Sports stats



Victoria downs Stockton 3-1 to secure fourth straight road victory and seventh win in eight games

February 18, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Victoria Salmon Kings News Release


Stockton, CA - In a Friday night match-up at the Stockton Arena, the Victoria Salmon Kings went for their fourth straight road victory as they took on the Stockton Thunder. Victoria entered the game as winners of six of their last seven games, while Stockton came in with points in five of their last six contests. The Salmon Kings gave reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Week David Shantz the start, while the Thunder went with Princeton University graduate and former Victoria netminder Zane Kalemba.

The Thunder looked to start the scoring in the opening minutes of the contest as they had a goalmouth opportunity. After an initial shot on Shantz, the Salmon Kings' netminder was able to find the loose puck in his crease through a maze of bodies to cover up. A scrum ensued in front of the net after the Thunder players dug for the puck, which resulted in Kiel McLeod taken to the penalty box. Victoria's penalty killing squad stood tall against the Thunder man advantage, which was highlighted by a huge hit by Derek Couture on Chris Lawrence as the Stockton forward entered the offensive zone. The Salmon Kings used their strong special teams play to gain momentum in the game. Ryan Turek beat a screened Kalemba with a shot that rang off the post, while moments later Ryan MacMurchy found himself all alone in the right wing circle and snapped a shot on net that was turned aside by Kalemba. Victoria kept up the strong physical play and forced Kalemba to make several good saves to keep the game scoreless. As the Salmon Kings continued their push, Pierre-Andre Bureau moved the puck along the right wing boards around the net. As the former Ontario Reign player reached the side of the net he dropped a pass into the right wing circle for Jarrett Konkle who fired a shot past Shantz at the 10 minute mark. Konkle's 14th of the year ignited more pressure from the Salmon Kings as Kalemba was once again put to the test. A pretty passing play had Rob Hennigar thread a pass across the ice to an open MacMurchy who just missed the open net with a redirect shot over a sprawled Kalemba. Victoria finished the period strong with continued physical play and a penalty kill that saw them accumulate more chances than the power play team. The Thunder took their 1-0 lead into the second period despite being outshot 11-4.

Victoria picked up where they left off in the first as they controlled the pace of play early in the middle frame with a 4-0 shot advantage and strong physical play. Matt Stefanishion looked to even the score on an early man advantage as the big forward took a pass in the slot and fired a shot which Kalemba pushed into the corner. The Salmon Kings continued to swarm around the Thunder net with chances and were awarded another early power play opportunity. At 6:28 on the man advantage, McLeod backhanded a pass from the left faceoff circle into the slot for Rick Cleaver. The Parskville, BC native one-timed a shot that beat Kalemba's glove for his team-leading 19th goal of the season. The Thunder came alive after the game-tying goal as they matched Victoria's physical play and put several tough shots on Shantz. Stockton looked to regain the lead as they were awarded their third power play of the night, but Shantz and the Victoria penalty killing team was able to negate any quality scoring chances. The Thunder thought they had taken the lead on a goalmouth scramble late in the period as nearly every skater was in the crease in an attempt to dig the puck loose. The puck eventually trickled across the goal line but referee Ryan Murphy was quick to wave the marker off. On the next play, Ed Snetsinger found Rob Hennigar with a stretch pass from his own goal line. The Salmon Kings' leading scorer took the puck in stride across the blue line and made a forehand-to-backhand deke to slide his seventh goal of the year through the pads of Kalemba at 16:13. Victoria took their 2-1 lead and 22-16 shot advantage into the second intermission.

The third period opened as both teams engaged in end-to-end action which saw both netminders make several early saves. Kalemba made two tough saves on Stefanishion and Jeff Caister that kept the Thunder in the game, while Shantz equalled his counterpart with saves off strong puck possession by the home team. As the teams continued their back-and-forth play in the middle of the period, Lawrence came across the blue line into the slot with a quick snap shot on net. Shantz made the initial save as the Thunder forward followed the rebound to the left side but couldn't find the handle on the loose puck to bank the tying goal. Off the next faceoff, Chad Painchaud worked with Siddall on a 2-on-1. Painchaud fed Siddall the puck into the slot from the left side who then ripped a shot into the chest of Kalemba at the top of his crease. The end-to-end action continued into the late stages as Stockton attempted to knot the score while Victoria looked to secure the victory. As the final minute of play approached, MacMurchy lobbed a shot from his own zone that found the empty net just as Kalemba head to the bench for the extra attacker. MacMurchy's16th marker of the campaign secured Victoria's fourth straight road victory. Salmon Kings 3 Thunder 1.

Victoria went 1/4 = 25.0 on the power play, while Bakersfield was 0/4 = 0.0%. The Salmon Kings outshot the Thunder 28-22.

The Salmon Kings continue their three-game set with the Stockton Thunder tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. Game three will go Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm. To watch or listen live to Salmon Kings hockey visit www.salmonkings.com. Victoria returns home to face the Utah Grizzlies for a two-game set on Friday, February 25th at 7:05 p.m. For tickets call 250-220-7777 or visit www.selectyourtickets.com.

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

ECHL Stories from February 18, 2011


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.

Other Recent Victoria Salmon Kings Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central