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6,838 fans enjoy effort from Pitton duo, third straight win at home

March 5, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Brothers Bryan and Jason Pitton led the way to a 4-1 Stockton Thunder (29-19-9, 67 points) victory against the Alaska Aces in front of a home crowd of 6,838 fans on Friday night at Stockton Arena.

Goaltender Bryan Pitton stood tall against a third period barrage of shots to preserve the win against the Aces with 29 stops in his first game back from the AHL, while Jordan Foreman and Chris Lawrence added third period goals. Jason Pitton had the game-winning goal earlier in the second period to complete a two point effort.

The Thunder improved their record to 2-4-1 this season versus the Aces and whittled its magic number down to seven for a Kelly Cup Playoff berth.

‚¬Å“I'm really proud of the guys, ‚¬Â said Thunder head coach Matt Thomas. ‚¬Å“Gimblett getting the first goal, coming off an injury, played a game we needed him to play while Jason had a key block, Foreman had a nice play on the game winning goal and Bryan closed the door. We harped all week long about being a complete team, especially on our defensive system. We did a good job limiting mistakes and had a great effort tonight. ‚¬Â

Though the opening period proved scoreless, both teams had several good shots on net in the back-and-forth action. Seven different Thunder players all registered a shot-on-goal, for a total of 14 shots in the first twenty minutes of play.

Alaska got to work quickly in the second period, with a goal at 2:44 that made it 1-0. Scott Howes took a shot from the bottom of the right circle and beat Pitton's glove hand.

Just four minutes later, Stockton responded with a goal from Jesse Gimblett and tied the score 1-1. After Dan Ringwald took a shot from the point, Gimblett gobbled up the rebound and stuffed the puck in the back of the net, for his 13th goal of the season.

At 13:02, the Thunder earned their first power play of the game when Alaska's Curtis Fraser received a minor penalty for interference. Stockton was able to capitalize on the man-advantage and increase the score to 2-1 on a play started by Foreman. After Foreman forced Courchaine to leave the net in order to cut down the angle, Pitton easily tipped the rebound into the empty net from near the slot.

Stockton sealed the deal in the third period with two additional goals. At 16:36, Foreman took a shot from the bottom of the left circle and beat Courchaine's glove side to increase the lead to 3-1.

During the final two minutes of the game, Lawrence got an empty net goal to make the final score 4-1. After Garet Hunt chipped the puck out of Stockton's zone, Lawrence beat an Alaska player to it and was rewarded for his troubles by having a clear shot at the vacated net.

Pitton's 29 saves increased his overall record to 17-8-2, while Courchaine fell to 12-7-2 with the loss.

NOTES: The Thunder scratched Chase Ryan (healthy), Bretton Cameron (healthy), Craig Valette (injured reserve), and Jim McKenzie (injured reserve) ‚¬Â¦Stockton led in shots-on-goal, 34-30 ‚¬Â¦the Thunder blanked Alaska and successfully killed all 7 penalties ‚¬Â¦ In his first game back from injury, Jesse Gimblett had one goal and 2 shots ‚¬Â¦ Lawrence's goal was his third in the last two games ‚¬Â¦ Thunder owner Brad Rowbotham was in attendance ‚¬Â¦ the Thunder haven't lost to Alaska at home in regulation since the 2007-08 season and both teams met in Stockton for the first time since last year's Kelly Cup Playoffs.

The Thunder returns to play tomorrow night at Stockton Arena, hosting the Alaska Aces at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard 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 ‚¬Å“Best Local Sports Team ‚¬Â 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- 17 Jason Pitton

3. STK- 16 Jordan Foreman

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