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Thunder use two separate three-goal periods to rout Steelheads

November 22, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


BOISE, Idaho - Ryan MacMurchy scored two goals and rookie goaltender Andrew Perugini stopped 42 shots to lead the Stockton Thunder (6-6-3, 15 points) to a 7-3 rout of the Idaho Steelheads, before a crowd of 4,095 at Qwest Arena on Friday.

The loss snaps the Thunder's six-game winless skid at Qwest Arena, dating back to Jan. 6, 2007. The Thunder led wire-to-wire and received a two-point (1g-1a) effort from Stephane Goulet, while rookie Ryan Huddy added a shorthanded goal to extend his scoring streak to six consecutive games. Perugini stayed unbeaten in regulation (4-0-2) with the win in net, surpassing Devan Dubnyk's 5-0-0 run in 2006-07 as the hottest goaltending start in Thunder history.

The Thunder erupted for three unanswered goals in the opening period, beginning with Huddy's fifth goal of the season on a shorthanded breakaway at 9:28 when he beat Idaho goaltender Rejean Beauchemin on a backhander. Defenseman Ryan Constant hiked the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal with 6:59 left, when his wrist shot from the high slot deflected off traffic and through Beauchemin's five-hole.

Just 28 seconds later, Adam Huxley converted a centering pass by Justin Chwedoruk with a wrist shot between the hash marks that beat Beauchemin over the glove for a 3-1 lead after Idaho turned the puck over behind the net.

Mark Bomersback's first ECHL goal of the season, a shorthanded tally at 16:20, cut the Thunder lead to 3-1 on a backhander that eluded Perugini's five-hole.

Mike Lalonde's third goal in as many games and his fifth of the year stretched the Thunder lead to 4-1 at 7:50 of the second period, scoring on a breakaway with a wrist shot that beat Beauchemin over the glove after Lalonde pounced on a turnover at the Thunder blueline.

Idaho responded with their second shorthanded goal of the game courtesy of Marty Flichel at 10:50, cutting the deficit to 4-2 when Flichel converted a rebound over Perugini's blocker after the rookie goaltender stopped a backhander by Bomersback from the slot.

MacMurchy helped the Thunder turn on the jets in the final period with his fourth goal of the season with 13:52 remaining, pushing the lead to 5-2 when he roofed a snapshot under the crossbar from the left circle.

Goulet followed with his first ECHL goal of the year just 2:27 later, when he scored on the rush with a wrist shot that beat Beauchemin over the blocker from an almost identical spot on the previous goal.

After the Thunder stifled Idaho's power-play in the first six chances, Garrett Bembridge converted a third chance rebound for a power-play goal with 8:55 remaining to help cut the Thunder lead to 6-3. Riley Weselowski and Tyler Shelast picked up assists on the play.

MacMurchy finished the scoring and increased the margin to 7-3 when he followed up a rebound in the mid slot and beat Beauchemin to the glove side. The play originated when the Thunder won an attacking zone face-off at the left circle, and defenseman Josef Hrabal put a wrist shot on net that Beauchemin steered into the slot.

Bomersback led Idaho offensively with a two-point game (1g-1a).

NOTES: The Thunder scratched James Bates (healthy), David Rohlfs (injured reserve), Marc-Andre Bernier (injured reserve) and Toby LaFrance (injured reserve) ... Beauchemin was pulled for backup Matt Climie after Lalonde's goal, but Beauchemin re-entered the game on the ensuing shift ... the Thunder power-play finished at a 1-for-5 clip after scoring just 2 goals in the last 34 chances ... Idaho was held to a 1-for-8 effort on the man-advantage ... three fights highlighted a combined 60 penalty minutes in the game, with the Thunder's Jeff Kyrzakos tangling with rookie Kyle Radke in the first period, Stockton's Garet Hunt battling Brent Shepheard in the second period and Thunder rookie Jordan Bendfeld dueling with Idaho enforcer Craig Cescon in the third period.

The Thunder return to play on Saturday against the Idaho Steelheads from Quest Arena, starting at 6:10 p.m. The game is available on radio at 1420 KSTN and for viewing on the internet for a $7 charge at http://www.stocktonthunder.com/ (courtesy of B2 Networks).

Three Stars 1. STK - 35 Andrew Perugini 2. IDH - 18 Mark Bomersback 3. STK - 26 Ryan Huddy

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