Saturday, October 7, 2000

 

Pioneers Persevere in 5-3 Win Over Thunder

October 7, 2000EUGENE, OR…After last night’s performance, tonight’s game was a gut check for the members of the Eugene Thunder. A few of the guys stepped up, more of them stepped back into the shadows as the Portland Pioneers won their second game in as many nights at Lane County Ice Arena. The final score was 5-3, but more importantly, the faces of the Thunder as they left the ice told the real story. Again, they weren’t ready to play, weren’t prepared and lost the game more to what they weren’t capable of doing for themselves than because of what the Pioneers threw at them. This is a young team. The Pioneers are not. The Thunder is a team whose biggest lesson this season may be learning what it means to work hard.Portland kicked off the scoring of this game at 6:17 of the first period while killing a penalty. Yes, that’s right, the Thunder were on the powerplay when Kyle Gustaffson found Pioneer captain Draper sneaking in behind the Thunder defense. Draper took the puck in all alone to score a breakaway short handed goal. It took the Thunder six minutes, but they finally mustered the energy to answer back as Aaron Roberge worked some magic on a broken Portland play at the Thunder blue line. Aaron found Sean MacDonald open at the Pioneers’ blue line and made a laser pass right to him. Sean fired the shot off and over the shoulder of Portland goaltender, Justin Miller to tie the game.Tonight’s contest started out physical and only got more so as play continued. It was a rare event to see a peaceful post whistle separation of the players. Coach Kelly Hubbard had warned the kids about Portland’s rough tactics, but it was difficult for them to walk away when the confrontations began.In the second period, Portland scored three unanswered goals. The Thunder were scrambling in their end, unable to breakout. Goaltender Martin Stehl held his ground as much as possible, but through a glut of players in front of him, his view of the puck was sporadic at best. Often reacting at the last second, he was unable to help the Thunder regain control as he usually does. His role was relegated to damage control – he did the best that he could.Hubbard called his time out and re-focused his players, demanding they get with the program. He shortened his bench, relying heavily on forwards Aaron Roberge, Mark Demmer and Nolan Baker to set the tone, while Tommy Baker and Garrett Carter held down the back end, clearing bodies out from in front of the net with force. Andrew Fields, Sean MacDonald and Jeff Knebel were also key players as the Thunder tried to claw their way back into the game.Roberge and Demmer were tireless, connecting on several breaking plays which backed Portland off. Their speed, power and smart, heads up hockey began to breathe some life into the Thunder. And at 11:09, defenseman Joe Cetta and Aaron Roberge combined to find Mark Demmer in prime scoring position. Demmer made no mistake, burying the puck to bring the Thunder within two goals of the Pioneers.Freddy Martinez, Chance Lau and Eric Graftaas took a shift and continued to put pressure on the Portland defense. The shifts were quick and the Thunder were getting some good scoring chances. They got Portland running around in their own end, but sometimes pressure can lead to risk and Gustaffson again found Draper, springing him in a classic one on one. The Thunder lost the showdown and Draper found the back of the net for his second of the night, putting his team up 5-2.The third period barely resembled a hockey game as Portland took advantage of their lead by using their sticks, elbows and fists in an attempt to literally beat the Thunder into submission. Eugene was unable to convert on any of the powerplays they drew, but Demmer and Roberge continued to be threats every time they were on the ice. Chance Lau seemed to be on a crusade to prove himself the most valuable Thunder player WITHOUT the puck as he forechecked like a madman and broke up play after play with his side-kick Freddy Martinez.Demmer was able to bury another puck from the left circle with the help of Roberge and Graftaas, but at 3:27 of the third period, it was too little, too late. The game ended in fist flying action as Portland engaged in several dangerous plays deep in the Thunder zone. As a result, the Thunder will lose the services of Mark Demmer and defenseman Garrett Carter for next week’s Liberty Lake games to automatic game misconducts for their participation in some late fisticuffs.

The Thunder’s next two games will be in Liberty Lake, Friday, October 13^th and Saturday, October 14^th. Their next home games will be Friday, October 20^th and Saturday, October 21^st against Puget Sound. Stay tuned here for game details while we’re on the road.

 

Player Statistics

Saturday, October 7, 2000 vs. Portland Pioneers

No.	Name	G	A	Pts.	PIMs	PP	SH	GWG	FG
1	Martin Stehl
4	Cory Howard
6	Joe Cetta	0	1	1
7	Max Manders
8	Sean MacDonald	1	0	1					1
9	Freddy Martinez
10	Eric Graftaas	0	1	1
11	Chance Lau
12	Andrew Fields				2
14	Aaron Roberge	0	3	3
15	Josh Friedman
16	Nolan Baker				2
17	Mark Demmer	2	0	2	5 (gm)
19	Jeff Knebel
21	Garrett Carter				7 (gm)
23	Jake Meisenheimer				2
24	Tommy Baker				2
30	Cory Johnson

 

 

No.	Name	Mins	W	L	T	GAA	Svs	Sv%	SO
1	Martin Stehl	60	0	1	0	5.00	30	.857
30	Cory Johnson		0		0