PrairieThunder This Week
October 29, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
Upcoming games: Friday (Oct. 30) vs. Fort Wayne at U.S. Cellular Coliseum, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday (Oct. 31) at U.S. Cellular Coliseum vs. Flint.
Radio: Both games can be heard on wjbc.com beginning at 6:50 p.m. Greg Halbleib has the call.
Records: Bloomington (2-2-0-0, 4 points); Fort Wayne (3-1-0-0, 6 points); Flint (1-4-0-0, 2 points)
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 looks to end one streak and continue another in back-to-back International Hockey League home games Friday and Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. Both games start at 7:05 p.m.
Bloomington plays two-time defending IHL champion Fort Wayne and will be looking to snap at seven-game losing streak against the Komets, dating back to last year. Bloomington is 12-26-0-3 in the all-time series against Fort Wayne.
The Komets hold an 8-6-0-1 advantage in games at U.S. Cellular Coliseum and have won three straight in Bloomington. Fort Wayne defeated the PrairieThunder, 2-1, in the first meeting between the teams this season in Fort Wayne one week ago.
Flint and Bloomington meet for the first time this season on Saturday and the PrairieThunder will be seeking its sixth straight win over the Generals, dating back to last season. Bloomington is unbeaten in eight consecutive games with Flint and has won the last four at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
The Generals are led by first-year coach Jason Muzzzati, who served as an emergency back-up goalie for the PrairieThunder in one game last year. Flint holds an 18-16-0-1 all-time record against the PrairieThunder and is 9-8 in games in Bloomington. The PrairieThunder held an 8-5-0-1 record in the season series a year ago.
Friday's game marks the debut of rookie defenseman Jesse Dudas, who was signed earlier this week. He was a sixth-round pick, and the 159th overall selection, in the 2006 NHL draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dudas replaces fellow rookie defenseman Armando Scarlato on the active roster. Scarlato was placed on the 14-day injury list with colitis.
The PrairieThunder is 48-57-4-6 at home overall. Bloomington is 8-10 in all games in October and 6-4 at home during the Halloween month.
Dressed for the occasion: The PrairieThunder will wear special Halloween-themed jerseys in its Saturday game against Flint. The jerseys will be auctioned off to the highest bidder following the game.
Goaltender of the Week: PrairieThunder goalie Paulo Colaiacovo was rewarded for his outstanding play last week when the IHL named him its Goaltender of the Week. Colaiacovo stopped all 26 shots he faced, including six power plays, to register only the third shutout in the team's four-year history with a 4-0 win over Dayton. It was also the first shutout in the 2009-10 International Hockey League this season. In two games last week, Colaiacovo turned away 60 of 62 shots and stopped seven power plays. He improved his goals against average from 4.91 to 2.63 and his save percentage from .844 to .916.
Misc. PT notes: Center Ryan Finnerty has scored at least one point in the team's first four games (1 goal, 4 assists) for five points...Centers Jon Booras and Bill Bagron, along with left wing Craig Macdonald have scored in three of the four games. Booras entered the weekend with four points on 3 goals and 1 assist, while Macdonald had 4 assists. Robin Gomez had four points on 2 goals and 2 assists...The PrairieThunder begins the weekend with 10 straight penalty kills.
Fort Wayne leaders: The Komets are led by Matt Syroczynski with six points (4 goals, 2 assists) and P.C. Drouin with five points and IHL assl-star goalie Nick Boucher. Syroczynski is on an AHL call-up and won't be with the team this weekend. Boucher has a 2-1 record with a 2.99 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.
Flint leaders: Winger Derek Parker, who was in preseason training camp with the PrairieThunder before being released, leads the league with 60 penalty minutes. He has had a major penalty in each game. The Generals lead the league with 175 penalty minutes...Pascal Rheaume is the team scoring leader with five points (1 goal, 4 assists).
Pre-game tailgate party: Six Strings Entertainment Center will sponsor a pre-game tailgate prior to both home games, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from October 29, 2009
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