Sunday, November 19, 2000

 

Thunder Take Afternoon Victory Over Yukon Claimjumpers, 5-1

November 19, 2000EUGENE, OR…The Thunder emerged victorious this afternoon from a game that featured 101:00 minutes in penalties. With last night’s win fresh on everyone’s mind, the Thunder hit the ice in the first period with a will to finish what they started and embark on their first winning streak of the season. Every shift featured strong defense and pressure from the forwards. Goaltender Martin Stehl looked sharp and ready for anything the Claimjumpers might throw at him.Discipline lead to the Thunder scoring the first goal of the night at 7:23 when Nolan Baker fed Aaron Roberge. Aaron walked through the top of the slot and fired one high over Yukon goaltender Ryan Grigg. Forward Josh Ankney returned to the lineup today and took a shift with newcomers Phil Bingman and Lee Jurasevich mid-way through the first. Eager to make an immediate impact on the game, the three forwards took to agitating the Claimjumpers. Ankney went to the box for slashing, but he took one of Yukon’s top players, Jamie Barker, with him – coincidental minors. Three minutes later found Claimjumper Jonathan Osborne trying to remove Chance Lau’s head from his body. The ref opted to penalize them both for roughing, although it hardly seems that trying to keep one’s head attached would constitute roughing. Nolan Baker also jumped into the fray and went to the box for roughing as well. This brought the Thunder penalty kill some work. Freddy Martinez, Eric Graftaas, Tommy Baker and Garrett Carter did an excellent job of keeping the Claimjumpers to the outside. And the shots that did get through, Martin Stehl was there to steer them aside with ease. As the first period began to wind down, Jake Meisenheimer got whistled for interference. So the Thunder were forced to play conservatively instead of pressure the Claimjumpers for most of the rest of the period. As the horn sounded to end the first, the Thunder were still leading 1-0.The second period kicked off early with a lot of pressure from the Thunder. Forwards Nolan Baker and Aaron Roberge combined again for the Thunder’s second goal of the night. This time it was Roberge doing the assisting while Baker walked across the slot, showing infinite patience as he waited for Yukon goalie Ryan Grigg to drop to the ice before lifting a beautiful backhand shot over him. And even though Martin Stehl was a busy guy, keeping the puck out of his own net, he wasn’t too busy to spark this whole rush which earned him an assist on the play.Bingman, Jurasevich and Ankney hit the ice again and continued their mission to annoy and possibly annihilate whichever Yukon Claimjumper was within a stick’s length. Yukon was already in a volatile mood, being down by two goals. It was just the right mix of keg powder and flint to spark a quasi line brawl. A lot of mitts and sticks and helmets littered the ice, but not many actual punches were thrown. When the ice chips settled, five guys were sitting in the penalty box – three for the Thunder and two for the Claimjumpers. This left the Thunder penalty killing again. Sean MacDonald and Chance Lau combined with Jake Meisenheimer and Mark Demmer to neutralize the Yukon attack. The game continued to be rough as the Yukon team was frustrated by their inability to get any rubber by Martin Stehl. With 2:03 left in the second period, a piece of the plexiglass surrounding the rink broke, so the game was suspended for repairs. Both teams retreated to their locker rooms. The last 2:03 of the second was then played at the beginning of the third period.When the game resumed, Garrett Carter was in the box for roughing. The Yukon powerplay went to work and was finally able to shovel one past Stehl. But after the ensuing faceoff, it took only :29 seconds before Roberge and Nolan Baker were teaming up again to put the puck in the net and restore the Thunder’s two goal lead, 3-1. Defenseman Garrett Carter also picked up an assist.After that, there was no looking back. The penalties kept coming, but so did the Thunder’s goals. At the 2:59 mark of the third period, captain Sean MacDonald fired the puck into the net, assisted by center Aaron Roberge and forward Freddy Martinez. Later, at 14:46, Tommy Baker collected his 2^nd goal in as many games, rifling a shot from the point during some 4-on-4 play due to the penalty box parade. His goal was assisted by Freddy Martinez and defensive partner, Mark Demmer. And that, friends, is all there was. The Thunder win the game 5-1 and the weekend series 2 games to 1. The Claimjumpers are sent packing back to the Yukon where they might think better about advice they get from the Puget Sound Kings. The Thunder’s next challenger will be I-5 rivals, the Portland Pioneers on November 24^th and 25^th at Lane County Ice Arena. Both games start at 7:30 pm.

Thunder correction: In last night’s game, Cassidy Esty was credited with his first official assist as a member of the Thunder. I failed to report this and apologize from the bottom of my heart. Congratulations Cassidy, may this assist be the first of many.

 

Player Statistics

Sunday, November 19, 2000 vs. Yukon Claimjumpers

No.	Name	G	A	Pts.	PIMs	PP	SH	GWG	FG
1	Martin Stehl	0	1	1
2	Andreas Collander				4
4	Cassidy Esty				2
7	Max Manders
8	Sean MacDonald	1	0	1
9	Freddy Martinez	0	2	2
10	Eric Graftaas				2
11	Chance Lau				4
12	Andrew Fields
14	Aaron Roberge	1	3	4					1
15	Lee Jurasevich
16	Nolan Baker	2	1	3	6 (10)			1
17	Mark Demmer	0	1	1
20	Josh Ankney				8
21	Garrett Carter	0	1	1	4
22	Phil Bingman
23	Jake Meisenheimer				2
24	Tommy Baker	1	1	2	4
27	Alan Rasmussen
30	Cory Johnson

 

No.	Name	Mins	W	L	GAA	Svs	Sv%	SO
1	Martin Stehl	60	1	0	1.00	39	.975
30	Cory Johnson