BLOOMINGTON - In the wake of veteran forward Don Parsons' release, it's onward and, ideally, upward for the Bloomington PrairieThunder. | PrairieThunder page | Thunder blog | Play College Basketball Pick 'Em

That was the game plan Wednesday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum as the slumping Thunder prepared for this weekend's road trip without Parsons, who was waived Tuesday less than two weeks after breaking the all-time minor league hockey goal-scoring record.

"That was something (Thunder coach Jarrod) Skalde thought we had to do," said forward Jon Booras, who replaced Parsons as team captain. "As an organization we're struggling right now, and I think it was time for a change and have something new come around.

"Hopefully this gets the group closer and we make it a positive and move forward and do well."

Assistant captain Marty Standish termed Parsons' release a "big shock." Parsons had a team-high 21 goals and ranked second in scoring with 33 points.

"Donnie was a big part of our team and I hate to see him go, but we've got to move on," Standish said. "We feel it's the best thing for our club so we're going to try and get back to the drawing board."

The Parsons' move was the latest of several recent personnel changes made by Skalde, whose team is in last place in the International Hockey League standings with a 10-20-1 record. The Thunder will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak Friday at league-leading Kalamazoo (21-10-0).

"I don't want to be making changes," Skalde said. "You want to get into a groove here where you've got your guys and you're ready to move forward. I think we're pretty close.

"We've got some time, but we can't keep relying on that. We've got to start putting together a string here. I'm confident with the group we have now and I'm looking forward to this weekend with the changes that have been made."

Skalde said Parsons' departure will provide opportunities for other Thunder players.

"I challenged these guys yesterday that there's a huge opportunity for a lot of them to take advantage of more ice time and be in a leadership role," Skalde said.

The Thunder has been encouraged by its recent play despite the losses. Bloomington outshot Port Huron 21-5 in the final two periods of a 3-1 setback on New Year's Eve and is coming off back-to-back, one-goal losses to Muskegon last weekend.

"Those were tough losses but at least we were competing and we had a chance to win the games, and that's all we're looking for right now," Booras said.

"We're just trying to grow as a team," Standish said. "It's a learning process. We've got a lot of young guys in here and we're trying to get everyone on the same page."

Frick called up

Thunder defenseman Matt Frick was called up by the Iowa Chops of the American Hockey League for Wednesday night's game in Peoria. Frick has an assist and a minus-2 rating in 10 games with the Thunder.

Goaltender Scott Fankhouser, who had an AHL call-up with Milwaukee last weekend, has returned to the Thunder. Skalde said rookie Ryan Ludzik will start in goal Friday.

On the injury front, Skalde said center Brent Clarke is on schedule to come off the 45-day injured reserve list on Jan. 21. Clarke suffered a broken jaw when he was hit by a puck during a Dec. 6 game at Fort Wayne.

---

This week with the PrairieThunder

Thunder vs. Wings

When: 6:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Radio: WTRX-FM (93.7)

FYI: Last-place Bloomington (10-20-1, 21 points) enters with a four-game losing streak, while league-leading Kalamazoo (21-10-0, 42 points) has won four straight including nine in a row at home. The teams have split their six previous meetings. … Kalamazoo's Glenn Detulleo ranks sixth in the IHL in scoring with 40 points, and Bloomington's Jon Booras is eighth with 38. Wings goaltender Jason Tapp has posted a league-leading save percentage of .905. … The Wings are the only team in the league to have every player, including goaltenders, register at least one point this season.

Thunder vs. Komets

When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Radio: WTRX-FM (93.7)

FYI: Third-place Fort Wayne (17-11-4, 38 points) is coming off a stretch of eight games in 10 days in which it went 4-1-3. Bloomington went 2-4-1 during a similar seven-game, nine-day test. The Komets hold a 3-2 lead in the season series. … Fort Wayne owned a league-leading penalty kill rating of 87.4 percent entering Wednesday night's home game against Port Huron. The Thunder ranks last at 73.3 percent. … Leo Thomas has nine goals, seven assists and a plus-6 rating in 16 games with Fort Wayne after being waived by the Thunder.