By Bloomington Thunder Sports Information
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Hayden Lavigne (University of Michigan) earned his second career shutout and helped the Thunder sweep the Sioux City Musketeers with a 1-0 win on Saturday night. The netminder made 19 saves in the game for a weekend total of 45. Lavigne and the Thunder improve to 3-3-0 and the Musketeers fall below .500 with a 2-3-0 record.
20 seconds was all it took in the second period for the Thunder to take the lead and one goal was all it took for the win. A cross-ice pass by the Musketeers was cut off by Pat Curry who streaked down the ice with Tarek Baker (University of Minnesota). A quick exchange resulted in a back door pass to Curry for his first goal of the year. Baker leads the team with five points (1g, 4a) in the season.
A scoreless first period had as many penalties as the full game on Friday night. The Musketeers came out with a game high 10 shots on net in the period and Hayden Lavigne (University of Michigan) stopped them all. His biggest save also came in the first when Mitch Fossier (University of Maine) was one on one shorthanded after stripping the Thunder defense.
Only one puck made the trip behind the Thunder goaltender in the game. Thankfully the post kept it out of the net and Connor Valesano was left empty handed in the second.
A physical game met its peak toward the end of the second as four players were sent to the box for roughing after a scrum in front of the Thunder net. Overall only 22 minutes in penalties were called in a physical battle with the Thunder and Musketeers going 0-for-2 and 0-for-3 to end the night.
Shots were in favor of the Thunder 25 to 19 but Cameron Gornet (Harvard University) couldn’t keep them all out of the net. Lavigne earned the shutout for the Thunder only needing to stop two shots in the third thanks to a strong defensive game by the Thunder defense.
Curry ended the night with a +1 rating and six shots to lead the Thunder on the offensive side of the puck. He was awarded the first star, while Baker and Lavigne earned second and third stars respectively.
The next game will be back at home for the Thunder as they host the Fargo Force and try to keep the win streak alive. Friday night the Thunder will host the Force at 7 p.m. to open a two game weekend and a three game home stand. The team is in the midst of a five game set against Western Conference opponents. After the Force, the Thunder will play Sioux Falls.
