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9,482 fans enjoy McKenzie's teddy bear toss goal, three-goal Thunder rally

January 23, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Captain Craig Valette snapped a 1-1 tie with his third goal of the season, igniting a three-goal rally by the Stockton Thunder (20-11-6, 44 points) in a 4-1 victory over the Ontario Reign before a crowd of 9,482 at Stockton Arena on Saturday.

In the Thunder's sixth annual "Teddy Bear Toss" game, where fans were invited to donate stuffed animals to the ice surface on the first Thunder goal (for youth charity), Jim McKenzie scored the promotional goal early in the first period, and Jesse Gimblett and Jarrett Konkle chipped in with a goal each for the Thunder.

Stockton won its seventh in a row and improved to 3-1-2 in the annual "Teddy Bear Toss" event.

It took only 5:31 for fans to launch stuffed animals onto the ice surface as part of the event's tradition for the first Thunder goal, on a rebound that McKenzie buried for his seventh goal of the season. P.A. Bureau set the play up with a centering pass from behind the net to Jarrett Konkle, whose one-timer was stopped by the pads of Mike Zacharias.

McKenzie crashed the net, at the left post, and flipped the loose puck over Zacharias' blocker.

Zacharias kept Ontario in the game on two key saves on Konkle, who was denied a one-timer early in the second period after he nearly converted Chris Lawrence's fancy behind-the-back centering pass from behind the net.

Ontario rallied off the stops and tied the game, 1-1 with 7:27 left in the second period when defenseman Luke Beaverson corralled a faceoff win at the left point and fired a wrist shot through traffic for his third goal of the season.

The Thunder reclaimed the lead at 3:08 of the third period on a Valette one-timer that beat Zacharias over the glove, converting Garet Hunt's centering feed from the left boards.

Just 1:44 later, Gimblett cashed in with his 10th goal of the season to boost the Thunder advantage to 3-1, re-directing Steve Vanoosten's drive from the right point past Zacharias with a screen at the front of the net.

Konkle closed the scoring with his sixth goal of the season, on the power-play, with 2:40 left in the game when he took a Vanoosten pass at the right circle and ripped a one-timer past Zacharias' glove.

Zacharias took the loss with 30 saves.

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