Patrick Curry and the Bloomington Thunder defeated Chicago 3-2 on Sunday. (Photo courtesy Bloomington Thunder)
By WJBC Staff
BLOOMINGTON – Special teams was the name of the game for the Bloomington Thunder as they beat the Chicago Steel 3-2 to end a three game slide on Sunday afternoon’s Chicago Blackhawks Day in front of 2,400 fans.
The Thunder went 1-4 on the power play and were 5-5 on the penalty kill including a short handed goal by Jake Slaker in the second. Slaker earned the number one star in the game with a goal and three shots.
Bloomington’s first round United States Hockey League Phase-I Draft Pick Mitchell Mattson (University of North Dakota) made an immediate impact in his first USHL game, potting an assist on the early goal by Logan Lambdin. The affiliate player worked the puck on a centering pass and Lambdin was able to score on the easy tap in. The Thunder would make it 2-1 on a shorthanded opportunity at 7:59. Slaker ripped the puck past Lassi Yrjola after Pat Curry started the odd man rush for his line mate.
Chicago’s Freddy Olofsson (St. Cloud State, Chicago Blackhawks) scored on a turnover with under two minutes remaining to cut the lead in half at the break.
The second period began with another odd play against the Thunder that resulted in no goal. Yrjola reached out with the glove along the goal line and stopped Matt Mendelson (Penn State University) along the goal line. After conversing, the referees decided that the puck did not cross the line and kept the score at 2-1. Bloomington would answer back with one that would count as Blake Gober scored his seventh of the season on a rebound inside the crease at 6:45.
The Thunder closed down the game in the third period only taking four shots, but the Steel would make it interesting again with a goal at 10:35. Tyler Sifferlen (University of Massachusetts-Lowell) scored on a deflected shot, beating Logan Halladay (University of Minnesota) to make it 3-2. Halladay would shut the door for the rest of the game making 11 saves in the third and 25 saves in total.
The Thunder are now in sole possession of the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference with a 21-20-7 record, while Chicago drops 21-21-3 and remain in seventh place. The Thunder trail Muskegon for the final playoff spot by eight points with 12 games to play in the season.
Bloomington will host the Madison Capitols on Saturday March 7th at 7:00 pm CST to start a home and home series that ends on Sunday at 3:00 pm CST from the Alliant Energy Center.
