Thunder beat Aces in wild affair; win eighth game in last nine in front of 7,316

Published on January 25, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Rookie James Bates scored in the fourth round of a shootout to cap the eighth win in the last nine games for the Stockton Thunder (18-18-5, 41 points), who survived a furious comeback by the Alaska Aces and won 5-4 in a shootout before 7,316 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday.

The Thunder, who mounted a 4-1 lead in the third period with three goals in a span of 3:36 then saw it evaporate on three goals by Alaska in the final 5:14 of regulation, won their first shootout under Head Coach Matt Thomas and became the first team to hand the Aces a loss when trailing after one period this season, breaking Alaska's 9-0-0 mark.

Tonight was the finale of back-to-back games where the Thunder suited up in Reebok EDGE home jerseys of their NHL affiliate, the Edmonton Oilers (midnight blue and copper). The jerseys were auctioned off to the public after the game on the ice surface of Stockton Arena.

Veteran Scott Burt drew first blood for the Aces at 5:47 of the first period, converting his seventh goal of the year on the power-play when he took Luke Erickson's centering pass from behind the net and stuffed a shot through Thunder goaltender Andrew Perugini's five-hole.

The first period was dominated by physical play that featured three fights, with both teams combining for 38 penalty minutes.

Cory Urquhart knotted the score at 1-1 with 11:55 left in the second period when he collected Robbie Bina's pass at the high slot and beat Alaska goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux through traffic on a wrist shot past the blocker side.

The Thunder took the tie into the third with a mission to bury the Aces in regulation, and began the quest on Bates' ninth goal of the season on a two-man advantage for a 2-1 lead at 7:33. Bates took Ryan Huddy's pass at the high slot and ripped a one-timer past Lamoureux's glove.

Garet Hunt capitalized off a scrum in the Alaska crease and poked in the loose puck for a 3-1 Thunder lead just 1:07 later. Veteran defenseman Matt O'Dette started the play with a shot at the right point that deflected off Lamoureux, followed by a battle between Hunt, Huxley and a series of Alaska defenders.

Damian Surma's fourth goal of the season at 8:40 put the Thunder ahead 4-1, seemingly in position to put its foot on the gas pedal to an easy win over the Aces.

Alaska began its comeback on Erickson's 12th goal of the year, converting a give-and-go pass from Brett Hemingway on the rush and burying a one-timer from the left wing at 14:46 to cut the Thunder lead to 4-2.

A fight between Hunt and Alaska's leading scorer, Colin Hemingway, slated the Thunder for a major power-play in the final three minutes of regulation. However, Bryan Miller got Alaska back in the game, trailing 4-3 with a second remaining on an even-strength situation with his seventh goal of the season with 3:03 left, ripping a one-timer past Perugini from the slot.

Alaska pulled Lamoureux for the extra attacker early and the Thunder had three close range shots for the empty net blocked, most importantly by defenseman Matt Shasby with his right skate on a shot by Cory Urquhart.

A double-minor roughing penalty which was issued to Geoff Paukovich gave Alaska a 5-on-4 skating advantage with the empty net. Erickson found Shasby at the right goal post with four seconds left and the defenseman tapped a one-timer past Perugini's glove to knot the score at 4-4, shocking the home crowd of Stockton Arena.

After a scoreless overtime which included the Thunder's killing of a 4-on-3 Alaska power-play, Mike Lalonde and Ryan Huddy scored in the first two rounds of the shootout while Erickson buried Alaska's only tally in the second round.

Bates ended the game and sent Stockton Arena into delirium on the game-winner in the fourth round, when he beat Lamoureux with a snap shot from between the hash marks.

NOTES: The Thunder scratched Marc-Andre Bernier (injured reserve), Ryan MacMurchy (injured reserve), Jordan Bendfeld (injured reserve), Cleve Kinley (injured reserve), Justin Chwedoruk (injured reserve), David Rohlfs (injured reserve) and Mark Adamek (injury, day-to-day) ... the Thunder outshot Alaska 33-23 and improved to 3-0-1 in the season series ... Huddy's two assists boosted his scoring streak to nine straight games (9g-7a) ... both teams combined for 79 penalty minutes ... Oilers assistant coach Charlie Huddy and development coach Bob Mancini were in attendance at the game.

The Thunder wraps up a six-game homestand tomorrow against the Phoenix RoadRunners at 4:00 p.m. from Stockton Arena. The game is available on radio at 1420 KSTN and online (audio is free-of-charge) for viewing for a $7 charge at http://www.stocktonthunder.com/ (courtesy of B2 Networks).

The proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers and American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons, the Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine, has led the ECHL in attendance for three consecutive seasons and drew 239,337 fans to Stockton Arena in 2007-08. Season, group, individual tickets and mini plan packages 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/.

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