Sports stats



Aiello's four assists, Sexsmith's 19 stops powers Thunder to 3-0 in preseason

October 9, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Defenseman Anthony Aiello collected four assists and San Jose Sharks drafted goaltender Tyson Sexsmith improved to 2-0 in the preseason with a 19-save effort, boosting the Stockton Thunder to a 6-2 victory over the Ontario Reign at Stockton Arena on Friday.

The Thunder, who improved to 3-0 in the preseason for the first time since 2006-07, went 2-for-5 on the power play in their only home game during the preseason.

"I was a little nervous going into this game based on our travel circumstances and the amount of games we have played during the week," said Thunder head coach Matt Thomas. "Give credit too - Ontario came out with a lot of energy. But, I liked the way we were able to get the lead in the first period. All in all, I loved the way how our game progressed and how we played in the third period. That's important to learn how to win games like that during this time of year."

Matt Jones received credit for his second goal of the postseason at 3:16 of the first period, converting on the power-play when Ontario goaltender Martin Jones mishandled a wrist shot from Aiello at the left circle. Jones cleaned up the rebound through traffic.

Reggie Traccito set up Kyle Kraemer's first goal of the preseason to level the score at 5:39 into the second period, when Kraemer beat Tyson Sexsmith under the crossbar from the mid-slot.

The Thunder retaliated with back-to-back goals from Aaron Clarke and Chris Lawrence to assume a 3-1 advantage after two periods. Clarke scored with 4:37 left in the second period when he followed up a loose puck behind the net and stuffed a wraparound into the net on a forehand bid.

Lawrence dangled around the Ontario defense, after collecting an Aiello feed up the ice, for a highlight reel goal with 17 seconds left in the period. He deked Martin Jones to the blocker side and roofed a backhander to boost the Thunder lead to two goals.

The Thunder continued to roll with two more goals to boost the lead to 5-1 at the midway point of the third period, starting with Jim McKenzie's wrist shot from between the circles that beat Jones over the blocker with 11:15 remaining and Jordan Cyr sniping the upper right corner from the bottom of the right circle with 8:33 left.

Ontario's Eric Doyle cut the deficit to 5-2 on a power-play goal 40 seconds later on a wrist shot that dribbled off traffic from the blueline, but Craig Valette finished the scoring at the goal mouth with 4:02 left, when he re-directed Fraser Clair's pass from the right corner.

Jones took the loss in his Ontario preseason debut with 24 stops.

NOTES: The Thunder scratched Trevor Hunt, Brian Cooke, Jason Pitton, Shane Ferguson, Sean Menton and Matt Pamidi ... Jim McKenzie and Ontario counterpart David Walker dropped the gloves with 4:48 gone in the first period and Jordan Foreman battled Ontario's Brett O'Malley with 2:55 left in the second period ... the Thunder outshot Ontario, 30-21.

Stockton will wrap up the preseason schedule against the Ontario Reign tomorrow night at Citizens Business Bank Arena, starting at 6:00 p.m.. Online coverage will be carried at http://www.stocktonthunder.com/ (AmericaOne). Opening Night is Friday, Oct. 15, when the Thunder opens the 2010-11 regular season at home against the Reign, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Stockton Arena.

A two-time recipient of the ECHL "Award of Excellence," 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 www.stocktonthunder.com.

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from October 9, 2010


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