PrairieThunder This Week
March 23, 2010 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Looking to strengthen its hold on the fourth and final playoff spot in the International Hockey League postseason playoff race, the Bloomington PrairieThunder returns home for a three-game home stand beginning Wednesday with a 7:05 p.m. contest against Dayton at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
The PrairieThunder (28-27-3-5) sits fourth in the standings with 64 points, five ahead of Quad City and Flint. Dayton, playing against the PrairieThunder for the final time this season, has a 23-38-3-1 (50 points) and has lost five of its last six games
Bloomington has an 8-1-01 mark against the Gems, including a 4-1 record at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. Dayton has a 10-21-2-0 ledger on the road, while the PrairieThunder is 18-12-2-0 at home.
Port Huron follows Dayton into town and meets the PrairieThunder in back-to-back games Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday at 4:05 p.m. The IceHawks began the week with a 39-21-0-4 record (82 points). Port Huron is 3-1-2-1 against Bloomington and has a 16-12-0-4 mark on the road, including a 3-0-1-0 record on the PrairieThunder's home ice.
Bloomington regains the services of captain and last year's most valuable player, Jon Booras, and goaltender Andrew Martin against Dayton.
Booras, who ranks eighth in the league in scoring with 62 points, has missed the last nine games with a knee injury. Martin has missed the last 19 games with a hip injury. He has a 10-9-2-3 record with a 3.11 goals against average and an.893 save percentage.
The PrairieThunder will be without the services of goaltender Kevin Armstrong (knee); center Rick Varone (wrist); forward Mike Liambas (wrist) and defensemen Matthew Spiller (concussion).
*More Thunder rumbles*
The PrairieThunder has a 22-10-0-2 record on the three teams behind it in the standings (Quad City, Flint and Dayton) and a 6-17-3-3 mark on the three teams ahead of it in the standings (Muskegon, Fort Wayne and Port Huron). Bloomington has 5 of its remaining 13 games against the three teams (Flint 3 and Quad City 2) trying to catch it in the standings.
Bloomington is 21-5-2-2 when scoring the game's first goal.
The PrairieThunder is 23-0-2-2 when leading after the first period and 24-0-1-2 when leading after the second period.
Forward Brett Holmberg has scored a goal in six straight games, the longest streak by a PrairieThunder player this season, and has scored nine points during that stretch.
When the PrairieThunder defeated Muskegon, 4-1, on Wednesday, it set a record for most wins at home in a season with 18.
Matt Woodard has scored two goal with four assists for six points since joining the team six games ago.
The last two weeks the PrairieThunder has been without seven regulars because of injuries or call-ups.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 23, 2010
- Dayton Gems Game Broadcast Live On Ultimate Oldies Radio 101.1 & 97.7 - Dayton Gems
- PrairieThunder This Week - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Icehawks Hit The Road To Kick Off Season's Final Four Weeks - Port Huron Icehawks
- Mallards Weekly Update - Quad City Mallards
- Komet Fans Help Raise More Thank $9,000 With US Army - Fort Wayne Komets
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.
