6,757 fans pour into Stockton Arena for victory

Published on February 6, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Playing in only his second game since coming over in a trade from Elmira, defenseman Jody Pederson scored his first pro goal and added an assist while Bryan Pitton added 26 saves to help the Stockton Thunder (23-14-7, 51 points) knock off the Utah Grizzlies in a 3-2 victory, before 6,757 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday night.

Thunder fans, who poured into the Central Valley to culminate a specialty jersey event where the Thunder donned teal jerseys of their co-NHL affiliate, the San Jose Sharks, and placed bids on the jerseys after the game in a live auction, enjoyed a wire-to-wire effort by Stockton where Garet Hunt added a goal, along with Fraser Clair's game-winner.

‚¬Å“The result was what we needed and it's a step in the right direction, ‚¬Â said Thunder head coach Matt Thomas. ‚¬Å“We worked hard in the right areas and I was impressed with our energy level, particularly in the second period. We controlled the flow. Pederson was really good, especially on the penalty kill. He's exactly what we've needed on the back-end and he's given us a boost. ‚¬Â

For the second consecutive night, it was a scoreless first period between the two teams with shots nearly even after the first twenty minutes, favoring Utah, 13-12.

It didn't take long for Stockton to strike first in the second period as Pederson notched the first of his pro career, off the left boards at 1:08, making it 1-0. Pederson rifled the puck past the glove of Utah goaltender Andrew Engelage, after his shot caromed off Idaho defenseman Brendan Milnamow at the goal mouth.

Seven seconds later, Utah's Brett Parnham went toe-to-toe with Bretton Cameron and then the two players were off to the penalty box with five-minute fighting majors apiece.

Garet Hunt increased the lead to 2-0 when he buried a shot from between the circles at 10:46. After the puck rebounded off the end boards, Hunt raced over to claim the puck on a pass by P.A. Bureau and took a quick wrist shot that sailed past Engelage's glove side.

At 13:28 of the third period, Utah got on the board when Tom May buried a shot from the bottom of the right circle and the puck slipped past Pitton, to make it 2-1.

After racing after the puck in the attacking zone, Fraser Clair was rewarded for his perseverance when Jordan Fulton gave him a nice pass from the right goal line just as he reached the front of the net. Clair stuffed it in for his 13th goal of the season to make it 3-1 with 3:11 to go in the game. Pederson, who helped start the attack up ice, picked up an additional assist.

Pitton made several amazing saves during the last three minutes of the game to preserve the Thunder's lead.

One such save resulted in a scuffle between Hunt and Riley Emmerson that earned both players roughing minors and game misconducts. Kevin Deeth scored a short-handed goal and increased the score to 3-2, after receiving a pass from teammate Simon Ferguson, who was positioned behind the net.

Stockton closed out the game after Utah pulled Engelage for an extra attacker, improving to 5-2-0 in the head-to-head series.

NOTES: The Thunder scratched Cameron Brodie (healthy), Ryan Constant (injured reserve), Jordan Foreman (injured reserve) ‚¬Â¦ the Thunder improved to 6-3-3 all-time in their history when wearing custom-designed ‚¬Å“specialty ‚¬Â jerseys (1-1-0 this year in Sharks jerseys) ‚¬Â¦ Stockton went a perfect 11-for-11 on the penalty-kill and shut out Utah, 0-for-6 on Saturday ‚¬Â¦ the Thunder improved to 11-7-4 at home.

The Thunder returns to play on Wednesday, Feb. 9, starting a five-game road trip at Citizens Business Bank Arena against the Ontario Reign at 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard on radio at 1280 AM KWSX and viewed live on the internet (pay-per-view video charge) at www.StocktonThunder.com, courtesy of AmericaOne.

A two-time recipient of the ECHL ‚¬Å“Award of Excellence, ‚¬Â Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine, led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and drew over 200,000 fans for the fifth consecutive season in 2009-10. Season Tickets, mini-plans and individual tickets for 2010-11 are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit http://www.stocktonthunder.com/.

THREE STARS:

1. STK - 31 Bryan Pitton

2. STK - 44 Jody Pederson

3. STK - 24 Garet Hunt

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