Goldie nets hat trick, Melanson continues offensive tear as Dogs top Thunder

February 28, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


LONG BEACH, Calif. - Ash Goldie scored a hat trick for the Long Beach Ice Dogs as the Stockton Thunder's (24-18-10, 58 points) third period comeback attempt fell short in a 5-3 setback to Long Beach, in front of a crowd of 531 at Long Beach Arena on Wednesday.

The Thunder struck first just 23 seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead, as left wing Tim Sestito scored his 11th goal of the season by converting a centering feed by center Nathan Martz from the right corner. Long Beach retaliated to knot the game at 1-1 on Brandon Schwartz's 16th goal of the season at the 3:09 mark, sliding in a loose rebound with traffic in front of the net after Thunder all-star goaltender Devan Dubnyk denied Alexei Smirnov's initial wrap-around attempt.

Long Beach scored two goals in just under a two-minute span to take a 3-1 advantage through two periods, beginning with leading scorer Ash Goldie's go-ahead goal and 24th tally of the season at the 4:52 mark of the second period. Goldie corralled Gabriel Proulx's stopped shot and slid a wrist shot home from the left circle and through traffic.

With 6:46 elapsed, Jeff Mason scored his 10th goal of the year on the power-play, giving Long Beach the two-goal cushion. Goldie set the play up from the right wall and fed Mason at the high slot, whose one-timer beat Dubnyk.

The Thunder began its comeback with rookie Mathieu Melanson's fifth goal in four games while on the power-play, converting a centering bid by Martz to cut Long Beach's lead to 3-2 with 3:54 gone in the third. With the Thunder attacking late in the game with Dubnyk pulled, Goldie slid a shot from center ice into an empty net with 55 seconds left to put Long Beach up with a 4-2 lead.

The Thunder got the puck into Long Beach's zone and called a timeout to set up Beau Geisler's sixth goal of the season at 19:22, cutting Long Beach's lead to 4-3. Off the ensuing faceoff, Stockton went to work on a dump-in attempt but Long Beach cleared the zone, setting up Goldie's hat trick marker from the Thunder blueline with 23 seconds remaining to close the score at 5-3.

Martz led the Thunder offense with three assists on the afternoon, playing along a revamped first line which included Sestito, Martz and Melanson.

Before the game, the Thunder placed left wing Mike Lalonde on the seven-day injured reserve list.

The Thunder returns home to start an eight-game homestand on Friday, March 2, with a 7:30 p.m. game against the Cincinnati Cyclones at Stockton Arena. The game can be heard live on the internet (free-of-charge) and is available for viewing at a $6 "pay-per-view" charge at www.stocktonthunder.com (courtesy of B2 Networks).

Recently named host of the 2008 ECHL All-Star Game, the Thunder drew 228,364 fans to Stockton Arena in its inaugural season, the ECHL's best attendance mark for 2005-06. Thunder season tickets, mini-plans, group tickets 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 February 28, 2007


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