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Shorthanded Thunder Battle Hard But Fall Short in Ontario

March 12, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


Ontario, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder battled hard all night, despite being shorthanded to start the game and losing two key forwards during the game, but could not come away with the win as the Ontario Reign defeat the Thunder 6-3 Wednesday night. Jack Combs managed to score two big goals, including a shorthanded marker, while J.T. Barnett tied the score at three-a-piece in the second against his former team. The Reign, however, didn't let up and ultimately prevailed as they score the only two goals in the third and get the victory. The Thunder will return home for a three-in-three series against the Idaho Steelheads beginning with a matchup this Friday.

1st Period

-ONT goal: F Derek Couture (16) shot from the inside of the nearside faceoff circle goes high glove after a pass from the half wall (Fiddler, Sheen assists), 6:22

-ONT goal: F Garry Nunn (14) one timer from the slot goes past the goalie's blocker off a pass from behind the net (Rutherford, Brittain assists), 15:53

-THUNDER GOAL: F Jack Combs (25) backdoor tap in off a backhand sauce pass to the slot (Shattock, Ryder assists), 17:36

-ONT goal: D Matt Register (12) one timer from the point right off an offensive zone faceoff is put past the goalie (May, Ezekiel assists), 19:07

-Shots: STK - 7 | ONT - 18

2nd Period

-THUNDER GOAL: F Jack Combs (26) backdoor tap in off a centering pass to the goalmouth (Stebner assist), 0:25 (SH)

-THUNDER GOAL: F J.T. Barnett (6) a snipe from just inside the nearside faceoff dot goes high blocker side (unassisted), 7:53

-ONT goal: F Judd Blackwater (20) rebound is put over the goalie from the top of the crease after a wraparound attempt squeaks in front of the goalie (Julseth-White, White assists), 18:29

-Shots: STK - 6 | ONT - 13

3rd Period

-ONT goal: D Matt Register (12) an odd-man rush leads to a shot from the slot that goes past the goalie on the blocker side (Rutherford, Nunn assists), 7:59

-ONT goal: F Josh Brittain (19) shot from the top of the far side faceoff circle goes into the empty net (Nunn, Bigos assists), 17:37 (EN)

-Shots: STK - 3 | ONT - 8

W: Jussi Olkinuora (16 shots, 13 saves)

L: Cody Reichard (38 shots, 33 saves)

Notable Statistics

-Three Stars: 1- Matt Register (2 goals) 2- Garry Nunn (1 goal, 2 assists) 3- Jack Combs (2 goals)

-Final Shots: STK - 16 | ONT - 39

-Power plays: STK - 0/1 | ONT - 0/2

-Jack Combs (2 goals) earns his first multi-goal performance in a Thunder sweater

-James Henry left the game in the second period after being struck in the face with the puck (did not return), but was fine after the game as he just received stitches

-Garet Hunt received a game misconduct and left the game during an altercation at the end of the first period

Quotes

"We competed extremely hard tonight and we should've had a better outcome. The score was not indicative of the way we played tonight at all. We had to kill off that five-minute penalty and got a shorthanded goal during it. We even got a nice two-on-one chance but it got blown down for offsides, so we had our chances." - Head Coach Rich Kromm on his team's compete level.

"We only had four defenseman going on the penalty kill because we pulled up to be a forward for the kill and the guys did a great job on it." - Coach Kromm on the five-minute kill to start the second.

"We need to get some bodies here. We can't go into games as shorthanded as we are and then lose players during the games too. For most of this game we were playing with two lines, so we're wearing out in a hurry. Hopefully we can bring in some young players and provide some depth in our lineup." - Coach Kromm on the short bench.

"The conditioning on this team is good and these are all guys that can really play. Paulazzo is a young kid that's in good shape and his forecheck tonight was a huge factor in the game. Vinny is a guy that plays a lot of minutes and is in great shape. All of these guys are in playing condition, but obviously it wears on you after awhile. We have to get some guys in here to help support what we already have." - Coach Kromm on how hard the team played, but just came up short.

"I thought was solid. He moved the puck well and made safe plays with the puck. All around I thought it was a solid first performance for him." - Coach Kromm on the newest member of the Thunder defenseman Mike Busillo.

NEXT HOME GAME

-Idaho Steelheads vs. STOCKTON THUNDER

Friday, March 13 @ Stockton Arena

Boy Scout Night

Doors open @ 6:30 p.m., Puck drops @ 7:30 p.m.

UPCOMING HOME GAMES

-Idaho Steelheads vs. STOCKTON THUNDER

Saturday, March 14 @ Stockton Arena

Relay for Life & Thunder Bobblehead Giveaway

Doors open @ 6:30 p.m., Puck drops @ 7:30 p.m.

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