Thunder Travels To Flint

April 15, 2010 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release


BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Bloomington PrairieThunder can capture the first International Hockey League playoff berth in club history with a victory Friday against Flint in a 6:30 p.m. game at Perani Arena.

The PrairieThunder (31-32-4-6, 72 points) leads Flint by three points in the standings with three games remaining on the final weekend of the regular season. The Generals (31-35-3-4, 69 points) have been the hottest team in the league over the last half of the season, rising from last place to playoff contention.

Flint is 19-11-2-4 at home, while Bloomington, which has lost three straight overall, is 10-18-2-5 on the opponent's ice. The PrairieThunder owns an 8-3 record against the Generals in the season series, including a 3-2 record in Flint. Two of the victories came in overtime.

Following Friday's game, the PrairieThunder moves to Port Huron for back-to-back games Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. Bloomington has a 2-4-3-1 record against the IceHawks, including a 1-0-2-1 record in Port Huron.

The IceHawks, who will be the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, have a 45-25-0-4 overall record (94 points) with a 27-9 record at home.

Bloomington forward Craig Macdonald and center Jon Booras enter the weekend as the third and sixth leading scorers in the league, respectively. Macdonald, who has 89 points, is second in goals with a career-high 44, including a league-high 11 game-winners. He ranks second in power play goals with 14.

Booras, who has 76 points, is third in the league in assists with 56 and third in power play assists with 22. Teammate Jason Lepine is second in scoring among defensemen with 44 points. He leads the league in assists (33) and power play assists (17), while ranking second in power play goals (7) and fourth in goals (11).

Bloomington will be without center Rick Varone for the remainder of the season after he suffered a deep thigh bruise against Quad City last week. Center Matt McIlvane hopes to play in Friday's game. He is day-to-day with an ear injury. Goaltender Kevin Armstrong remains sidelined with a knee injury.

PrairieThunder coach Jarrod Skalde, who must sit out Friday's game to complete a league mandated two-game suspension, announced Thursday that forward Dennis Sicard has been waived. Dave Bailey will serve as the bench coach Friday.

All games can be heard on WJBC (93.7 FM) with Greg Halbleib doing the duties. Games also can be seen at The Blueline Lounge/Restaurant or Six Strings Entertainment Center on the b2 network.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from April 15, 2010


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.

OurSports Central