Idaho levels three-game series at Boise with late rally in third period

January 1, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


BOISE, Idaho - Newcomer Sergei Korostin broke open a one-goal game late in the third period with a pair of goals to complete a three point (2g-1a) effort, helping the Idaho Steelheads slide by the Stockton Thunder (13-15-3, 29 points), 5-1 before a crowd of 3,318 at Qwest Arena on Friday night.

The Thunder, who were missing leading scorer Judd Blackwater due to flu-like symptoms, were aided in a 38-save effort by goaltender Aaron Sorochan in his Thunder debut. Idaho also netted goals from Matt McKnight, Brandon Kushniruk and Marty Flichel.

Brett Hemingway buried the only Thunder goal in the third period.

Both teams played through a scoreless tie in the first period that featured point-blank saves traded by the Thunder's Aaron Sorochan and counterpart Richard Bachman. Sorochan denied a series of close-range bids by Marty Flichel, Sergei Korostin and John Swanson, while Bachman had two consecutive saves on Jason Pitton chances at the doorstep.

McKnight broke the scoreless tie at 4:53 of the second period when he converted a rebound at the right goal post, following Sorochan's point-blank save on John Swanson's snap shot at the left circle.

Sorochan upheld the 1-0 deficit with 8:22 left in the second, stopping a penalty shot by Marty Flichel when Sorochan forced Flichel to the backhand and caught a piece of the Idaho captain's bid off his right pad.

Idaho hiked the lead to 2-0 with 2:32 left in the stanza on Kushniruk's fifth goal of the year, playing a hard carom off the backboards into an open net after Flichel missed wide on a 2-on-1 chance from the left wing.

The score stood into the final period with the Thunder funneling the offense to the front of the net, and capitalized on Hemingway's fourth goal of the season with 13:52 left in regulation, slicing the Idaho lead in half. The goal was set up by Oren Eizenman, who muscled the puck from two Idaho defenders at the half-boards to the right circle. His shot produced a rebound for Hemingway, who cleaned the puck up at the doorstep.

The game's tight-checking pace carried until the remaining seven minutes of play, when Idaho broke the game open with three goals in a span of 4:09. Korostin buried his first pair of goals in his Idaho debut on two separate 2-on-1 situations on feeds by Matt McKnight and Kevin DeVirgilio from the right wing, respectively.

Marty Flichel unassisted goal, capitalizing off a Thunder turnover in the slot, hiked the Idaho cushion to four goals with 1:59 left.



ECHL Stories from January 1, 2010


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