PLYMOUTH, Mich. — The Bloomington Thunder wrap up a two-game road series with Team USA on Saturday night, facing the Under-18 team at 6 p.m. CST.

Coming off a 3-1 win over the U17s on Friday night, the Thunder (23-24-4-3, 53 pts) will have an elevated challenge in the series finale, as they try to win for the fourth time in their last five games.  

Bloomington got goals from three separate sources in its series-opening victory on Friday night, as Ethan Somoza (Bemidji State), Alec Mehr (Brown University) and Jake Durflinger (Denver) all found the back of the net. Gabe Mollot-Hill (Providence College) made 22 saves to earn his 10th win of the season.

Despite a lackluster combined overall record for Team USA (21-30-1-2, 45 pts), the Under-18 team has been dominant in league play this season and enters Saturday night’s matchup after a sweep of Dubuque last weekend.

Scouting Team USA

The U18s have posted an impressive 17-6-1 record against USHL competition this season and have won seven of their last eight in league play. During that stretch, Team USA has five wins over teams currently in playoff position, including Waterloo, Chicago and Dubuque.

The U18s offense has been quite potent this season and averages exactly four goals per game in league action (96 goals in 24 USHL games). In nine of those games, Team USA has posted five or more goals. Excluding the Under-17 team’s stats, Team USA would be the highest scoring team in the league by more than half a goal per game.

In goal, Dylan St. Cyr has been the go-to option for much of the season and boasts a 2.44 goals-against-average and a .909 save percentage. A two-time USHL Goaltender of the Week this season, St. Cyr has compiled a 12-3-1 mark in goal.

Need to Know

• The Thunder have been quite disciplined in recent weeks and had to kill off only one Team USA power play in Friday’s series opener. The one penalty kill tied a season-low for Bloomington. Bloomington has yielded two or fewer power plays to opponents in four of the last seven games.
   
• Speaking of the penalty kill, Bloomington is now 27-for-30 in killing off opponent power plays over its last eight games. The Thunder are converting at a 90 percent clip in that stretch.

• Team USA has scored three goals or fewer just once over its last eight games. The U18s only loss in that eight-game stretch came in the game where they were held under four goals, a 7-3 setback against Lincoln.

• Team USA’s Brady Tkachuk has goals in three of his last four games and tallies in five of his last seven. He had a goal in both wins over Dubuque last weekend.

Series History

The two teams will meet for just the seventh time total in three seasons on Saturday and the third time this season. Team USA has won each of the first two matchups this year after Bloomington swept the two-game season series from the U18s last year.

Players to Watch

Bloomington: Walker Duehr — The Minnesota State Mankato commit had his first multi-point game in a Thunder uniform on Friday night with a pair of assists. The two-point game was the ninth multi-point effort of the season for Duehr, who started the campaign with Chicago. He is second on the team in scoring with 32 points.

Team USA: Joel Farabee — After starting the season with the Under-17 team, Farabee has since moved up to the U18 squad and is third on the team with 23 points. His 12 goals are good for the team lead. Farabee had a five-point night on March 4 in an 8-3 win over Waterloo, which included his first career hat trick.

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

Watch (paid subscription): HockeyTV

Twitter: @BLMThunder | Instagram: blmthunder | Snapchat: BLMThunder

Up Next
The Thunder play their final three-game weekend of the regular season next weekend, starting with a Friday night matchup in Muskegon against the Lumberjacks. Bloomington then returns home for the final two games of the weekend.  

To stay up-to-date on all Thunder news throughout the season, follow the Thunder on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.