Thunder emerges in road trip finale victorious

Published on December 26, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Goaltender Bryan Pitton made 41 saves, one off his career-high, to help the Stockton Thunder (11-14-3, 25 points) sink the Bakersfield Condors in a 3-1 victory before a crowd of 6,570 at Rabobank Arena on Saturday night.

The win, which capped a seven-game road trip for the Thunder 4-3-0, gave Bakersfield their first loss at home since October 30, snapping a 10-game win streak. The Thunder received goal scoring support from Chris D'Alvise, Kelly Czuy, and an empty net goal from Igor Gongalsky. Stephane Goulet scored the only goal for Bakersfield.

D'Alvise scored his seventh goal of the season with 10:40 left in the opening period when he took Brett Hemingway's pass from behind the net, walked out to the right circle and buried a wrist shot under the crossbar to lift the Thunder to a 1-0 edge.

Just 2:11 later, ex-Thunder forward Stephane Goulet tied the game on a power-play goal in the Condors' fourth man-advantage chance of the period, when he pounced on a rebound from Sasha Pokuluk's drive and stuffed it into a half-open net.

Czuy restored the Thunder lead at 2-1 on a power-play goal with 3:56 gone in the second period when he wired a slapshot through the five-hole of Timo Pielmeier.

Pitton endured a 13-shot third period and turned away three close-range chances in the waning minutes, including an acrobatic save from below the circles on a Mathieu Aubin deflection, which caught a piece of Pitton's blocker with the goaltender sprawling in mid-air.

Czuy then stole a Bakersfield pass at the point in a 6-on-5 skating situation and had his empty-net bid from 140 feet stolen by a hustling John deGray, but the Thunder kept the puck in and capitalized for an empty net goal.

Gongalsky w as set up by Judd Blackwater at the right circle and fired a wrist shot into the net with less than three seconds left to put the Thunder up by a pair of goals.

Pielmeier took the loss, making 13 saves.

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