Reed, Reichard, Riendeau roll as Thunder trounces Eagles at home

December 15, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - In the first meeting between these two teams since the first round of last season's Kelly Cup playoffs, the Stockton Thunder (14-6-3-2, 33 points) proved it still carries the momentum, rolling past the Colorado Eagles 4-1 at Stockton Arena on Friday.

Goaltender Cody Reichard posted his third stellar performance at home, recording 25 saves on 26 shots. Center Harrison Reed recorded two goals, while forward Yannick registered two assists in his seven multi-point game of the season. Colorado's Kyle Jones made 30 stops in goal.

"I thought the guys played a strong game," Thunder head coach Matt Thomas said. "The one thing we didn't do is that we didn't fuel the other team. We've been fueling the other teams we've played recently. There was a pretty strong commitment to playing a simple game and getting through neutral ice."

After both teams had shots hit the pipes, the Thunder got on the board 16:59 into the first period. Taking advantage of a five-on-three power play, center Justin Maylan faked a shot in the left circle before finding Reed in between the circles. Reed blasted a slap shot past Jones' glove to put the Thunder up 1-0.

The Thunder doubled their lead thanks to another power play goal in the second period. A deflection in front of goal bounced back between the circles and was collected by defenseman Mike Little. Little threaded a shot that found the bottom left corner of the net, scoring his first goal of the season, which put the Thunder up 2-0 10:54 into the second period.

Just 2:41 later, Riendeau battled behind the Colorado goal to work the puck to center Eric Hunter. Hunter's wrap-around shot bounced off Jones' pad, but the rebound went right to forward Matt Bergland, who put it away from the left post to increase the Thunder lead to 3-0.

The Thunder added to their total early into the final frame. Fighting for the puck on the boards behind the Eagles goal, captain Garet Hunt sent a backhanded pass to the front of goal, where a charging Reed met it at full speed. Reed's shot soared into the net for his second goal of the game, putting the Thunder up 4-0 just 3:25 into the third period.

Reichard came just 4:23 short of a second consecutive home shutout. His chance was ended by Jack Combs, who put away a pass from Trent Daavettila to cut the Thunder lead to 4-1.

"Everybody's got to be aware," said Little. "When everybody plays the same way, it makes it a lot more difficult for them. They don't have any time or space to work with. You have to be physical with those kinds of guys. It was a great team effort. Reichard played great too, and it helped us a lot."



ECHL Stories from December 15, 2012


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