BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Bloomington Thunder play their final two-game road weekend of the regular season, traveling to Plymouth, Michigan, to face Team USA on Friday and Saturday night.

Last weekend, the Thunder (22-24-4-3, 51 pts) split a two-game series against the Lincoln Stars, taking the series opener, 2-1, last Friday before the Stars won the finale, 4-1, on Saturday.

Team USA (21-29-1-2, 45 pts) will host its final two home games of the season this weekend. The Under-17 team was swept last weekend by Sioux City, while the Under-18 team is trending the opposite direction after a sweep of Dubuque.

Bloomington will face the U17s on Friday night and finish off the weekend with a matchup against the U18s. Both games are slated for 6 p.m. CT puck drops.  

Scouting Team USA

The U17s have struggled in USHL play this season, with just four wins in 29 tries and a 4-23-1-1 record in league play. In the midst of a season-long 10-game losing streak, Team USA has been outscored 45-13 in the losing skid.

Offense has come at a premium in the losing streak, and the U17s have scored more than two goals just once in that stretch. Team USA has scored more than one goal only three times in its last 10 games.

In goal, Keegan Karki and Ryan Ullan have split time fairly evenly throughout the season, but Karki has taken over the reins in recent weeks with starts in five straight games. Karki has 1-13-0-1 mark in 15 games this season and has a 4.42 goals-against-average and .877 save percentage.

Need to Know

• The Thunder penalty kill has been solid in recent weeks and enters the weekend having killed off 26 of the last 29 opponent power plays. Against Lincoln last weekend, Bloomington went 7-for-7 on the penalty kill, holding the USHL’s third-best home power play scoreless.
   
• Thunder forward Vlad Dzhioshvili became just the fifth player in team history to reach the 40-point plateau with his assist last Friday. The four other players to reach 40 points all did it last season and included Tarek Baker, Jeremy Davies, Logan Lambdin and Jake Slaker.

• In Team USA’s 10-game losing streak, the U17s have played in only two one-goal games. The U17s lost 2-1 last Friday to Sioux City, while the other one-goal loss came in a 3-2 defeat to Youngstown on Feb. 18.

• Team USA has been outshot on a number of occasions this season and that was the story of the series with Sioux City last weekend. In the two games, the Musketeers held a combined 98-31 shots on goal advantage. Bloomington had a 38-20 edge in shots on goal in the most recent meeting between the teams on March 12.

Series History

Bloomington has dominated the all-time series with the U17s and has lost only one of the first 12 meetings between the two teams. The Thunder have never lost on the road against the Under-17 team, with a 6-0-0 record in games either in Ann Arbor, Michigan, or at Team USA’s new home at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. In the six road games, Bloomington has outscored the U17s 19-8.

Players to Watch

Bloomington: Vlad Dzhioshvili — The Thunder’s leading scorer reached the 40-point mark for the first time in his career last weekend against Lincoln. After putting up 21 points last season in his first full year in Bloomington, the Vermont commit leads the team with his nine multi-point games this year.

Team USA: Tyler Weiss — With several of his U17 teammates now with the U18s, Weiss is left as the leading scorer on an anemic offensive attack. Weiss has 16 points in 29 USHL games this season. The Boston University commit has three multi-point efforts this year and four points in his last five games.

Drawing Connections

Thunder affiliate Skyler Brind’Amour is currently playing with the U17s and has eight shots on goal through his first seven USHL games. Bloomington defenseman Brady Smith played with Team USA’s Bode Wilde, Jake Pivonka and Spencer Stastney with the Chicago Mission. Calen Kiefiuk and Team USA’s Will MacKinnon both saw ice time with Honeybaked U16 during the 2015-16 season.

The two teams have players committed to five of the same schools: Denver: Jake Durflinger (BLM), Will MacKinnon (USA), Erik Middendorf (USA); Michigan: Calen Kiefiuk (BLM), Blade Jenkins (USA); Notre Dame: Cameron Burke (BLM), Jake Pivonka (USA), Jack Perbix (USA), Trevor Janicke (USA), Spencer Stastney (USA); Wisconsin: Wyatt Kalynuk (BLM), Brady Smith (BLM); K’Andre Miller (USA), Ty Emberson (USA).

Follow Along
Audio (free): WJBC.com | Live stats: USHL.com

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Up Next
The Thunder conclude the weekend with a 6 p.m. CT matchup against the U18s.  

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