Friday, November 17, 2000

Thunder Fall to Claimjumpers 4-2 in First Game of Triple HeaderNovember 17, 2000EUGENE, OR…The Thunder came out and played hard for 60 minutes. They put their game together, they sustained pressure in the offensive zone all night long and hung in against a Yukon team with speed and an extremely physical style of play. In the end, Yukon came out on top, 4-2.The first period was hard fought. Nor-pac’s only Canadian team proved that they may be the hardest hitters in the league. They threw bone-crunching check after bone-jarring check all night long, but for the most part it was a clean game. The Thunder didn’t back down or shy away from the contact. They played hard and the game was a steady ebb and flow from one end of the rink to the other. Each team traded turns at putting on the pressure and then running around trying to defend against opposition pressure. Early in the game, Jake Meisenheimer stepped up and threw a hard check in his own zone to stop the progress of a Claimjumper. Unfortunately for Jake, the whistle had already blown to stop play on an obvious off-sides and Jake found himself going to the box for roughing. During the ensuing powerplay, the Claimjumpers were able to jump onto the scoreboard first as they were able to tip a puck by goaltender Martin Stehl. The Thunder didn’t let up and Yukon was whistled for four separate penalties as the period continued. As a result, the Thunder powerplay got ample opportunity to pepper Yukon goaltender Darren Odynski with shots, but he was up to the task of stopping them all.At one point it appeared that Tommy Baker scored his first goal of the season, as Odynski stopped a shot that trickled through his pads. Baker spotted the biscuit sitting on the line and went in for the kill. Just as he knocked the puck into the net, the ref blew the whistle and washed out the goal, having lost sight of the puck. To say that Tommy was bitter about this turn of events would be putting it mildly. But with 17:02 left in the period however, Tommy’s brother, Nolan Baker made no mistake, putting the puck in the net on a breakaway, tying the score 1-1. He was sprung nicely by Jake Meisenheimer and Mark Demmer.The second period found a couple of Thunder guys going to the box as both Aaron Roberge and Garrett Carter took turns in the box early. Yukon poured on the pressure and Justin Mennie was able to execute a wrap around on the powerplay to give the Claimjumpers a 2-1 lead. It took almost 6 minutes, but again, Nolan Baker found himself sprung on the breakaway to tie the score at 2-2. This time his accomplices were Chance Lau and Aaron Roberge.Later in the period, Roberge found himself in a 2 on 1 with Nolan and couldn’t resist the urge to try and set Nolan up for the hat trick. The guys couldn’t quite connect, but it was an exciting moment. Nolan Baker was on fire all night, providing more than a few heart stopping opportunities as he flew around the opposition in numerous breaks and partial breakaways. Captain Sean MacDonald lead the team in the physical department as he took every opportunity to check anyone in a red Yukon jersey. Although curiously, as much as the Claimjumpers seem to like to take the body, of all the teams the Thunder have faced so far this season, Yukon also managed to take out a great number of their own players. It was not uncommon to see a contorted pile of two or three Yukon players post-collision.The third period brought more of the same. Eric Graftaas and Freddy Martinez were masterful as the Thunder attempted to slow Yukon’s attack in the third. Cassidy Esty, playing his first game for the Thunder at home, and Max Manders did their best to keep their marks in check, while trying to generate scoring opportunities of their own. With everyone’s best effort in full swing, the Thunder were still unable to stop Yukon’s Ryan MacKenzie from scoring the go-ahead goal at 11:06. The guys continued to battle hard and started taking some chances as the game wound towards its conclusion. With 1:29 left to play, the Thunder pulled Stehl in favor of 6 attackers. The pressure and scoring chances they created were unbelievable, but again, Yukon goaltender Darren Odynski was up to the task – stopping the puck every time the Thunder attempted to jam it into the net. Finally, with 30 seconds left in the period, Yukon was able to control the puck and Ryan Gleason skated it into the Thunder zone to deposit it in the empty net to seal their win at 4-2.It was a good contest and the guys relish the chance to take on the Claimjumpers for the next two days as they will faceoff again Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 1:00 pm. If they continue to play with the same effort and intensity, the next two games should prove to be good, hard battles. And just maybe, Tommy Baker will have his revenge and actually score his first official goal this season.

Thunder Notes: Forwards Jeff Knebel and Josh Ankney were not in the lineup tonight. Jeff is expected to return tomorrow night, while Josh may be out for several games with a slight ankle sprain. Forward Alan Rasmussen left the game in the second period with an undetermined hand injury.

 

Player Statistics

Friday, November 17, 2000 vs. Yukon Claimjumpers

No.	Name	G	A	Pts.	PIMs	PP	SH	GWG	FG
1	Martin Stehl
4	Cassidy Esty
7	Max Manders
8	Sean MacDonald
9	Freddy Martinez
10	Eric Graftaas
11	Chance Lau	0	1	1
12	Andrew Fields
14	Aaron Roberge	0	1	1	2
16	Nolan Baker	2	0	2					1
17	Mark Demmer	0	1	1
19	Jeff Knebel
20	Josh Ankney
21	Garrett Carter				2
23	Jake Meisenheimer	0	1	1	2
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	29	.935
30	Cory Johnson