By Mike Egenes
The Pantagraph
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BLOOMINGTON — Making significant changes at the Central Hockey League trading deadline did not have the desired effect for the Bloomington PrairieThunder.

Not initially, at least.

“That’s one game,” coach Jason Christie said Thursday, one day after a 7-1 loss at Fort Wayne that was the worst of the season.

Now that a rather chaotic few days has passed, Christie remains steadfast in his belief that his team is markedly better than before he imported four new faces in a push to win the Turner Conference crown.

“We have a mature team,” he said. “Giving up seven goals is tough, but I like what we have on the back end now. We have more go-to guys back there.”

New defensemen Tom Galvin and Keith Rodger appear to be key for the solidification of the blue-liners. Galvin is an eight-year pro who played 65 games in the American Hockey League last year, while Rodger won two championships while with Fort Wayne.

 “Last night was just one night,” Galvin said. “Communication and familiarity weren’t what it should be. But I expect us to come out and play well (tonight) against Mississippi.”

The PrairieThunder hosts the RiverKings at 7:05 tonight at U.S. Cellular Coliseum, its first home game since Jan. 23.

Bloomington travels to Wichita on Saturday.

Having lost back-to-back games, Bloomington remains stuck on 50 standings points and has fallen eight behind Colorado and Rapid City, who are tied for first in the Turner. But Bloomington continues to hold the advantage of having played fewer games, with four games in hand on Colorado, six on Rapid City and three games on second-place Quad City (51 points).

Christie addressed the communication and familiarity issues with a rugged afternoon practice Thursday, followed by a film session with his players.

“We’ll get everybody on the same page,” said captain Jason Deleurme. “Now’s a time to grow as a group together. This is the group that we’re going to try to win a championship with. That’s the most important thing guys have to get through their minds — this is the group.

“I expect we’ll come out with a little fire under our bums (tonight).”

Rodger is now among a few PrairieThunder players who have experienced championship seasons. Goaltender Marco Emond and Deleurme also have won league titles.

“We had a lot of experienced, older guys on the teams I won with,” Rodger said. “We have that here.”