Thunder Win Exhibition Opener in OT
October 18, 2013 - SPHL (SPHL)
Bloomington Thunder News Release
PEORIA - The Bloomington Thunder opened its Southern Professional Hockey League exhibition season with a back-and-forth 5-4 overtime win over the Peoria Rivermen on Friday night at Carver Arena of the Peoria Civic Center.
The Thunder struck first with 7:25 remaining in the opening period when Alex Morton won a race on a breakaway deep in the Peoria zone and slid the puck inside the right post. Assists were given to Jacob Robataille and Paul D'Agostino on the only first period tally to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead at the first intermission.
Bloomington captured a 2-1 advantage with 14:21 remaining on a buried rebound by Dan Barczuk on assists from Nic Polaski and William Lacasse. The Rivermen broke through to cut the Thunder lead to 2-1 with 8:36 before the second intermission on a tally by Steven Morra with helpers from Garrett Vermeersch and Casey Mignone. Peoria earned the equalizer just over a minute later with a Brandon Parkhouse lamp-lighter assisted by Olivier Schenk and Matt Graham to send the teams to the locker room tied 2-2 after 40 minutes.
The Rivermen grabbed a 3-2 lead with 16:20 left in the third period when Parkhouse grabbed a turnover in the slot and wristed home a stick-side low drive assisted by Graham and Charlie Carkin. Barczuk knotted the game once more with 10:27 remaining in regulation on a breakaway drive assisted by Lacasse. The tie continued until 6:21 remaining in the third period on Carkin's goal helped by Graham and Pekin native Cole Ruwe to give Peoria a 4-3 advantage. Bloomington again evened the score with only 1:50 remaining in regulation when Eddie Olczyk knocked in a goal in a flurry at the net assisted by Lacasse and Tyler Noseworthy to send the game to overtime tied 4-4.
The winner was scored just 51 seconds into overtime when Noseworthy blasted the only shot of the extra session, a low wrister from the left circle assisted by Barczuk.
The Thunder were 1-of-6 on the power play while the Rivermen did not convert any of their four chances. Peoria outshot the Thunder 50-34. A pair of goaltenders split time for both squads as the Thunder's Dustin Carlson took the win by stopping 23 of 26 shots after B.J. O'Brien made 23 saves out of 24 attempts. Kevin McFarland took the loss for Peoria by making 16 saves out of 19 shots after Russ Stein stopped 13 of 15.
The Thunder will conclude the exhibition season with their only home pre-season game, a 7:05 p.m. rematch with the Rivermen at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. All seats are general admission for $7. The Thunder then open the regular season at home on Friday, October 25 at 7:05 p.m. at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in the first of a home-and-home set against the Rivermen. Fans attending the opener have a chance to win a new car from O'Brien Mitsubishi that night with additional chances given to season ticket and partial ticket plan holders. Season tickets, three-game Hat Trick packages and partial season ticket plans are still available in addition to group discounts by calling 309-434-2980. More information on the Thunder can be found on Facebook, Twitter (BLMThunder) and www.bloomingtonthunder.com.
Juniors victorious: The Bloomington Junior Blaze earned their first victory of the 2013-14 Midwest Junior Hockey League season with a 2-1 triumph over the Detroit Fighting Irish at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. The Junior Blaze (1-3-0) opened the scoring with a power play goal by Dylan Farmer assisted by Steven Smoltz and John Urmetz with 3:45 remaining in the middle chapter. The Irish (3-1-0) tied the count at 1-1 with 11:07 left in the third period on a goal by Christian Cobb, but Jorey Skelton scored the game-winner just 2:18 later assisted by Shane Olinger. Cameron Lerner stopped 49 shots for the win. The teams rematch at 1 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. The complete schedule and more information can be found at www.bloomingtonblazejr.com.
SPHL Stories from October 18, 2013
- Thunder Score Early in Overtime and Edge Rivermen, 5-4 - Peoria Rivermen
- Ice Bears Showcase Scoring Exhbition - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Thunder Win Exhibition Opener in OT - Bloomington Thunder
- Havoc Rallies, Holds on for 5-4 Win over RiverKings - Huntsville Havoc
- Don't Forget About Tuesday's Exclusive Event - Mississippi Surge
- Rivermen Open Pre-Season Play this Weekend - Peoria Rivermen
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