Steelheads Drop Tight Tilt, 4-2 To Thunder
March 18, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
Stockton, CA - Steelheads' forward Matt Nickerson scored his first ECHL goal, but it wasn't enough, as the Stockton Thunder broke a 1-1 tie midway through the third period and hung on for a 4-2 win over the Steelheads in front of 6,922 fans at Stockton Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Thunder (30-22-5-5) potted the game's first goal at 6:15 of the first period when Nathan Martz slammed home a loose puck in the Steelheads' (35-23-2-3) crease for his seventh of the season and his first in the last 20 contests. Winger Liam Reddox gathered the puck behind the Steelheads' net and wrapped the puck around the post to the right of Steelheads' goaltender John Daigneau (33 saves) and into the crease, where Martz banged it into the back of the net. Defenseman Tim O'Connell got the second assist.
Less than three minutes later the Steelheads tied the contest on Nickerson's first ECHL goal. Nickerson took Alexander Naurov's pass just outside the Thunder blue line and barreled into the offensive zone, shielding the puck from an oncoming defender before beating Thunder goaltender Devan Dubnyk (30 saves) five-hole at 9:06.
After 20 minutes of play, the game was even at one and the shots favored the Thunder 13-10.
There was no scoring in the second period. Through two periods the Thunder had 28 shots, while the Steelheads had 18.
Halfway through the third period Tim Verbeek converted off a scramble in front of Daigneau for a 2-1 Thunder advantage. Jim Dahl and Adam Huxley set up his 16th of the season. Then at 17:55, Tim Sestito walked in from the left circles and danced around a sliding Travis Wight and a sprawled out Daigneau before depositing his 13th of the campaign. O'Connell and fellow defenseman Brian Lee snagged the helpers.
With Daigneau pulled and time winding down, Tuomas Mikkonen beat Dubnyk to pull the Steelheads within one at the 19:41 mark of the third period. B.J. Crombeen and Darrell Hay drew the helpers on Mikkonen's 16th.
However, with just six seconds left the Thunder dashed the Steelheads' comeback hopes with an empty-net marker by Brock Radunske to make the score 4-2. Colin Pepperall got the only assist on the last goal of the afternoon.
The final shots were 37-32 in favor of the Thunder, as both teams failed to score on the power play.
The Steelheads now head home for their final six games Qwest Arena tilts of the regular season beginning on Wednesday, March 21 against the Alaska Aces. The puck drops at 7:10 p.m. MST. Don't forget, Steelheads' single game tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling 331-TIXS, by visiting www.idahosteelheads.com 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.
ECHL Stories from March 18, 2007
