PrairieThunder Pre-Game Report
Published on January 28, 2009 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
The Fort Wayne Komets visit Bloomington and U.S. Cellular Coliseum for the second time in nearly three days Wednesday when the teams meet in a 7:05 p.m. International Hockey League game.
Tonight's game was originally scheduled for Feb. 14, but had to be changed to accommodate a scheduling conflict.
Bloomington will be looking to avenge a 4-3 shootout loss to the Komets on Sunday. The victory by Fort Wayne snapped a two-game losing streak to the PrairieThunder. The victory also gave the Komets a 4-3 lead in the season series.
The PrairieThunder (14-22-1-2, 31 points) enters the game with a season-high four-game undefeated streak, posting a on a 2-0-0-2 mark over the last four games.
The Komets are unbeaten in their last six games with a 4-0-0-2 record and are tied for second with Kalamazoo in the standings with 50 points. Fort Wayne has a 22-14-1-5 record.
Bloomington has a three-game unbeaten streak at home and a 9-10-1-1 overall record at home. Fort Wayne is 13-7-0-2 on the road and has a 2-1 record at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
The Komets are led by P.C. Drouin with 59 points 24 goals, 35 assists), which ranks second in the league. Goaltender Nick Boucher has a league-best 2.75 goals against average and a second-best .908 save percentage.
The Komets have been ravaged by injuries with the key injury being to team captain Colin Chaulk. He has been limited to 28 games because of a foot injury that has required three surgical procedures, but still ranks ninth in the league in scoring with 38 points. He was recently put on the 45-day injured list.
Fort Wayne has regained the services of defenseman Jake Pence and goaltender Sebastie Laplante, who missed several games with a broken collarbone. He has a 4-2 record with a 3.31 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.
Fort Wayne leads the league in power play goals with 47 and short-handed goals with eight.
Wolfe gets first start
Goaltender Jason Wolfe, who was signed by the PrairieThunder last Friday, will make his first start in the net Wednesday. 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.
The 31-year-old Wolfe, who hails from College Park, Maryland, has played in 262 professional games in eight seasons, compiling an 86-92-15 record with a 90 percent save average and a 3.1 goals against mark.
Wolfe began his pro career with Reading in the ECHL in 2001-02. He has played four years in the ECHL, two in the CHL, one in the UHL and one in the EIHL in Manchester.
He spent last season with Oklahoma City in the CHL and was a teammate of current PrairieThunder center Marty Standish. The addition of Wolfe came on the heels of veteran goaltender Scott Fankhouser going on the 45-day injured reserve list with a high ankle sprain. Wolfe wears No. 31.
Ludzik continues to shine
Rookie goaltender Ryan Ludzik gets the night off Wesdnesday after making nine straight starts and compiling a 4-1-1-2 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.
For the season, Ludzik has a 6-7-1-2 record with a 3.75 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. A month ago, he had a 1-4 record with a 4.94 goals against average and a .855 save percentage. That's an improvement of nearly one-and-a-half goals allowed per game and four percent increase in save percentage.
Ludzik's honor marks the ninth time, and the fifth time for a goaltender, in 15 weeks that a PrairieThunder player has earned a weekly honor. Others earning the award have been goalie Scott Fankhouser (twice); center Jon Booras (twice); and forwards Henry
Kuster and Don Parsons (once each).
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. The trio has scored 14 goals with 21 assists.
Jas has scored 13 points in 12 games with a plus-5 rating since joining the team. He has scored at least one point in seven of the last eight games and nine of the 12 he has appeared in a Bloomington uniform. He has six 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 10 points in eight games.
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 52 points (21 goals, 31 assists) in 38 games to rank fifth in the league. He has already notched more assists than he had last season (29) in 74 contests and needs six 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 28 of the 38 games he has played, including multiple-point efforts 15 times. He has scored at least one point in eight of the last nine games.
He also is the franchise leader in games played (185), goals scored (66), assists (83) and points (149).
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 nine of the last 12 games he has played for 14 points. He missed two games with a concussion. The second-year player has already tallied 36 points in 36 games to surpass the 31 he scored last year in 76 contests.
Marty Standish has scored 20 points in the last 20 games. There have only been six times in the 27 games Standish has played with the PrairieThunder that he hasn't recorded a point. He has scored four points in the last three 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.
Upcoming promotions
The PrairieThunder completes its current four-game homestand with a 7:05 p.m. game Friday against Flint. It's Family Four Pack Night where fans can purchase four tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks for $56.
It's also Pepsi Date Night where folks bringing Pepsi product cans to the box office when purchasing tickets can get a two-for-one deal.
In addition, it will be a salute to Illinois Wesleyan Night and members of the school's NCAA qualifying women's soccer team will be recognized prior to the game.
PrairieThunder players will be wearing green jerseys depicting the IWU theme during the game and will be auctioned off following the contest with a portion of the proceeds going to the IWU Alumni Association Fund.
It's also Decatur Youth Hockey Night and members of the organization's youth hockey teams will perform during the first intermission.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from January 28, 2009
- PrairieThunder earns shootout victory - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Game change for Prarie Thunder - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- PrairieThunder Pre-Game Report - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Icehawks Gear Up For Double-Header at Fort Wayne - Port Huron Icehawks
- Generals Stunned After Deck Trade Falls Apart - Flint Generals
- K-Wings Partner with McDonald's for First-Ever Golden Ice Game - Kalamazoo Wings
- Generals Stunned After Deck Trade Falls Apart - Flint Generals
- Komets Pence, Laplante return to lineup - Fort Wayne Komets
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