Saturday, October 21, 2000

 

Puget Sound Prevails in Lengthy Shootout Finish

October 21, 2000

EUGENE, OR…Tonight’s shootout loss to the Puget Sound Kings was hard to swallow. The Thunder put together arguably their best 60 minutes of hockey so far this season only to lose in shootout that featured a combined 18 shooters. The final score will read 4-3 in Puget Sound’s favor, but Eugene hung tough the whole way.The first period was scoreless. The Thunder came out strong and worked hard. Forwards Jeff Knebel and Sean MacDonald were throwing bodies early. Defensive pairs, Jake Meisenheimer and Andreas Collander along with Garrett Carter and Tommy Baker were moving the puck well and clearing house in the slot. The Thunder attack looked cohesive for the first time. Every line that hit the ice executed their plays with precision. Andrew Fields, Eric Graftaas and Aaron Roberge jump started their games, keeping constant pressure on the Kings’ breakout. As a result, the play was fast and featured a lot of end to end action.In the second period, the boys continued to work and stuck to the game plan. They battled in all three zones. Puget Sound was able to sneak two pucks by goaltender Martin Stehl in scrambles, but the Thunder never missed a beat. They worked harder and generated many scoring opportunities. Again Nolan Baker was forcing turnovers and springing himself on breakaways. Chance Lau and Freddy Martinez were aggressive in their forechecking and backchecking. Martinez found himself in the slot with the puck several times while Mark Demmer and Alan Rasmussen were potential threats every time they took the ice. But the Puget Sound goaltender held his team in the game.Down by two goals going into the third, the Thunder exploded out of the locker room ready to turn things around. At 1:39, Aaron Roberge buried the puck for the Thunder’s first goal of the night, assisted by Freddy Martinez and goaltender Martin Stehl. Twenty-one seconds later, Nolan Baker fired another one, assisted by Max Manders, to tie the game, 2-2. Puget Sound started running around a bit and got themselves into penalty trouble. The Thunder took advantage at 11:08, Tommy Baker wound up for the huge slap shot and Sean MacDonald tipped it by the Kings’ goaltender for a powerplay goal and the first lead the Thunder has enjoyed in quite a while. The game continued at breakneck speeds, bodies were flying and both goaltenders were unbeatable. With a little more than a minute remaining to play, Puget Sound pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. Then after calling a time out with :59 seconds remaining, they managed to ambush the Thunder crease and sink the game tying goal with :45 left in regulation play.Overtime was a wide open affair. With four skaters a side, there was a lot of ice out there. While skaters raced all over the ice, concrete plays were hard to come by. There were a few scattered shots by each team, but nothing came of them. Once again, the goaltenders stole the show, stopping every piece of rubber that came their way.This brought us to the shootout. The format calls for 5 skaters for each team to take turns shooting. Eric Graftaas, Nolan Baker, Andrew Fields, Aaron Roberge and Mark Demmer all tried their hands at scoring, but were foiled by the Puget Sound Kings’ goaltender. Martin Stehl was likewize perfect, making a few stellar saves to keep his team even with Puget Sound. The second phase of the shoot out is a sudden death format. Each team must choose different shooters than the first five that shot. Andreas Collander, Tommy Baker, Chance Lau and Alan Rasmussen all took their chances, but were unsuccessful in solving the Kings’ goalie. Puget Sound finally ended things when #15 C. Stricker was able to beat Martin Stehl on his shot.

It was a tough way to lose, but the Thunder worked hard and they should be proud of the effort they put forth. They’ll get a re-match against Puget Sound next weekend when they travel to Tacoma, Washington for two games against the Kings. The Thunder’s next home game is Friday, November 3^rd against I-5 rivals, the Portland Pioneers at Lane County Ice Arena.

 

Player Statistics

Saturday, October 21, 2000 vs. Puget Sound Kings

No.	Name	G	A	Pts.	PIMs	PP	SH	GWG	FG
1	Martin Stehl	0	1	1
2	Andreas Collander				2
7	Max Manders	0	1	1
8	Sean MacDonald	1	0	1		1
9	Freddy Martinez	0	1	1
10	Eric Graftaas
11	Chance Lau				2
12	Andrew Fields
14	Aaron Roberge	1	0	1					1
16	Nolan Baker	1	0	1
17	Mark Demmer				2 (10)
19	Jeff Knebel				2
21	Garrett Carter				2
23	Jake Meisenheimer
24	Tommy Baker	0	1	1
27	Alan Rasmussen
30	Cory Johnson

 

No.	Name	Mins	W	L	GAA	Svs	Sv%	SO
1	Martin Stehl	60	0	1	3.00*	39	.929
30	Cory Johnson		0	0

*Does not include shoot out goal