Friday, October 6, 2000

 

Lackluster Effort Leads to Home Loss Against I-5 RivalsOctober 6, 2000EUGENE, OR…Tonight’s contest between the Eugene Thunder and the Portland Pioneers at Lane County Ice Arena was very different from the first time the two teams met back on September 22^nd. First of all, the Pioneers lineup has changed a bit. And this time they seemed less interested in fighting. Portland came to play tonight. Unfortunately the Thunder didn’t match the Pioneers’ enthusiasm. As a result, at game’s end, the scoreboard said the Pioneers won this one by a score of 3-2. Quite a difference from the 9-2 thumping the Thunder gave Portland last time.The first period was a grind. A back and forth period, the Thunder never seemed to find their rhythm. Goaltender Cory Johnson held the team in the game during the frequent confused scrambles in the Thunder defensive zone. He controlled his rebounds and pounced on numerous loose pucks in his crease. Freddy Martinez, Andrew Fields, Jeff Knebel and Joe Cetta were all seen rushing the puck through the neutral zone in heroic efforts to get things going for the Thunder in the other end of the rink. But the Portland goaltender was equal to the task as he turned away all comers. Portland opened the scoring at 10:16 of the second period, but the Thunder answered back at 10:55 when Aaron Roberge made a beautiful pass to Chance Lau. Lau’s shot found the back of the net and the game was tied at one. Then at 16:34 while on the powerplay, Tommy Baker took a slapshot low on the goalie’s pads. He kicked out a rebound to Nolan Baker who put it right back on net. Aaron Roberge was finally able to swat the puck in the goal to give Eugene the lead. Despite the brief scoring flurry, the Thunder continued to look uninterested in playing the puck or the body. Defensemen Cory Howard, Garrett Carter and Jake Meisenheimer worked hard in their zone, trying to get the puck out, but more often than not, there were forwards standing around watching the play. Both Mark Demmer and Sean MacDonald found themselves getting into penalty trouble throughout the game.The third period brought more of the same. Although Josh Friedman and Chance Lau continued their usual aggressive forecheck, taking the body all over the ice, for the most part, it seemed a hollow effort by the Thunder. They never seemed ready to play in this game. At 2:29 of the third, Portland scored a powerplay goal to tie the game. And while there were more individual plays by Roberge, Fields, Martinez, Eric Graftaas and Max Manders, the team wasn’t clicking. Cory Johnson was left to fend for himself, stopping as much rubber as he could. He played a good game. It wasn’t quite enough. Portland scored the game winning goal at 11:03 and they never looked back.

The Thunder get another chance at Portland tomorrow night at 7:30 at Lane County Ice Arena. Here’s hoping they bring their whole game to the rink and leave none of it in the locker room.

 

Player Statistics

Friday, October 6, 2000 vs. Portland Pioneers

No.	Name	G	A	Pts.	PIMs	PP	SH	GWG	FG
1	Martin Stehl
4	Cory Howard
6	Joe Cetta
7	Max Manders
8	Sean MacDonald				4
9	Freddy Martinez
10	Eric Graftaas
11	Chance Lau	1	0	1					1
12	Andrew Fields	0	1	1
14	Aaron Roberge	1	1	2		1
15	Josh Friedman				2
16	Nolan Baker	0	1	1
17	Mark Demmer				6
19	Jeff Knebel				2
21	Garrett Carter				4
23	Jake Meisenheimer
24	Tommy Baker				2
30	Cory Johnson

 

 

No.	Name	Mins	W	L	T	GAA	Svs	Sv%	SO
1	Martin Stehl		0	0	0
30	Cory Johnson	60	0	1	0	3.00	37	.925