PrairieThunder win wild one against Icemen

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Four was the wild number in the last four meetings between the Bloomington Prairie Thunder and the expansion Evansville Icemen.  
 
Bloomington registered four wins and scored four goals in each of those triumphs. But on Wednesday night, the game was just plain wild as the PrairieThunder picked up their fifth win between the two teams and sent the Icemen to their sixth consecutive loss. Bloomington topped the four goals needed to win those previous four meetings in the first 22:38 of the game en route to a 7-5 victory before a mid-week crowd of 1,823 at the US Cellular Coliseum.
 
The PrairieThunder opened the scoring just over a minute into the game as Brett Holmberg tipped in a Bill Bagron shot from the blueline for his 10^th goal of the season. Evansville struggled to gain a rhythm as Bloomington spread the ice with long, crisp passes and organized team speed as the home team rushed the goal preventing the Icemen from slowing the attack. Additional goals by Jon Booras and Bill Bagron gave the PrairieThunder a commanding 3-0 lead within the first eight minutes of play.
 

Icemen goalie David Wilson was peppered with shots and kept the game much closer than it should have been while Bloomington goaltender Brad Philips was rarely tested. Evansville seemed overmatched in all phases of play and struggled to keep the game close before the first frame expired. Evansville shots were well off the mark and their skating seemed a step or two behind the home team all period. Bloomington dominated the shot count 20-7 and the crowd sensed their team would likely earn their 11^th home win of the season and 18^th win overall.
 
In the second stanza, Evansville picked up the tempo, getting more physical and bringing more spirited play to the game. The change in the Icemen’s approach led to consecutive, early penalties to Nick Schneider for holding and a double-minor for high-sticking to Icemen leading scorer Nicklas Lindberg.   Bloomington cashed in with two successful power plays beginning just two minutes into the period. Travis Granbois netted his fifth of the season and just four minutes later, Jon Booras scored his second of the game and seventh of the season to put the Thunder ahead 5-0.  
 
The Icemen gained life at the 9:49 mark as Damian Surma scored on the power play with the Thunder’s Jason Dale off the ice for roughing, to remove the zero from their side of the scoreboard. After Travis Granbois scored his second goal of the game and sixth of the year to give theThunder a 6-1 lead, Evansville netted their second goal of the game, again from Surma, pushing his season total to 16 and closing the gap in the final minute of play. The period ended with the PrairieThunder in charge 6-2, but Evansville gaining some momentum heading into the final period. The Icemen doubled Bloomington’s shot total in that period 18-9 and seemed to push Bloomington into a defensive, conservative posture.
 
After sluggish play by both teams in the first half of the final frame, Evansville tallied goal number three as Jeff Nelson scored on a slick, behind the net feed from Anton Kharin to make it a 6-3 contest. Just over four minutes later, John Snowden answered with a guided missile from high above the face off circles to beat Wilson, expanding the home team’s lead to 7-3.  
 
In the game’s final four minutes, the Icemen kept up the pressure. Anton Kharin scored as he jammed in a rebound with traffic in front of the net. The scrum led to the net coming off its moorings, but not before Karin nudged itacross the goal line. Brian Bicek added a short-handed goal, his 13^th of the season to narrow the lead to 7-5 but it was too little, too late and the home team held on for the victory. Shots were even at 11 in the third period. Bloomington ended the game with 40 shots on goal to Evansville’s 36.
 
The Prairie Thunder improve to 18-10-1 for 37 points and second place behind the defending champion Rapid City Rush who hold a one-point lead in the CHL’s Turner Conference. Meanwhile, Evansville drops to 10-18-5 for 25 points and 8^th place in the Conference, just four points ahead of last-place Fort Wayne.
 
Bloomington will take on the Dayton Gems Friday night at the US Cellular Coliseum.
 
Contact the author at dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com Contact the photographer Jeff.Buydos@prohockeynews.com