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Thunder drops 5-2 loss to Utah, regroups for weekend home series

February 17, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - Garrett Cameron's two goals and assist headlined a Utah Grizzlies (28-19-4, 60 points) offense that capitalized on turnovers and sent the Stockton Thunder (8-30-8, 24 points) to a 5-2 loss, in front of 4,928 at The E-Center on Friday night.

Utah came roaring out the gates with three first period goals, beginning with Travis Rycroft's marker only 1:28 into the game, crashing the net and pouncing on a loose rebound. Louis Dumont then capitalized on a broken play from a Ryan Kinasewich cross-ice feed, and snapped a one-timer home at 5:39 for a 2-0 Thunder deficit.

The Thunder fell behind by three when Cameron capitalized on a Thunder turnover from a breakout pass, and slipped a five-foot backhander through Stockton goaltender Jeff Weber's legs with 17:04 gone.

Stockton inched back into the game at 3-1 with a power play goal 8:06 into the second period, when Aaron Foster banged a rebound home from a Dean Stork point shot. The Thunder defense stopped the bleeding with only three Utah shots allowed in the period.

The Thunder clinged to a two-goal deficit for a majority of the third period, which was widened to a 4-1 mark with only 5:01 to go in the game, when a Thunder turnover produced a mini-breakaway goal from Garrett Cameron, converting a blueline feed from Travis Rycroft.

25 seconds later, Kinasewich forced another turnover and buried a 20-foot wrist shot past Weber to hike Utah's lead to 5-1. Steve Slonina finished the scoring with a Thunder power play goal at the 17:12 mark.

Weber produced 25 saves in net for Stockton, opposed to Justin Eddy's 27 for Utah.

Before the game, the Thunder announced center Kevin Gardner was placed on the seven-day injured reserve list with a groin injury.

The Thunder returns to play Saturday against the Fresno Falcons at 7:30 p.m. PT from Stockton Arena. The game can be heard live on the internet (free-of-charge) and is available for viewing at a $6 "pay-per-view" rate at www.stocktonthunder.com, courtesy of B-2 Networks.

Thunder season tickets, individual tickets, and mini packages are on-sale now. Individual tickets can be purchased in person at Stockton Arena's Ticket Office, online at www.stocktontickets.com, or by phone at (209) 373-1700. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit www.stocktonthunder.com.



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