Thunder conclude 2017 USHL Draft with 19 Phase II selectio...
Date: May 2, 2017
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — With the regular season winding down to the final two weeks, the Bloomington Thunder will play their final road game of the year this weekend along with starting the season’s final homestand.
Coming off a weekend split this past weekend, the Thunder (23-25-4-3, 53 pts) have put together a strong stretch in recent weeks with a 5-2-1-1 record over their last nine games. Bloomington picked up its fifth win of that stretch with a 3-1 triumph over Team USA on Friday night before falling to Team USA’s U18 squad on Saturday night to conclude the weekend.
This weekend, Bloomington heads to Muskegon to face the Lumberjacks on Friday night, its 30th and final road game of the regular season. The Thunder then return home to begin a season-ending, four-game homestand. The Thunder have played just four home games since the end of January but will now play four over the next two weekends.
Quick hits
• Bloomington continued its recent prowess on the penalty kill this past weekend, going a combined 6-for-7 against Team USA. Over the last 10 games, the Thunder are 32-for-36 on the penalty kill, converting at 88.9 percent clip.
• The Thunder had to kill off just one power play on Friday night against the U17s, which tied a team season-low for penalty kills in a game. There have been seven games this season in which the Thunder have held opponents to just one power play opportunity and four of those have come against the U17s.
• The Thunder’s five-game road trip comes to an end this weekend with the Friday matchup in Muskegon. Including Friday’s road tilt against the Lumberjacks, the Thunder will have played 13 of their last 15 games away from home, a stretch that has included a six-game road trip and the current five-game road trip.
Last Weekend
March 24: W, 3-1 at Team USA (U17) | Recap | Box Score
March 25: L, 6-0 at Team USA (U18) | Recap | Box Score
This Weekend
March 31: Bloomington at Muskegon, 6:15 p.m. CT
April 1: Bloomington vs. Madison, 7:05 p.m. CT
April 2: Bloomington vs. Cedar Rapids, 4:05 p.m. CT
Thunder Three Stars
First Star: Jake Durflinger — The captain picked up his third multi-point game of the season on Friday night, registering a goal and an assist in the 3-1 win. With the goal, Durflinger moved with two goals of his career-high of 13 tallies, which he posted last season in a season split between the Thunder and the Sioux City Musketeers. The Walnut Creek, California, native is four points from matching his career high of 29 points, which he established last season on 13 goals and 16 assists.
Second Star: Walker Duehr — Duehr has played a key role since the Thunder acquired him from Chicago at the trade deadline. On Friday against Team USA, the Minnesota State Mankato commit tallied his first multi-point game with Bloomington and his ninth of the season. He picked up two assists in the game and now has 32 points, which ranks second on the team behind only Vlad Dzhioshvili.
Third Star: Zach Stejskal — Exactly two weeks removed from backstopping Grand Rapids to a Minnesota State High School Class AA championship, Stejskal made his USHL debut with the Thunder this past Saturday night. The 6-foot-4, 201-pound netminder stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced in relief against Team USA’s Under-18 team, which included stopping the first 11 shots against him.
Thunder News Tidbits
The Thunder had their first alumni sign an NHL contract, as former defenseman Vince Pedrie inked a deal with the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Pedrie finished his two-year career at Penn State second on the program’s all-time scoring list for defenseman with 52 points in 71 career games.
Logan Halladay’s mask this season is dedicated to the Global Down Syndrome Foundation and will be raffled off on Wednesday next week ahead of the final homestand. All proceeds will benefit the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, and fans will have the chance to win his mask, a signed game-used stick and a signed jersey. Fans can donate to the cause here. Halladay was on the USHL’s U-Show this week, and appeared at the 25-minute mark of the podcast, which fans can listen to here.
Thunder netminder Gabe Mollot-Hill was featured in this week’s edition of Meet the Thunder Monday, a special edition shot at Miller Park Zoo. Mollot-Hill was joined by a special Zoo friend on the episode, Vincent the Uromastyx. Watch the full episode here.
Due to a concert at the Coliseum that was scheduled after the Thunder’s season began, Bloomington’s game on April 7 will instead take place on Thursday, April 6. Tickets with the April 7 date on them will still be valid for the April 6 game and DO NOT need to be exchanged. More information is available here.
Affiliate Report
Thunder affiliates Jerry Harding and Mike Callahan both made their USHL debuts this past weekend for Bloomington. Harding skated in the Thunder’s game on Friday against the U17s, while Callahan made his debut on Saturday against the U18s.
Affiliate Ryan Sandelin, who won a Class A Minnesota State High School championship a little more than two weeks ago, made his Thunder debut on Friday night, finishing with one shot. He played in five games with Sioux City last season.
Goaltender Erik Gordon ranks third in the North American Hockey League in goals-against-average (1.92) and is tied for fourth in save percentage (.929). He allowed just three goals this past weekend and won both of his starts, stretching his win streak to six games.
Upcoming promotions
April 1: Miller Park Zoo Night — The first 500 kids 12-and-younger will receive a Zoo Animal squeeze toy courtesy of Miller Park Zoo, and fans will have a chance to interact with live animals from the zoo during the game. Tickets are just $10 and $3 from every ticket will go back to benefit the Miller Park Zoological Society. Every ticket from Zoo Night will get fans into Miller Park Zoo for free on Sunday, April 2. Fans can purchase tickets here.
April 2: Hy-Vee Family Fun Sunday & Poster Giveaway — Tickets are just $7 with a Hy-Vee Family Fun Sunday voucher, which are available at Hy-Vee, the Thunder office, and other local businesses. Fans can also print the voucher online using this link. The first 500 fans will get a special Thunder poster courtesy of Ron Smith Printing.
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