Second Period Onslaught Dooms Thunder
Published on February 24, 2014 under SPHL (SPHL)
Bloomington Thunder News Release
BLOOMINGTON - The Bloomington Thunder gave up two early second-period goals to break open a close game as the Knoxville Ice Bears handed the hosts their worst loss of the season, 8-1 on Monday night at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
The Ice Bears struck first on a wraparound stuffed inside the right post by Francis Drolet with 4:30 showing on the first period clock.
Knoxville pushed the lead to 2-0 just 34 seconds into the second period on a power play goal by Eric Satim from the slot after Thunder goalie B.J. O'Brien could not get back to the crease in time after attempting to play the puck behind the net. Jon Higgins scored on a wrist shot from the left point just 52 seconds later to give Knoxville a 3-0 lead and end the night for O'Brien, who was replaced by Breton Lindoff in goal. The Ice Bears increased the advantage to 4-0 with 6:43 left in the middle period when Berkley Scott crashed the left post to convert a centering pass from behind the net by Drolet. The Ice Bears took advantage of a four-minute power play to surge ahead 5-0 with 1:14 left when Andrew Dovey scored from close range near the left circle on a backdoor feed from Peter Neal.
The guests took a 6-0 cushion on a two-on-none as David Segal exited the penalty box and completed the break by tapping in a rebound of Satim's drive. The Thunder finally entered the scoring column just 1:22 later when Travis Granbois found the five-hole of Knoxville goalie Cody Rosen with assists given to Marcus Mitchell and Curtis Megginson to cut the deficit to 6-1. Drolet scored twice more within 24 seconds in the final two minutes to complete his hat trick and set the final score.
O'Brien took the loss by stopping nine out of the 12 shots he faced while Rosen made 18 saves for the win. Each team was given five power plays with the Ice Bears scoring the only two man-advantage goals.
The loss equals the largest number of goals surrendered by the Thunder in a game and is their largest losing margin, surpassing an 8-3 loss at Pensacola on February 1.
The Thunder and Ice Bears conclude the Bloomington homestand on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. Drafts, soda, hot dogs and popcorn are all $2 each on $2 Tuesday. For game day and individual tickets, visit the U.S. Cellular Coliseum or call 309-434-2679. For more information on the Thunder, call 309-434-2980 or visit Facebook, Twitter (BLMThunder) and www.bloomingtonthunder.com.
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