Thunder Host Gamblers for Season Finale

April 11, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Bloomington Thunder News Release


Bloomington, IL - The United States Hockey League's 2014-15 regular season comes to an end for the Bloomington Thunder Saturday night at 7:00 pm CST at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. The Green Bay Gamblers return to Bloomington for one final game in the league's expansion year. Bloomington is on a three-game win streak after topping the Des Moines Buccaneers Friday night to end their recent road trip.

Pulling into the final game, the Thunder are 28-24-7 and will be just the second Bloomington hockey team to finish the season above .500 since 2006. The team is also in a battle with the Chicago Steel for ninth place in the overall USHL standings, just one seed outside of the closed playoff picture.

Game Notes

Can't make it out to the game? Listen live by going to portal.stretchinternet.com/wjbc. You can catch all the action starting with the pregame show at 6:45 pm CST. You can also follow the Thunder on social media for updates during the game.

Hayden Lavigne (University of Michigan) was the big story Friday night, earning the first shutout in Thunder history 4-0 over the Buccaneers. The Brampton, ON native made 19 saves for his first career USHL shutout and his second straight win. Shane Bednard (Bowling Green State University) picked up two assists in the game to extend his point streak to five games. The Thunder's co-leading scorer has six points (2g, 4a) during the streak and leads the team with 16 goals this season. Pat Curry turned in the game-winning goal and was the second player with a two-point night. Curry now leads the team with three game winning goals this season.

USHL veteran and Thunder Assistant Captain Ryan Galt (University of Nebraska-Omaha) earned an assist on Curry's goal giving him 93 career points. Over three seasons, the Omaha, NE native has played in 175 USHL games between the Bucs and the Thunder.

Green Bay has seen Bloomington twice in the last two weeks and fell in both games by the scores of 4-3 in the shootout and 3-2. The Gamblers travel from Chicago after a 5-2 loss to the Steel, extending their current streak to three straight losses. Sam Saliba leads the charge for the Gamblers with 33 points (16g, 17a) in 59 games. Sam Kauppila (St. Lawrence University) has four points in as many games as the hottest Gambler entering the game.

The Gamblers have only missed the post season four times since 1996 and have won the Clark Cup three times. Most recently they have made the playoffs for six-straight seasons and won the championship twice. The streak will come to an end as the Gamblers have produced an 18-33-8 record and a ninth place finish in the Eastern Conference.

Season Tickets: 2015-16 will be here before you know it and for just $50 we can reserve your season tickets for the Bloomington Thunder at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. If you reserve before June 1st, you'll be entered to win an all expenses paid flight to Las Vegas! Plans start at just $240 and youth season tickets are $150 for all the same benefits. Head to BloomingtonThunder.com for a full list of benefits and pricing options to go with our new seating map. Call the Thunder office at (309) 434-2980 for information and booking.



United States Hockey League Stories from April 11, 2015


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