Thunder Prevail on Teddy Bear Toss Night

January 19, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


Alex MacLeod scored the fastest goal in Teddy Bear Toss history at the 2:48 mark of the first period and the Thunder were able to hold on and beat Bakersfield in the Shootout 4-3.

On a night where the fans tossed teddy bears onto the ice, the Thunder tossed together a shootout victory over the Bakersfield Condors by a final score of 4-3 Saturday night at Stockton Arena.

"I thought we played a pretty good game all around," said Head Coach Rich Kromm. "I didn't think there were many scoring chances either way. We limited their scoring chances when they had them and I thought Foster was really good for us tonight."

Thunder goaltender Brian Foster stopped four of the five he faced in the shootout while also stopping 14 of the 17 shots he faced in regulation. While Foster only surrendered one goal in the shootout, the Thunder collected two, one from forward Mitch Bruijsten and the other to center Joey Martin to seal the win. The two combined for goals in the Thunder's first shootout win, and again combined for the team's second win in the skills competition.

"I felt really good all night and in the shootout," said Foster. "I like doing shootout's, I think they are fun and exciting and always great to be a part of."

After Bakersfield scored only 1:09 into the third period, Martin, tied the game at three when he netted the tying goal. Off the no-look feed from forward Greg Miller, Martin took a slapshot from the left circle that beat Bakersfield goaltender Tyler Bunz.

"Miller gave me a great pass but it was a great shift overall for our line," said Martin. "Each one of us could have buried a goal before that but it's a good thing he gave me a nice pass and I got a bit lucky on the shot."

Each team scored one goal apiece in each period, with the Thunder starting that trend early in the first period thanks to forward Alex MacLeod. After Thunder defenseman Shawn Escobedo found MacLeod, the Thunder forward beat the Bakersfield defensemen down the ice resulting in a break-a-away. MacLeod beat Bunz high glove side for the early lead and set off the raining of teddy bears from the Stockton fans. Foster, along with Escobedo, collected an assist on the play.

"It was a pretty crazy feeling, one that I've never experienced before," exclaimed MacLeod! "It's awesome that the fans came out and participated in the toss. There were a lot of teddy bears and it was just great to see our fans so excited."

MacLeod set the Thunder record for fastest Teddy Bear Toss goal by scoring at the 2:48 mark of the first period. That broke the record of 5:14 in the first period that was set last season by Harrison Reed in the team's loss to the Utah Grizzlies. The Thunder also move to 5-2-0-2 on nights when fans toss the bears!

Bakersfield would respond to the first Thunder goal by collected their the first goal of the game on the power play. After defenseman Mike Dalhuisen was set to the box for the second time in the first period, Bakersfield forward Nicholas Tremblay tied the game at one. Tremblay had an open net against Foster thanks to a deflection on the initial shot from Bakersfield center Chase Schaber.

Then in the second period, Bakersfield tallied their second-straight powerplay goal from forward Matt Thurber. With Thunder defenseman Landon Oslanski in the penalty box for tripping, Bakersfield capitalized, ending with a back door goal from Thurber.

Not to be outdone, the Thunder matched Bakersfield's powerplay goal with one of their own off the stick of Miller. With center Gary Steffes in the box for Bakersfield, Miller walked to the front of the net and stuffed the puck past Bunz to tie the game at two.

The Thunder look to pick up their third win in a row tomorrow in a matinee showing as they face their Pacific Division rivals the San Francisco Bulls, with puck drop scheduled for 4 p.m. Fans can purchase Thunder Pride Packs online for just $38. That package gets fans four tickets in the Upper End Zone, four sodas, and four hot dogs, plus a free hat!



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