Lalonde Makes Thunder History in Loss to Ontario

Published on December 21, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


ONTARIO, Calif. - The Ontario Reign scored four power-play goals, three on two-man advantage situations to send the Stockton Thunder (10-13-4, 24 points) to a 6-2 defeat before 4,306 at Citizens Business Bank Arena on Sunday.

Maxime Boisclair led Ontario with two goals while John Murray made 28 saves. Thunder left winger Mike Lalonde scored a goal in the second period to become the all-time leading scorer in Stockton Thunder history, surpassing Nathan Martz with 123 points in a Thunder uniform.

Chris Curran's second goal of the season at 9:53 lifted the Reign to a 1-0 lead in the first period, taking Geoff Walker's cross-crease pass and stuffing a forehand shot past Andrew Perugini's blocker.

Veteran Brad Mehalko hiked the lead to 2-0 with 3:54 left in the period when Ontario capitalized on a Thunder line change. Ryan MacGregor took the puck down the left wing and forced a rebound with a wrist shot from the circle, which was immediately cleaned up by Mehalko from below the hash marks.

Ontario goaltender John Murray stopped all six shots faced in the first period.

After a thundering collision at center ice in the second period administered by Craig Valette on Maxime Boisclar, the Thunder veteran was ejected for a five-minute kneeing major penalty which gave the Reign an open door to boost the lead. Boisclair answered with two power-play goals, beginning at 4:42 with his fifth of the year on a one-timer in the slot.

Boisclair increased the Ontario lead to 4-0 on a five-on-three goal at 6:50 when he took an Andrew Martens at the right circle and buried a one-timer over Perugini.

Lalonde's milestone point came with 5:52 left in the second period for his eighth goal of the year, when he took Toby LaFrance's faceoff win and fired a snap shot from the mid-slot past Murray. The goal cut the Reign lead to 4-1.

Cody Wild opened the scoring in the third period with a power-play goal, his first in a Thunder uniform to cut the Reign lead to 4-2 just 19 seconds into the frame on a slapshot that beat Murray from the left point.

Ontario countered with two more 5-on-3 power-play goals, starting at 4:04 of the third on Jon Francisco's 11th goal of the season to stake the Reign to a 5-2 lead. Andrew Martens's third goal of the season capped the Reign's third two-man advantage goal of the game at 11:24 of the third, ripping a one-timer to the back of the net from the right circle to put Ontario up 6-2.

NOTES: The Thunder scratched Marc-Andre Bernier (injured reserve), Ryan MacMurchy (injury, day-to-day), Jordan Bendfeld (injured reserve), James Bates (healthy) and Jeff Kyrzakos (illness) ... the Thunder moved its record to 2-3-1 in against Ontario this season ... Ontario skated with just 14 players after receiving defenseman Andrew Martens back from his loan to the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose ... the four-power plays goals the Thunder allowed were a season-high.

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