Thunder win pushes division title hunt to final night of regular season

April 2, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


LAS VEGAS - Center P.A. Bureau scored a goal, added an assist and Tyson Sexsmith made 31 stops in net to lift the Stockton Thunder (36-23-12, 84 points) to a 3-2 victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers before a crowd of 4,408 at Orleans Arena on Friday night.

The critical win kept the Thunder within one point of the first place Bakersfield Condors, who defeated Utah, 3-1 earlier in the evening. With the chase heading into the final day of the ECHL regular season on Saturday, the Thunder will clinch its first Pacific Division title in franchise history with a win, combined with Condors loss in regulation.

The Thunder also earned its first win of the season against Las Vegas, defeating the Wranglers for the first time since March 28 of last season. Sexsmith outdueled counterpart Michael Ouzas, who took the loss with 22 stops.

"We needed, for one, to get the monkey off our back with (Las Vegas), but overall this was a big win," said Thunder head coach Matt Thomas. "Our penalty kill was good, our goaltending was good, and we scored some pretty goals in the third by crashing the net. That's what you need to do against a goalie who's playing as well as Ouzas. It still gives us a chance at first place, and tomorrow we play for a win."

Despite an early shot advantage, the Thunder fell behind 1-0 on Blair Riley's 20th goal of the season with 3:26 left in the first period, when he buried a power-play goal with a shot from the right circle that deflected off Tyson Sexsmith's glove. Ryan Huddy picked up an assist when he fed Riley on the rush.

Ryan Constant's bid to tie the game with less than 10 minutes left in the second period was denied on a breakaway by Ouzas. Constant stepped out of the penalty box and took the outlet feed at the red line, but his forehand deke was stopped by Ouzas' five-hole.

Bureau finally knotted the score, 1-1 with 12.1 seconds remaining in the period, when he rocketed a pass to the goal mouth from the right circle. With Jordan Bendfeld crashing the net, the puck deflected off traffic and into the net.

Stockton killed off four power-plays in the second period, including a pair of two-man advantages.

After killing off an early Wranglers power-play in the third period, Konkle drove to the net after a Bureau faceoff win in the Wranglers zone. Ouzas kicked out Bureau's shot but Konkle stashed the rebound inside the right post with 6:54 elapsed in the third period for a 2-1 lead.

From nearly the identical spot, Cameron's 16th goal of the season put the Thunder ahead, 3-1 with 9:16 left in the game when he punched another rebound past Ouzas' glove, after Craig Valette steered the puck on net from the left goal line.

With the Wranglers pressing, Sexsmith stood his ground with 11 saves in the third period, turning away a Ryan Huddy one timer in the remaining minutes of the period.

Ouzas was pulled for an extra attacker and Las Vegas could only manage a Tyler Mosienko shorthanded goal with 6.5 seconds left, converting a Huddy centering feed from off the rush with a backhander.

The win boosted the Thunder record to 18-11-6 on the road and broke the franchise record for most road wins in one season, surpassing 17 wins in 2006-07.

"Our consistency on the road has been anchored by a pretty complete lineup," said Thomas. "Our guys just play hard. We've proven to ourselves we can play in any building. That's a good sign going into the playoffs."

Las Vegas was cemented into the fourth seed in the Western Conference and third place in the Pacific Division with the loss.



ECHL Stories from April 2, 2011


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