Special Teams End Blaze Home Winning Streak

December 17, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


BLOOMINGTON - The Bloomington Blaze, presented by Mid-Illini Credit Union, ended their five-game home winning streak while the Dayton Gems broke their five-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Blaze on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The Blaze broke through first again with 13:46 left in the opening period when Kyle Laughlin tapped in a bouncing puck for his seventh goal, assisted by Omar Pacha and Jason Dale. The Gems quickly equalized the game 1:23 later when Damien Surma took an errant pass at center ice and skated in for an unassisted short-handed goal. Dayton gained the advantage with 6:00 left in the first with a tally by Brandon Naurato from the slot, assisted by Tim Hartung and Charlie Townsend. The Blaze evened the score just 52 seconds later on a power play goal when Jon Booras redirected a shot at the right post, assisted by Mark Znutas and Vladimir Nikiforov to send the game to the first intermission tied at 2-2.

Dayton scored first with 13:44 left in the middle period on Brandon Naurato's second goal of the game on a breakaway during a power play, assisted by Damian Surma. The Gems made it 4-2 with 6:35 left in the second period when Jonathan Ornelas scored a power play tally on a centering pass from behind the net, with assists to Nick Fanto and Ben Winnett. That was all the scoring the Gems needed, as the goal lamps remained dark in the third period.

The Blaze outshot the Gems 40-31. Larry Sterling earned the win in goal with 38 saves, and Zane Kalemba took the loss while making 27 saves. The Blaze fall to 6-14-2 as the Gems improve to 9-10-4. The special teams advantage went to the Gems, as their power play was 2-for-6 and their league-worst penalty kill scored a short-handed goal. The Blaze were 1-for-6 on the man advantage.

The Blaze conclude the three-game weekend set with the Gems on Sunday with a 3 p.m. Central face-off at Hara Arena in suburban Dayton. The game can be heard on WJBC.com and CHL-TV at 2:45. Fans are invited to watch the game at Gill Street Sports Bar and Restaurant, 3002 Gill Street in Bloomington. The Blaze travel to Moline on Tuesday to face the Quad City Mallards before returning home on Friday night to host the Tulsa Oilers at 7:05 p.m. Friday's game features another Pepsi Date Night, when fans who buy a reserved seat ticket and bring a Pepsi product to the U.S. Cellular Coliseum box office receive a second ticket free, and with the purchase of a combo meal, a second meal of equal or lesser value is free. Tickets and more information are available by calling the Blaze office at 309-434-2980.



Central Hockey League Stories from December 17, 2011


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