Jalen Smereck scored the first of five Bloomington goals in a 5-2 win over Muskegon on Monday. (Photo courtesy Facebook/Bloomington Thunder)
By WJBC Staff
BLOOMINGTON – Rebounding from their first loss since Jan. 18, the Bloomington Thunder topped the Muskegon Lumberjacks 5-2 in their second game in three days.
The Military Appreciation Day game helped raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, gave the Thunder a record of 8-1-2 in their last 11 games, and stopped a two game win streak for the Lumberjacks.
Muskegon falls to 26-14-3 but still has the second spot in the Eastern Conference. Bloomington grabs 47 points and takes sole ownership of the fifth spot in the East with 15 games to play.
Special teams would kick off the game in the first period with a goal from the Lumberjacks. The only power play of the game for Muskegon resulted in Jack Rowe’s (Arizona State University) 12th of the season, sneaking it in from the circle to make it 1-0. Jalen Smereck would answer back with his third of the season at 11:47. His shot rang off the far side post and past Eric Schierhorn (University of Minnesota) on the man advantage.
The Thunder would continue to hit their stride and would score two more goals in the second. Logan Lambdin found the back of the net after Ryan Siroky’s (Miami University) shot rebounded in front. The captain then rifled past the defense on a chance two minutes later, scoring on the breakaway at 13:41 to make it 3-1. Siroky would finish the night with three points and the number one star.
Muskegon tried to get back in the game in the third with Rowe’s second goal of the night cutting the lead with in one. Bloomington came right back with a goal under two minutes later on the power play when Tarek Baker (University of Minnesota) potted a rebound into the vacant net of Schierhorn to retake the two-goal lead. Alec Mehr scored the empty netter to seal the win for the Thunder who improve to 20-17-7.
Matt Mendelson (Penn State University) tallied three helpers in the win to give him 11 points (3g, 8a) in his last six games. He leads the team in points with 31 on the season.
Logan Halladay (University of Minnesota) earned his second win in three starts with 26 saves. His future Gopher counterpart, Schierhorn suffered the loss with 30 saves. Bloomington rebounded on the power play as well going 2-5 and out-shot the Jacks 35-28.
The Thunder take on Youngstown for their fourth game in seven days when the Phantoms return to the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. Bloomington is 1-4-2 in seven meetings with the Phantoms this season.
