Friday, November 3, 2000

 

Thunder Lose Close One in Shootout to I-5 Rival

November 3, 2000

EUGENE, OR…The Eugene Thunder started slowly, but picked up the pace throughout the game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough as the Portland Pioneers took the win 4-3 in an OT shootout. Tonight’s game was dedicated to Oregon State Police officer Bill Combs with all proceeds going to a college fund for his two sons. The game began with a moment of silence in remembrance of the officer who was killed in a hunting accident a few weeks ago. And from there, it was tough for the Thunder to get going. The first period was marked by confusion and uncertainty as the Pioneers got off to a quick start. Portland won most of the battles in the corners and beat the Thunder to nearly every loose puck. Only 2:54 into the period, Portland captain Darrell Draper scored, walking the puck in from the blue line and firing a blistering shot that beat goaltender, Martin Stehl, high blocker side.The rest of the period saw several individual efforts by the Thunder and lots of scrambling as the boys tried to pull things together. Stehl’s solid goaltending kept the Pioneers at bay for the rest of the first.The second period brought a better effort from the Thunder. Veteran players, Sean MacDonald, Alan Rasmussen, Jeff Knebel and Jake Meisenheimer did all the little things right, finishing their checks, backchecking responsibly and playing the dump and chase game preferred by coach Kelly Hubbard. Garrett Carter got called early for a high stick infraction and Portland’s powerplay made short work of it. Forty-one seconds into their man-advantage opportunity, Kyle Gustaffson found defenseman Damon Hall who wound up for the point shot. It was Mitch Dixon that found the back of the net though and the Pioneers were up 2-0.The Thunder didn’t let up. They continued to press. Forwards Aaron Roberge, Max Manders and Eric Graftaas rolled up their sleeves and got in on the hitting. As a result of the Thunder’s pumped up play, Portland started getting themselves into penalty trouble. At 5:04, Mark Demmer was able to bury a powerplay goal. And again, at 6:19 Freddy Martinez found the back of the net on another powerplay chance to tie the score. From there, it was full steam ahead. The third period brought more of the same. Nolan Baker, Sean MacDonald and Mark Demmer were strong in all three zones, creating opportunities and breaking up Portland’s plays as they came through neutral ice. Freddy Martinez and Eric Graftaas were incredible on the penalty kill, forechecking relentlessly, getting several short handed chances to score. At 3:37, Martinez found Chance Lau in a 2 on 1 and Chance buried the puck. A beautiful play that put the Thunder on top and in control of the game, leading 3-2.The Thunder crawled into a bit of a defensive shell after that. However at times defensemen Tommy Baker or Andreas Collander could be seen jumping up into the play and trying to extend the Thunder’s lead. A wild back and forth period began to wind towards its close when Griffin Gale of the Pioneers got a breakaway. Tommy Baker opted to take a tripping penalty to thwart Gale’s scoring opportunity. Portland took their timeout to set up a play and were able to take advantage of the powerplay. At 16:37, Pioneers’ defenseman Damon Hall received the puck from Kyle Gustaffson and this time his slapshot found the back of the net to tie the game at 3-3.The final minutes were hard fought, but brought no game winning goal for either team. The five-minute overtime period, played 4 on 4, also brought no decision. Both Stehl and Portland goaltender Bryan Stoothoff were perfect which forced the game into a shootout. In the first round, which includes 5 shooters for each team, Sean Currigan scored for the Pioneers and Andreas Collander scored for the Thunder – tying the shootout. Then came the sudden death portion, Portland’s first shooter, James Samson managed to get the puck by a diving Martin Stehl. The Thunder were not able to answer back giving Portland the shootout win.It was a heartbreaker, but the Thunder will get a chance at a re-match next weekend up in Portland on Friday, November 10^th. The Thunder’s next homestand is November 17^th, 18^th and 19^th against the Yukon Claimjumpers. This will be the only trip the Claimjumpers make to Eugene this season.

Thunder notes: Forward Andrew Fields left the game tonight in the second period after suffering a shoulder injury. He will be out of the line up for about 4-6 weeks.

 

Player Statistics

Friday, November 3, 2000 vs. Portland Pioneers

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

 

 

No.	Name	Mins	W	L	GAA	Svs	Sv%	SO
1	Martin Stehl	60	0	1	3.00	21	.875
30	Cory Johnson