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Roy stops 29 shots, Thunder finishes 8-2-1 against division counterpart

March 17, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Captain Garet Hunt's second period finish proved to be the game-winning goal, as the Stockton Thunder (34-26-9, 77 points) held on for a 2-1 win in the season series finale against the Bakersfield Condors (21-41-5, 47 points) in front of 4,304 fans at Stockton Arena on Sunday.

Hunt and forward Shawn Weller found the back of the net for the Thunder, who polished their final season series record at 8-2-1 against Bakersfield.

In goal, Olivier Roy made 29 stops, while his Bakersfield counterpart Brian Stewart made 28 saves.

"It was important for us to get a good performance defensively, from our defense and our goaltender and our forwards all helping out." Thunder head coach Matt Thomas said. "Olivier was good. He was the difference maker."

Early in the first period, defenseman Nathan Deck took defenseman Colton Hayes' pass at the point and spotted a wide open Weller at the right circle. Deck slung the puck across the ice to Weller, who finished it into the open net for a 1-0 Thunder lead 6:21 into the opening frame.

Hunt found himself on a breakaway late in the second period, finding only a defenseman standing in between him and goal Hunt cut the puck back, tripping the defended while he skated to the front of goal with defenseman Mike Little to his left. Stutter stepping to get Stewart to bite, Hunt fired the puck into the net to put the Thunder up 2-0 17:13 into the second period.

Kyle Haines sent a shot from the blue line which deflected off Roy's glove and into the net behind, shrinking the lead to 2-1 8:56 into the third period.

Bakersfield threatened to cut into the lead when the Condors gained a five-on-three advantage 12:56 into the final frame and a six-on-four advantage with less than two minutes remaining. However, the Thunder was able to kill off the two disadvantages to hold onto the win.

"Tonight, we really wanted to defend well." Hunt said, "We're a gritty team. We don't have a lot of 30-goal scorers in here. We have to take pride in being a good defending team. If Roy can give up only on goal a game, it gives us a chance to win."

NOTES: The Thunder scratched Tony DeHart, Teigan Zahn, Matthew Lyall, Ryan Green, Jesse Fratkin, Kevin Noble, Justin Maylan, and Tyler Bunz ... the Thunder improved to 37-29-13 in the lifetime series against the Condors ... Weller now has nine points in the last six games ... Stockton extended its lead to seven points over Colorado for fourth place in the Western Conference ... Andrew Clark had two shots on goal in his Thunder debut, playing on a line with Weller and Ryan Hayes.

The Thunder will use four days of rest to ready themselves for a two-game road trip against the San Francisco Bulls, beginning on Friday, Mar. 22 at 7:15 p.m. at the Cow Palace.

A two time recipient of the ECHL "Award of Excellence," the Thunder led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and drew over 200,000 fans for the seventh consecutive season in 2011-12. Season Tickets, Group Tickets and Mini-Plans for 2012-13 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

THREE STARS:

1. STK - O. Roy

2. STK - G. Hunt

3. STK - S. Weller



ECHL Stories from March 17, 2013


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