7,032 fans attend "Star Wars" night

Published on February 5, 2012 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Jerry Kuhn made 41 saves and stopped four of five in the shootout to help the Idaho Steelheads send the Stockton Thunder (23-18-5, 51 points) to a 2-1 shootout defeat before a crowd of 7,032 at Stockton Arena on Saturday.

"Our effort was equal to theirs but I didn't think we executed well," said Thunder head coach Matt Thomas. "Fatigue had something to do with it, but we're playing well. Tonight wasn't bad, but we weren't as sharp as we were last night. A little bit of rest will help replenish our energy which we'll need heading into next weekend at Colorado."

Playing in his 27th appearance in the last 28 games and in one night after being lifted in the first period from a performance that yielded three goals on ten shots, Kuhn responded with his 15th win of the season and earned his fourth win against Stockton.

Derek LeBlanc netted Idaho's only goal in regulation, before a goal scored from red hot Thunder center Chris Doyle in the second period. LeBlanc ended the game with a forehand deke to Thunder goaltender Olivier Roy's blocker side in the bottom of the shootout's fifth round.

Stockton extended an unbeaten streak in regulation to six games (5-0-1) overall and seven games (6-0-1) at home.

Roy and Kuhn traded saves through a first period tie and matched each other with a series of point blank saves early in the second period.

Idaho finally broke the scoreless tie when LeBlanc threw a shot to the net, off traffic from the outside of the right circle, which ricocheted past Roy to put Idaho up 1-0 with 9:44 left in the second period.

Kuhn made a highlight reel save on a Jesse Fratkin re-direction at the right post several minutes later, but Doyle finally knotted the score with 3:20 left with his 14th goal of the season when he set a screen in front of Kuhn, and deflected Mike Little's slapshot from the right point to the back of the net.

Both goaltenders denied all 12 shots they each saw in the third period. Roy preserved the tie on a wrist shot by Jacob Cepis, who faked his way around the Thunder defense while skating on the rush at the left circle. Minutes later, Thunder defenseman Sebastian Owuya barely missed a wraparound attempt at the right post with the net left open by Kuhn.

After the Thunder outshot Idaho 5-1 in overtime but failed to capitalize on any chances, Andrei Plekhanov beat Roy in the first round for the shootout's first goal. Matt Reber immediately answered with a wrist shot in the second round to tie the shootout, 1-1.

Kuhn and Roy staged a duel into the fifth round and Kevin Baker's bid for a Thunder lead was stopped when his wrist shot was stopped by Kuhn's glove side.

LeBlanc ended the game when he made a deke in the low slot and slipped a wrist shot past Roy.

Roy took the shootout loss with 35 saves.

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