BLOOMINGTON, Ill- The Bloomington Prairie Thunder are hanging onto the last playoff spot in the seven team International Hockey League, after going 2-2-0-0 last week.  The Thunder currently sits 6 points ahead of fifth place Dayton and 8 points behind 3^rd place and defending champion Fort Wayne Komets.

Bloomington finally put a stop on their 9 games losing streak by beating the Flint Generals on January 17^th and have since gone 5-3-0-0.  The Prairie Thunder has a tough week again this week as they face Flint at home Wednesday before playing in Muskegon for back to back games on Friday and Saturday against the first place Lumberjacks. 

The Thunder has not faired well playing the ‘Jacks.    Bloomington has only managed to collect one point out of a possible 12 against the Muskegon squad this year.  That point came in an overtime loss at home on December 29^th.

Prairie Thunder Captain Jon Booras has shown improvement over a slower than expected start.  He now is tied for second in the league with 32 assists and tied for third in the league with 49 points. 18 of those 49 points have come within the last 10 games.

Bloomington’s special teams rank in the middle of the pack.  They currently rank 3^rd in the league with the man advantage at 18.65% and 4^th on the penalty kill with 80.30%.

The Thunder will have to start competing better with the top teams in the league if they want to fulfill their wish at the franchise‘s first playoff appearance.  This weekend‘s back to back games in Muskegon should be a good test for the club. 

Contact justin.boyd@pohockynews.com