Sports stats



Thunder Unlucky in 3-1 Loss to Ontario

March 30, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


The Stockton Thunder outshot the Ontario Reign 39-18 but suffered their fourth straight loss, as they fell on the road at Citizens Business Bank Arena, 3-1.

The Stockton Thunder (29-29-0-6) suffered their fourth straight loss Saturday night, as they fell to their Pacific Division rivals, the Ontario Reign (42-17-3-4), 3-1. The Thunder outshot the Reign 39-18, but could only get one goal past netminder J.P. Anderson.

Overall, the Thunder have now lost seven of their last eight contests and slip to seventh in the Western Conference standings. The Bakersfield Condors leap-frogged the Thunder even though they did not play tonight. Stockton's loss dropped their winning percentage to .500, while the Condors remain at .508 with seven games left on their schedule.

Matt Bergland had the lone Thunder tally, his 11th of the season, late in the third period. It was Bergland's first goal in 14 games. The Thunder came up empty on eight powerplay chances in the game, dropping them to 2-for-24 with the man advantage over the course of the four-game losing streak.

The Thunder came out swinging in the first period, as they let loose a barrage of 17 shots in the first 20 minutes. Anderson, who in five appearances against the Thunder as a member of the San Francisco Bulls had gone just 0-2-1 and played the entire 60 minutes of a game only once, stopped all the shots he faced to keep his team in the game.

A pair of fights brought the crowd into the game early in the opening period. Rookie Brady Ramsay dropped the gloves with Ontario defenseman Olivier Malka at the 2:17 mark of the first, picking up his first professional penalty and fighting major at the same time. Off the ensuing face-off, Mathieu Gagnon and Ontario's Jeremy Yablonski decided to have a go in a heavyweight bout that left Gagnon's jersey torn to shreds.

The Thunder defense also had a good opening period, limiting the Reign to just one shot on goaltender Brian Foster. That was the fewest number of shots the Thunder had allowed in a period this season.

The second period was more even in chances with the Thunder outshooting the Reign 9-7, but still failing to find the back of the net. After 40 minutes of play, the Thunder had a shots on goal advantage of 26-8 and had gone 0-for-6 on the powerplay.

In the third, the Thunder's offensive pressure continued, but an unlucky bounce gave Ontario the opening goal. The Thunder carried the puck behind their net off a face-off win only for it to get tied up in several players' skates. The puck popped loose into the slot and right onto the stick of Rocco Carzo who one-timed a shot to the upper corner for a 1-0 Reign lead at the 5:53 mark.

The goal seemed to breathe life into the Ontario offense, as they added another goal five minutes later. Defenseman Kyle Bigos took a low wrist shot that glanced off a Thunder stick and past Foster for a 2-0 advantage. It was the third goal of the season for Bigos, another former San Francisco player, and his first as a member of the Reign.

The Thunder kept coming and were finally rewarded for their efforts with only 2:43 remaining in the game. Alan Quine and Joey Diamond executed a two-on-one into the offensive zone. Quine drew the defender toward him and passed to Diamond in front of the net. The former University of Maine captain deked around Anderson but could not squeeze his shot in from the tight angle. It deflected back to Bergland who hammered it into the net before Anderson could get back in position to make it 2-1.

A late chance presented itself when John Ryder was called for holding with 1:29 left in the game. The Thunder pulled Foster for a six-on-four advantage. A pass into the slot was blocked and Carzo hit the empty net from just in front of his own net to seal the 3-1 victory with a shorthanded tally, his second goal of the game.

The loss also snapped the Thunder's streak of four straight wins on Ontario's home ice at Citizens Business Bank Arena. It was the Reign's first win at home against Stockton since December 20.

The Thunder return to action tomorrow night at Stockton Arena as they finish off their season series with the Idaho Steelheads. Game time is set for 4 p.m. PST. The game is the Thunder's second-to-last Family Day of the season, presented by Sutter Gould Medical Foundation and 99.3 FM KJOY. Fans can purchase a four-pack of Upper End Zone tickets with vouchers for four hot dogs and four sodas for just $38. Fans who purchase the deal online will receive a free Thunder hat. For more information visit StocktonThunder.com.

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from March 30, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central