Thunder 2010-11 Season Closes, Utah Advances In 3-1 Series Finish

April 10, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - J.P. Lamoureux recorded 20 saves for his fifth career playoff shutout, helping the Utah Grizzlies defeat the Stockton Thunder, 5-0, in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals before a crowd of 3,364 at Stockton Arena on Sunday night.

Utah's victory eliminated the Thunder from the Kelly Cup Playoffs, as the Grizzlies won the series, 3-1 and advanced to the second round for the second straight year.

"I'm disappointed in the outcome," said Thunder head coach Matt Thomas. "It hurts when you truly believe in your team but then have some disappointing performances. The third goal against us was the back-breaker. It definitely was a game-changing goal in terms of momentum, and we obviously never recovered from it."

Halfway through the first period, Jody Pederson threw the puck over the glass and had to go to the box with a delay of game penalty, seconds after returning goaltender, Bryan Pitton, from the AHL, stopped Paul McIlveen on a break from the right circle.

The Grizzlies struck three seconds after the penalty expired and opened the score, 1-0, with a goal by Hugo Carpentier at 12:17. The Utah forward let a shot go from the right circle that went through Pitton's five-hole.

Just two minutes later, Utah got the best of Pitton again and increased the score to 2-0, when a McIlveen snap shot beat Pitton from the right circle with 5:27 left.

At 17:56, Ryan Constant incurred a boarding minor for delivering a hard check to Simon Ferguson that laid him out on the ice. Before the situation could get out of hand for the Thunder, McIlveen tripped up a Stockton player and went to the box, resulting in 4-on-4 hockey for 1:51.

Just as Constant's penalty expired, the Grizzlies scored shorthanded, and gave themselves a 3-0 lead with less than three seconds remaining. While the Thunder were in the midst of a line change, Matt Reber got behind the defense and took a quick shot from the slot that beat Pitton.

The second period opened with a change in net for Stockton, to goaltender Tyson Sexsmith. The Thunder appeared to get a goal at one point in the period, from a Jordan Fulton rebound after the puck bounced off Lamoureux's back into his own net.

Goaltender interference was the call that washed the goal away.

Stockton's best chance came on a 5-on-3 opportunity in the final minute of the second period. Two players from Utah incurred minor penalties within a minute of each other- McIlveen for hooking and Carpentier for tripping, after he knocked down Kelly Czuy.

Sexsmith stood tall to keep the Thunder in the game, and the score remained the same after the completion of the second.

The Grizzlies put the final nail in the Thunder's coffin at the beginning of the third when they notched another goal to make the score, 4-0. Samson Mahbod earned an unassisted goal, converting a snap shot from the right circle from off the rush. Utah's Kevin Deeth got his second goal of the post-season to make the final score 5-0, burying a rebound from mid-air while positioned at the top of the crease.

Pitton took the loss in net with nine stops, while Sexsmith recorded 14 saves in relief effort.

NOTES: The Thunder scratched Cameron Brodie (injured reserve), Johan Motin (healthy), Fraser Clair (injured, day-to-day), and Jim McKenzie (healthy) ‚¬Â¦Stockton was outshot, 20-28 ‚¬Â¦ Utah went 1-of-4 on the power play and Garet Hunt, Kelly Czuy and Jarrett Konkle registered a team-high four shots on goal ‚¬Â¦ the Thunder dropped back-to-back losses at home in the playoffs for the first time since 2007-08, moving to a 10-6 record since Thomas took over as head coach.

A two-time recipient of the ECHL "Award of Excellence," Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine, led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and drew over 200,000 fans for the fifth consecutive season in 2009-10. Season Tickets, mini-plans and individual tickets for 2010-11 are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit http://www.stocktonthunder.com/.

THREE STARS

1. UTA- 1 Jean-Philippe Lamoureux

2. UTA- 76 Paul McIlveen

3. UTA- 10 Matt Reber



ECHL Stories from April 10, 2011


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