8,390 fans pour in to see Little's three-point night in regular season finale

Published on March 31, 2013 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Defenseman Mike Little's three points (1g-2a) and forward Ryan Hayes' two goals lifted the Stockton Thunder (37-26-9, 83 points) to a 4-2 victory over the Idaho Steelheads (45-20-7, 97 points), closing out the regular season schedule before a crowd of 8,390 at Stockton Arena on Saturday.

"Our first period got us off on the right foot, obviously." Thunder head coach Matt Thomas said, "You end up getting up 3-0 in the first. It's always a good start. That's what you need in the playoffs."

Captain Garet Hunt also scored for the Thunder, while forward Andrew Clark recorded two assists.

Goaltender Olivier Roy (7-2-0) earned the win with 25 saves. Tyler Beskorowany stopped nine shots in 20 minutes of action for Idaho.

Captain Garet Hunt gave the fans a reason to cheer 3:38 into the first period. Defenseman Mike Little streaked along the right side before slotting a backhand pass to Hunt at the left circle. Hunt let loose a wrist shot that beat Beskorowany high to give the Thunder an early 1-0 lead.

Center Harrison Reed dished the puck to Little just above the right circle, where Little blasted a shot by Beskorowany's glove to double the Thunder lead to 2-0 13:53 into the opening frame.

Minutes later on the power play, defenseman Ryan Constant's shot bounced off Beskorowany's pads and in front of the crease. Forward Ryan Hayes pounced on the rebound, knocking the puck into the net to make it a 3-0 lead 16:21 into the first period.

The start of the second period saw a goaltender change, as Chris Rawlings replaced Beskorowany for Idaho.

Idaho got on the board 2:59 into the second period when Mike Towns deflected Scott Todd's pass by Roy, cutting the lead to 3-1.

Hayes notched his second of the night on a play started by Little taking a shot from the point. The puck deflected right to forward Andrew Clark at the crease, where Clark poked the puck between Rawlings' legs. The puck trickled to the goal line, and Hayes stuck his stick at it to nudge it home and give the Thunder a 4-1 lead 10:27 into the second period.

The Steelheads struck back on a breakaway, as Tyler Gron shot the puck by Roy's right pad to cut the lead to 4-2 5:12 into the third period.

Rawlings made 16 saves in relief.

"Our big thing was to get on a roll going into the playoffs." Hunt said, "There's nothing scarier than a hot team going into the playoffs. Tonight we really tried to focus and play like it was a playoff game. We came out, tried to set the tone in the first five minutes, and took it from there."

After the game, fans remained as the Thunder announced the team's annual end-of-season awards. Head athletic trainer Kevin Anderson, who is leaving after the season, was recognized for his tremendous work before the ceremony began.

Hunt was given the "Unsung Hero" award, while Tony DeHart was named Thunder "Defenseman of the Year". Reed was named Thunder "Offensive Player of the Year" with a team-high 45 points. Forward Matt Bergland won Thunder "Rookie of the Year", while center Eric Hunter took home "Most Valuable Player" honors. Finally, Hunt and forward Shawn Weller were voted "co-Fan Favorite" after both players received exactly the same amount of votes on the online poll.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from March 31, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central