off - Kalamazoo Wings
- PrairieThunder out to match unbeaten streak - Bloomington PrairieThunder
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