PrairieThunder this week

Published on February 18, 2008 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release


The Bloomington PrairieThunder will be looking for its third straight victory when it meets the Flint Generals in a 7:05 p.m. International Hockey League game Tuesday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The game is the first of two consecutive contests between the teams at U.S. Cellular and the fourth game in five days for the PrairieThunder. It's been exactly one month since the teams have squared off.

Flint (23-12-3-7) is in second place in the standings with 56 points, while the PrairieThunder (19-26-2-2) has 42 points and sits eight points out of fifth place and 11 out of the fourth and final playoff spot.

Last time out

Blake Stewart scored his first goal and added his first assist to lead the PrairieThunder to a 4-1 victory over league-leading Fort Wayne at U.S. Cellular Coliseum on Sunday. Casey Handrahan also scored his first goal as a member of the PrairieThunder, while Don Parsons and Brent Clarke also scored goals. Rookie goaltender Loic Lacasse stopped 36 of 37 shots to earn his 10th victory of the season.

The last time these teams met

Flint earned a 4-1 win in Bloomington on Jan. 19.

Series history

Flint leads the season series, 7-2, and the overall series, 12-3. The Generals have won six of the last seven games between the teams and are 4-1 at U.S. Cellular Coliseum this year and 5-2 overall.

About the Generals

The Generals begin a string of five games in seven days Tuesday night and are riding a modest two-game winning streak after losing five straight. Flint has a 10-7-1-3 record on the road.

Forward Michel Beausoleil is the team's leading scorer with 51 points, which ranks fifth in the league. Teammate Jsasdon Cirone ranks seventh with 49 points. Cirone is fifth in the league in assists with 33. Greg Bullock has five game-winning goals.

Beausoleil has a team-high 13 points against the PrairieThunder (5 goals, 8 assists), while Jared Dumba and Cirone have 10 points apiece.

Rookie defenseman Nick Tuzzolino ranks fourth among first-year players with 26 points and fourth in assists with 20. He also has five power play goals and 13 power play assists.

Flint leads the league in power play goals against at 55 and in 10-minute misconducts with 18.

The Generals are first in the league in home power play percentage (26.1) and last on the road (13.3), but still rank first overall at 20.2 percent. Flint is fifth in road penalty kills (78.9) and last overall at 79.1 percent.

Flint leads the league in goals per game at 3.73 and averages 32 shots per game.

Goalie Eric Marvin has a 14-11-3-5 record with a 3.24 goals against average and a .889 save percentage, although newcomer Matt Spezza has been in the net for the last two wins. Marvin has a 4-2-0-0 record against the PrairieThunder.

PrairieThunder rumblings

The PrairieThunder ranks second in the league in overall attendance at (75,414) and per game attendance (3,278) after 23 home games. Fort Wayne is the leader at 201,942 after 27 games for an average of 7,479.

Don Parsons leads the PrairieThunder with 47 points to rank ninth in the league. He is second in power play goals with 12 and fifth in shots with 182. Parsons scored five goals in four games last week after scoring only two goals in 12 prior games.

Parsons has a team-high nine points against Flint this year on three goals and six assists.

Defenseman Rod Aldoff has scored seven points in the last eight games and four in the last three games.

When Tim Schneider recorded his first assist of the season last week, it means everyone on the current roster has recorded a point.

Defenseman Casey Handrahan recorded his first goal in a PrairieThunder uniform last week in his 65th game with the team over the last two years.

The PrairieThunder scored 5 of a possible 8 points last week as the offense came to life, scoring 14 goals in four games. In its 10 previous games, the team scored just 17 times.

Last week the special teams also came alive by scoring five goals on four power plays and one short-handed effort.

Jon Booras has scored at least one point (5 total) in the last six games.

The PrairieThunder is third in the power play percentage at home (18.5) and on the road (17.2). The team also is third at home in the penalty kill (84.6) but last on the road (74.7) to rank fifth overall (79.1).

The PrairieThunder is 8-0-1-0 when allowing two or fewer goals in a game and 8-2-1-0 when leading after the first period and 10-2-0-0 when leading after the second period.

Goalie Derek Dolson has a 1-5-0-0 record against Flint while Loic Lacasse is 1-2-0-0.

The PrairieThunder has a 10-11-2-0 record at U.S. Cellular Coliseum this year and a 24-33-4 record all-time. The team is 9-15-0-2 on the road this season.

UPCOMING PRAIRIETHUNDER HOME GAMES

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20 vs. FLINT, 7:05 P.M.

Wine, Women and Hockey presented by Fox & Hounds Day Spa

($35 ticket includes ticket to U.S. Cellular Coliseum Party Suite; services provided by Fox & Hounds Day Spa staff; appetizers; wine tasting. $20 tickets available for Club Seat holders)

Dollar Day Wednesday

($1 popcorn, sodas, hot dogs, 10 ounce draft beer)

College Night

(Half price tickets for college students with valid college ID)

SATURDAY, FEB. 23 vs. FORT WAYNE, 7:05 P.M.

ISU Night and jersey auction

Specially designed game jerseys saluting Illinois State worn by PrairieThunder players to be auctioned off after the game)

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 18, 2008


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