ROCHESTER, Mich - The IHL had an interesting week 4, Fort Wayne still remains at the top of the six team league but they are tied with Muskegon.  Bloomington drops down to the number 4 spot while Port Huron moves up a spot to tie them.  Flint has remained in third place despite winning one out of three.  It is nice to start seeing parity in a league that the Komets dominated so much last year.

Fort Wayne Komets:  The Komets split their week 4 games.  They traveled to Muskegon on Friday night to take on a tough Lumberjack team.  Despite best efforts from the Komets, including P.C. Drouin’s 2 goals and 2 assists the Komets still fell to the Lumberjacks 6-4.

The Komets did however rebound Saturday night when the Bloomington Prairie Thunder traveled to Fort Wayne.  This game had everything a person could ask for, and there were plenty of fans to witness it as the Komets drew an outstanding attendance of 9,464.  The Komets pulled this game out beating the Prairie Thunder 6-4.  This game racked up a total of 122 penalty minutes with Leo Thomas leading the Thunder with 18 penalty minutes and Mike Field leading the Komets with 20 penalty minutes.  I believe it is safe to say that a rivalry may have been born between these two teams.

Muskegon Lumberjacks: The Lumberjacks had a perfect week going 3-0-0-0.  Muskegon handed the Generals two losses, one on Thursday in Flint and one on Saturday in Muskegon.  In between defeating the Generals the Lumberjacks hosted the Komets and gladly gave the Komets their second loss of the season.

The Lumberjacks goalie Isaac Reichmuth ranks first in the IHL in wins with 6 even though he ranks sixth in both GAA (3.98) and SV% (.871).  Todd Robinson has jumped to the league leader in points with 21 after a very impressive weekend with 3 goals and 8 assists in 3 games.

Bloomington Prairie Thunder:  The Thunder had a tough weekend

Photos by Barry Jones of PHN.

beginning Friday night when they hosted the Flint Generals.  The Thunder had led the series so far this year beating Flint twice in October.  Friday night did not have the same out come as the Generals blew by the Thunder 4-1.  The one goal for the Thunder was scored by Don Parsons which brings his career total to 670 trailing Kevin Kerr’s Record for the All-Time Minor Hockey League Goals by only 7.

Saturday Bloomington traveled to Fort Wayne for a physical match.  Brett Holmberg scored his first goal of the season and followed it up with another one just over a minute later.  Holmberg’s efforts were not enough however because the Komets prevailed beating the Thunder with a final of 6-4 dropping Bloomington to a tie for 4th place in the league.

Port Huron Ice Hawks:  The Ice Hawks began their season with a 0-4 start but have since won 4 of their last 5 games including 2 this week.  Port Huron had a home at home series against the Kalamazoo Wings that started Friday night at Wings Stadium.   A no scoring first period was followed by a 4 goal 2^nd period, with the Ice Hawks scoring three times including one power play goal and one shorthanded goal.  The Ice Hawks put the Wings away with a 4-1 victory.

Saturday’s game saw the Wings travel to Port Huron do be defeated yet

Photos by Barry Jones of PHN.

again.  The Ice Hawks dominated the scoring beating the Wings 5-0. Port Huron’s Kevin Defosses gave the Ice Hawks and the IHL its first shutout of the year.

Kalamazoo Wings:   The Wings find them self still in last place in the league after week 4.  They fell 0-2 last week losing both games to an improving Ice Hawks team.  Coach Bootland did decide to finally give goal tender Jason Tapp a rest on Saturday and started Joel Martin between the pipes.  Martin gave up five goals as the Ice Hawks shut out the visiting Wings.

Good news for Wings fans however could be the return of fan favorite Tyler Willis.  According to the Newcastle Vipers website, which is the team that signed Willis after he had spent the last five seasons with the Wings, Willis will be returning to Kalamazoo for the remainder of the season.  Last year Willis had 39 points for the Wings; his career best was in the 2005-2006 season with Kalamazoo where he tallied 66 points.  The Wings have also waived right winger Jan Jas.

Week 4 was full of excitement, a rivalry born between Bloomington and Fort Wayne; Port Huron finally showing the league that they do not belong in last place, and Muskegon jumping in the standings to tie last years Turner Cup Champion Fort Wayne Komets.  Only 4 points separate the top five teams in the league, which shows as of now at least the IHL has parity, which makes for some exciting hockey.

Contact the author at justin.boyd@prohockeynews.com.

Contact the photographer at barry.jones@prohockeynews.com.