By WJBC Staff
DUBUQUE, Iowa – Powered by a late third period charge, the Bloomington Thunder suffered their first loss since February 21 in a 5-2 decision with the Dubuque Fighting Saints.
Bloomington saw their seven game win streak end as the second longest this season both in the league and for the team. The Thunder (31-18-3-1) remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, while Dubuque (34-15-1-1) takes a two point lead over Green Bay for second in the East.
The Thunder opened the scoring when Jake Slaker took the puck on the power play and began a flurry of shots on the Dubuque net. After Logan Lambdin (Michigan State University) and Jake Durflinger fired shots onto the net of Jaxon Castor, the Thunder captain found the puck in the crease. With one hand on his stick, Slaker pushed the puck home for the 1-0 lead a little over five minutes into the game. Slaker now has goals in the last three games for the Thunder and leads the team with 10 power play goals.
Hayden Lavigne continued to roll to start the game between the pipes. A number of chances ended with no result for Dubuque who took 12 shots in the period.
Blake Gober had a chance to extend the lead during the penalty kill. Picking off a pass at center ice, the second year forward was eventually pulled down from behind and earned a penalty shot. His chance on Castor sailed wide and kept the game at a 1-0 lead into the break.
The Thunder couldn’t keep the shutout streak going to six periods as the Fighting Saints tied it with less than three minutes remaining in the middle period. Carson Vance sent the puck down to the corner off the boards where it was touched to the front of the net by Evan Smith. It trickled to the crease where Willie Knierim tapped it in.
The Thunder turned around in the third period and took back the lead for Bloomington. Patrick Curry scored his 14th goal this season again on the power play. In a similar play to Slaker, Curry was able to find the puck in the crease and put it in the net. Jeremy Davies earned an assist on the goal, his 26th of the season to lead all defensemen in the USHL in points with 39. The Thunder finished the game 2-for-3 on the man advantage.
The Fighting Saints tied the game in the third on a long slapshot from Casey Johnson. A loose puck slid to his point and he stepped into the shot at 10:19 of the third. Following a Thunder penalty kill, Nathan Sucese took a faceoff and netted an unassisted goal for the Fighting Saints at 15:48 of the third to take the lead and was the eventual game winner.
After a penalty, the Fighting Saints scored a power pay goal with a little more than two minutes to play. The goal by Zach Solow was his seventh of the season and ended the game 1-for-4 on the power play. The Fighting Saints tacked on an empty net goal as the Thunder battled back in the final moments of the game.
Lavigne ended the game with 30 saves and the first loss in eight starts. Castor finished with 19 stops and the win.
The Thunder return home to face the Lincoln Stars on Friday night at 7 p.m. It is their first of two meetings this season and are part of a back-to-back set from the U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
