PrairieThunder This Week
December 28, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Bloomington PrairieThunder continues to keep its nose to the grindstone Tuesday by playing its third game in four days when it meets league-leading Muskegon at 7:05 p.m. at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
It's also the middle game of a five games-in-eight-days stretch for the PrairieThunder, which stands third in the International Hockey League standings with a 14-8-1-2 record and 31 points. In previous years, the PrairieThunder did not reach the 14-win mark until Jan. 23, Jan. 12 and Feb. 10.
Bloomington also will be looking to put a cap on the most successful month of December in the franchise's three-year history. The PrairieThunder is 5-3 in the Christmas month, including a franchise-best 5-1 record at home. The lone home loss was a 2-1 decision to Muskegon 10 days ago.
In previous Decembers, the PrairieThunder has posted a combined 8-30-2-2 mark with three wins being the most during the month each of the last two seasons.
The PrairieThunder will be looking for its first victory of the season over the Lumberjacks in four games and to extend a modest home win streak to three. Bloomington is 58-61-6-4 all-time at U.S. Cellular Coliseum and 11-3-1-0 this year.
Muskegon brings four-game winning streak on the road into Tuesday's game, the longest road streak in the IHL this season. The Lumberjacks, who are 16-3-0-3 in its last 22 games, are undefeated in their last 10 road contests (7-0-0-3) with the last setback coming on Halloween.
The Lumberjacks have the top three scorers in the league in Robin Bouchard (46), Todd Robinson (43) and the injured John DiPace (32). Bouchard leads the IHL in goals scored with 22, power play goals with seven and game-winning goals with five. Robinson is first in assists with 31 and power play assists with 11.
Bloomington's Craig Macdonald is tied with DiPace for third in the league in scoring with 32 points, while teammates Jon Booras (28) and Billy Bagron (24) are fifth and eighth, respectively. Macdonald has four-game winning goals.
Muskegon goaltender Sebastien Centomo tops the league in victories with 12. He carries a 2.36 goals against average and a.914 save percentage. Bloomington's Andrew Martin is 5-1 over his last six games with the lone loss to Muskegon.
Bloomington leads the league in power play percentage at 21.4 (24 goals in 112 chances) and is third on the penalty kill (81.5 percent). The Lumberjacks lead the league in goals scored (96) and penalty minutes (718).
Looking ahead:
The PrairieThunder is 2-2 in games against Fort Wayne with both victories coming at home. The Komets are tied with the PrairieThunder for third in the standings with a 15-10-0-1 record. Bloomington is winless in its only game at War Memorial Coliseum. The Komets are 8-2-0-1 at home, while the PrairieThunder is 3-6-0-2 on the road.
Bloomington is winless in three games (0-2-0-1) against Quad City at the iwireless Center. The PrairieThunder is undefeated in five games at home against the Mallards.
Thunder rumbles:
The PrairieThunder is 14-0-1-1 when leading after the first period and 12-0-1-1 when leading after the second period. Bloomington is 13-2-1-1 when it scores the game's first goal.
Center Jon Booras has had an assist in six straight games and has scored seven points during the six-game stretch
Rookie defenseman Cole Ruwe scored his first goal of the season in 26 games Sunday.
Likewise, defenseman Justin Sawyer scored only his third professional goal (and second of the season) in Saturday's game. Sawyer is in his fifth professional season and has played in 217games.
Defenseman Jason Lepine had a sting of five straight games where he scored at least one point snapped in Saturday's game. During the five-game stretch, Lepine scored seven points after scoring only four in the first 19 games
International Hockey League 2 Stories from December 28, 2009
- Bedard Named IHL Player Of The Week - Port Huron Icehawks
- Komets To Ring In 2010 With Busy Week; Schrock Named Rookie Of The Week - Fort Wayne Komets
- Icehawks Look To Continue Winning Into New Year - IHL 2
- PrairieThunder This Week - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- IHL Awards Weekly Honors For Week Eleven - IHL 2
- Generals Guest Baggers - Flint Generals
- Mallards Weekly Update - Quad City Mallards
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
