Thunder Beat Grizzlies on Pink Ice 3-2

Published on November 2, 2013 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


Parker Milner gets his first professional win and Ryan Hayes' game winner completes the comeback.

The Thunder captured their second straight victory as they took down the Utah Grizzlies by a score of 3-2 on Friday, as part of the Thunder Goes Pink VIII event.

Right winger Ryan Hayes netted the game winner with seven minutes left in the third period off a pass from center Andrew Clark. Clark set the goal up as he took the puck wide then found a cutting Hayes for the tally.

"It was pretty much an empty net," said Hayes. "It was a great pass from Clark and I just had to put it in the back of the net."

Earlier in the third period, the Thunder tied the game up with a goal from the aforementioned Clark. On this goal Clark received the pass from Hayes and scored the power-play goal only 27 seconds in the third period.

"Obviously you want to get off to a fast start being down 2-1," Clark said. "We had a power play to start the period so you want to get a goal and a little bit of momentum on your side."

Defenseman Mike Dalhuisen got the scoring started in the first period with a power-play goal as his slap shot from the blue-line blistered past Grizzlies' goalkeeper Ben Meisner. Dalhuisen's one-timer came off a pass from center Corey Trivino and put the Thunder up 1-0. All 3 goals scored by the Thunder were power-play goals, showing off the league's top ranked scoring power-play.

Nine seconds after the Thunder scored their first goal, the Grizzles tied the game up off the stick of forward David Vallorani. Vallorani snuck the puck past Thunder goalkeeper Parker Milner, tying the game for only a brief time. The Grizzlies then connected on their second and final goal in the period when forward Berkley Scott trickled the puck in, giving the lead to the Grizzlies for the first time.

After giving up 2 goals on 10 shots in the first period, Milner shut the door on the Grizzlies offense. With the 3-2 victory, Milner notched his first professional win in goal.

"It's definitely a bit of a relief," said Milner. "I've been to camps and preseason for about two months now and to finally get a win here just feels really good."

Milner ended the night with 20 saves on 22 shots, coming up big when he had to. Shining at different times throughout the night, his performance stood out.

"Parker played real strong down the stretch," said Coach Rich Kromm. "The first two goals, guys were standing around leaving their men wide open and [Milner] wasn't getting any help, but he made some great saves in the third period."

The Thunder now moves to 3-1-0 on the young season. They are back in action tomorrow night as they face Utah in the second game of a back-to-back, with puck drop at 7:30.

The "Thunder Goes Pink" event concludes tomorrow with that game against Utah, as well as a number of special events after the game. A live auction of the team's special pink jerseys follows Saturday's game. Proceeds from the event will benefit the St. Joseph's Foundation - Breast Health Services. For more information on special pink ticket plans, fans can call the front office at 209-373-1500 or visit StocktonThunder.com.

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