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Falcons rally from 3-1 down, score three unanswered goals in third period

January 20, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Falcons forward John Wroblewski deflected a point shot past Thunder goaltender Devan Dubnyk with just 16.4 seconds remaining in regulation time to lift Fresno to a 4-3 victory over Stockton before 6,577 fans at Stockton Arena on Friday night. The Thunder (18-9-6, 42 pts) remains winless against the Falcons thus far this season, falling to 0-5-0 with the loss.

Thunder forward Troy Bodie opened the scoring at the 15:26 mark of the first period, corralling a loose puck in front of the Fresno goal, and sliding a shot along the ice past Falcons goaltender Scott Stirling to give Stockton a 1-0 lead.

The goal was Bodie's fifteenth thus far this season. The Thunder found itself short-handed on several occasions throughout the first period, withstanding four Falcon power-play opportunities, including a full two-minute 5-on-3 situation that saw Fresno bombard the Stockton goal and netminder Devan Dubnyk with a myriad of point shots and in-close opportunities. Dubnyk, equal to the task, turned aside a quality scoring chance from Fresno forward John Morlang with a sprawling cross-crease save during the abovementioned 2-man advantage.

Defenseman Jason Beckett doubled the Thunder advantage at the 4:08 mark of the second period on a 5-on-3 Stockton power-play. Beckett's point shot eluded a crowd of players in front of Stirling, beating the Fresno goaltender glove-side to put the Thunder up 2-0. It was Beckett's first goal of the season.

Dubnyk would single-handedly preserve the two goal lead, stopping a penalty shot attempt by Falcons forward Brett Hammond at the 4:48 mark of the frame. Troy Bodie proceeded to score his second goal of the game at 8:10, tapping a bouncing puck in front of the Fresno goal into the Falcons net to lift Stockton to a 3-0 advantage. The Falcons, however, would narrow the Thunder lead to 3-1 as Fresno defenseman Tyler Kindle scored his 10th goal of the season beating Dubnyk on a short-handed breakaway opportunity at 17:30.

Falcons forward Luke Curtin cut the Stockton lead to 3-2 at the 12:20 mark of the third period beating Dubnyk five-hole with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle. The power-play tally was Curtin's ninth goal on the season.

Curtin would figure in on Fresno's game-tying goal just over three minutes later, feeding a streaking Brian McConnell who beat Dubnyk glove-side from the slot position. McConnell's third goal on the season would level the score at 3-3. Falcons forward John Wroblewski would cap the scoring on the power-play, deflecting a Luke Curtin point shot past Dubnyk at the 19:44 mark to lift Fresno to a 4-3 victory.

Thunder goaltender Devan Dubnyk turned aside 37 shots in the loss. Dubnyk is 11-3-5 thus far this season.

Before the game, center Brendon Hodge was transferred from the three-day to 30-day injured reserve list (wrist), who was scheduled to undergo surgery and miss approximately 8-12 weeks.

The Thunder returns to play on Saturday, January 20 with a 7:30 p.m. home game against the Alaska Aces at Stockton Arena, part of "Youth Cap Night" (presented by The Record, Bank of Agriculture and Commerce and 97.7/ 98.3 KWIN). The game can be heard live on the internet (free-of-charge) and is available for viewing for a $6 "pay-per-view" charge at www.stocktonthunder.com (courtesy of B2 Networks).

Thunder season tickets, mini-plans and individual tickets for the 2006-07 season 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.



ECHL Stories from January 20, 2007


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