Victoria escapes with win, Thunder magic number down to seven for playoff berth

Published on March 25, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Daryl Lloyd snapped a 2-2 tie with 5:39 left in regulation for an eventual game-winning goal, igniting a three-goal rally by the Victoria Salmon Kings, who escaped with a 5-2 win over the Stockton Thunder (30-31-6, 66 points) before 3,819 fans at Stockton Arena on Tuesday.

Despite the loss and outshooting the Salmon Kings 47-22, the Thunder saw its magic number whittled down to seven points to clinch its third consecutive Kelly Cup Playoff berth after the Phoenix RoadRunners (5th place, West Division) lost 4-2 at Utah just an hour before the game's conclusion in Stockton.

Veterans Tyler Kindle and Craig Valette scored a goal each for Stockton, while Todd Ford made 45 saves for Victoria, including 16 in the third period to seal the win.

Daryl Lloyd opened the scoring with his 15th goal of the season on a 3-on-1 attack with 10:51 left in the first period, taking Chris St. Jacques pass from the high slot and re-directing the puck past Thunder goaltender Bryan Pitton's blocker.

Following a kill of a five-minute major power-play, the Thunder seized momentum and parlayed it into a 1-1 tie when Kindle scored his first goal of the season and in a Thunder uniform at the 5:49 mark of the second period. Kindle took Cory Urquhart's deflected pass in the slot and whacked a bouncing puck through Ford's five-hole.

The Salmon Kings answered with 4:19 left in the second period when Dan Gendur tapped in a rebound at the goal mouth for a 2-1 lead. But right before the buzzer, the veteran Valette leveled the score with his seventh goal of the year with 3.2 seconds remaining in the second period, taking Urquhart's deflected shot in the deep slot and stuffing a rebound through Ford's pads.

The Thunder were forced to kill a 5-on-3 power play for over a minute and nearly took the lead when Gongalsky's rebound attempt was denied by a diving glove save by Ford at the goal line. Seconds later, Lloyd capitalized for his second goal of the game with 5:39 left in regulation, beating Pitton on a snap shot from the right circle on Victoria's third goal in an outnumbered situation.

Following a timeout with less than two minutes left in regulation, the Thunder aggressively hunted the puck behind the Salmon Kings net, but Scott Howes' clearing attempt found Shawn Landolt on a breakaway, who got behind the defense and buried a second chance rebound with 1:40 left in regulation to put the Thunder in a 4-2 hole.

Pitton was pulled for an extra attacker but Coulombe retaliated with an empty net goal behind the Thunder blueline with 27 seconds left to put Victoria ahead 5-2.

NOTES: The Thunder scratched Marc-Andre Bernier (injured reserve), Ryan MacMurchy (injury, day-to-day), Mike Lalonde (bereavement leave), Damian Surma (injured reserve) and Jordan Bendfeld (injured reserve) ... the Thunder killed off all seven penalty-kill situations ... Bo Cheesman made his Thunder debut and had two shots on goal ... Stockton fell to 4-6-0 in the season series to the Salmon Kings ... in the quest to break Joel Irwin's Thunder single-season record of 68 points, Ryan Huddy was held scoreless ... in turn, the Salmon Kings' Wes Goldie, who had 10 goal in nine games against the Thunder, was held scoreless as well.

The Thunder returns to play Friday at home against the Utah Grizzlies, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Stockton Arena. The game is available on radio at 1420 KSTN and online for viewing online (audio is free-of-charge) for a $7 charge at http://www.stocktonthunder.com/ (courtesy of B2 Networks).

The proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers and American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons, the Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine, has led the ECHL in attendance for three consecutive seasons and drew 239,337 fans to Stockton Arena in 2007-08. Season tickets for 2009-10 are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit http://www.stocktonthunder.com/.

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ECHL Stories from March 25, 2009


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