Finally, finally, finally, the Barons get a win. After so many failed chances, the Barons were able to score on the PP, score more than one goal in a game, and keep everyone wondering if they would pull it off all the way to the end.
First Period
-God, this period sucked. Just like Friday night, the team started strong and had a couple good chances in the early minutes, but couldn't keep it going. Just over 3 minutes in, Colin McDonald and David Liffiton tried to fight. Liffiton over-commited in his grab and they both tumbled to the ice. No real big hits from either one. The Barons PP woes continued after the Monsters got a Delay of Game penalty and weren't able to convert. Then, to make things worse, after a Hooking call to Mike Carman, the Monsters scored not one, but two shorthanded goals in 1:06. So now, not only could we not score but we were getting scored on. The first goal, I think Gerber could have had. The second, he had his leg extended and Van der Gulik hit it a couple times, but finally was able to lift it over Gerber's leg. And after one, the Barons were down 0-2.
Second Period
-So after the crowd got taken out of the game pretty early, it was tough to get much going. Coach Nelson reworked the lines a little bit, getting them more to how they were in Friday's game. 2:44 into the period though, the Monsters struck again. I can't blame Gerber for this one. I could see the lane perfect from my seat; Liffiton shot from the blue line with 4-5 guys between him and Gerber. A huge screen and Gerber didn't even move until the puck was in the net. That was a tough one. After another PP that they couldn't score on and a fight that didn't result in much between Plante and Zach Cohen, the Barons finally broke through at the 11:25 mark with a shot from Moran that got past Monsters goaltender John Grahame. At the 13:55 mark, the Monsters were called for a Too Many Men penalty. After fully expecting the Monsters to be able to kill this one off as well, Moran proves me wrong after a Giroux shot rebounded and landed right in front of Moran's stick. Moran just tapped the puck into the open net to finally get a PPG for the Barons. The second period would end with a 3-2 Monsters lead.
Third Period
The third period was just a big blur. Very few stoppages. I was starting to lose hope after 15 minutes and there not really being any huge chances so far. Then finally, at the 15:36 mark, Moran gets his hat trick. Not just any old hat trick though. A pure hat trick. How much better can you get for a franchise's first hat trick in history? The crowd was roaring. Down 3-0 and to come back like that was huge. I was fully expecting that the team would just play to hold the tie, and try to get the win in OT. Am I glad I was wrong. Three minutes later, Omark gets a pass from Reddox and beats Grahame. I've never heard 3000 people that loud. Then, to just make things interesting, the ref decides to hand out a boarding penalty to Belle, after letting a lot worse calls go. A 52 second penalty kill to end the game and the team stepped up. The Monsters had one real chance, but Gerber was able to kick it away. The crowd was on it's feet for most of the PK, and only got louder with each clear. 4-3 the final score and the first win for the Barons is in the books!
The Barons hopped on a bus after the game and headed to Houston to cap off their three game set. Preview is coming up.
-Written by Eric Rodgers-
The Stockton Thunder played their second game of the season tonight against the Ontario Reign, and they were greatly improved from the unfortunate defeat the night before. What I saw in the 1st period was a cohesive team, they skated fast, the guys passed to each other as if they'd been doing it their whole life, they were in sync, defense was sharp, and Tyson Sexsmith in goal looked calm and composed. Thunder's Mark Arcobello scored early at 1:14, with assists from Aaron Clarke and Craig Valette. Before 1st period ended, Ryan Constant had scored a second goal on a powerplay. Shots on goal were Stockton-13, Ontario-3.
