FINAL STATS: Box score
ANCHORAGE – Veteran Wes Goldie collected a hat trick, Brian Swanson scored twice and the Alaska Aces used five power-play goals to defeat the Stockton Thunder (12-6-4, 28 points), 8-3, before 3,016 fans at Sullivan Arena on Wednesday night.
The Thunder, who took just their second road defeat in regulation this year (6-2-2) and still maintained a first place tie in the Pacific Division with Las Vegas, lost an early 1-0 lead which turned into a four-goal deficit in the first period, when the Aces scored four times on a five-minute major power-play.
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Mark Arcobello paced the
Thunder offense with a
career-high three points (2g-1a) |
Mark Arcobello scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Thunder in scoring.
Anthony Aiello added a power-play goal in the third period. Gerald Coleman picked up the win for Alaska with 29 saves in net.
Arcobello broke the scoreless tie just 4:25 into the game with a shorthanded goal after stripping the Alaska defenseman Steve Ward at center ice, racing on a breakaway and beating Coleman with a forehand to the glove side.
Alaska answered 58 seconds later with Ethan Cox’s turnaround shot that beat
Bryan Pitton to the blocker side from the right circle. The game’s momentum took a sharp turn after
Chris Lawrence was handed a five-minute major penalty for boarding, opening the door for a four-goal rally for Alaska in a span of 4:18.
Goldie responded at 11:42 with a backhander from beneath the hash marks, over Pitton for the first power-play goal on a five-minute major and a 2-1 lead for Alaska.
Kory Falite then got a piece of Chad Anderson’s shot from the high slot with 12:53 gone in the period, boosting the Aces lead to 3-1.
Just 57 seconds later, a Bryan Miller wrist shot from the left circle inflated the Aces lead to 4-1, firing his third goal of the season over Pitton’s shoulder.
Swanson buried the final goal of the Alaska power-play, in the slot with 3:10 left in the period for a 5-1 lead.
After replacing Pitton with
Garrett Zemlak, the Thunder turned the second period around for a 12-10 shots advantage and cut the deficit to 5-2 when Arcobello scored his second goal of the game, off a relay from
Garet Hunt when he beat Coleman with a wrist shot from inside of the right circle.
Just 56 seconds into the final period, Goldie put the Thunder back in a four-goal hole with his second of the game, stashing a backhander from the deep slot after jumping on turnover.
Aiello cut the gap back to three goals at 6-3 when his power-play goal, coming at 4:57, completed an Arcobello feed to the right goal post.
Goldie’s hat trick, on a wraparound to the forehand, put Alaska up 7-3 with 8:39 elapsed after converting a Scott Howes pass at the right circle. Swanson closed the scoring on Alaska’s fifth power-play goal with 4:21 left, finishing Goldie’s pass at the right goal line with a re-direction past Zemlak’s left pad.
Pitton, who was in net for the eventual game-winning goal, took the loss with just eight stops. Zemlak finished with 18 saves in 44 minutes between the pipes.
NOTES: The Thunder scratched
Chase Ryan (healthy),
Trevor Hunt (healthy),
Jim McKenzie (injured reserve),
Tyson Sexsmith (injured reserve) and
Craig Valette (injured reserve) … Alaska’s five goals in the first period set a Thunder record for most goals scored by an opponent in one period … Alaska finished with a 34-32 shots advantage … the Thunder went 1-for-4 on the power-play … Stockton took just its third loss in regulation at Sullivan Arena dating back to 2007-08, dropping to 8-3-1 in the last 12 games in Anchorage.
The Thunder returns to play for its next game on the road, visiting Alaska on Friday at Sullivan Arena, starting at 8:15 p.m. The game can be heard on radio at 1280 AM KWSX and viewed live on the internet (pay-per-view video charge) at www.StocktonThunder.com, courtesy of AmericaOne.
A two-time recipient of the ECHL “Award of Excellence,” Thunder was voted “Best Local Sports Team” by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine, led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and drew over 200,000 fans for the fifth consecutive season in 2009-10. Season Tickets, mini-plans and individual tickets for 2010-11 are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit
http://www.stocktonthunder.com/.
THREE STARS:
1. AK – 16 Wes Goldie
2. AK – 27 Brian Swanson
3. STK – 21 Mark Arcobello
-Written by the Stockton Thunder Staff-
*Reprinted by OilersJambalaya.com with permission from the Stockton Thunder Hockey Club*
