Steelheads fall just short in first game of series with Stockton

Note for Season Ticket Holders: Don?t wait! Renew your season tickets for the 2009-2010 season today. Pay your balance in full prior to April 4, 2009 and receive a 10% discount. Call Will Hoenike at (208) 472-2103 to renew. Interested in becoming a Steelheads season ticket holder? Call a ticket account executive at (208) 383-0080. The Idaho Steelheads (31-18-3) dropped their second game in a row tonight, falling 3-2 to the Stockton Thunder (26-25-5) in front of 6,661 fans at Stockton Arena. The first period saw no scoring, but it did have its share of fireworks. The period included four fights; stepping to the plate for the Steelheads were Brent Shepheard, Adam Welch, Derek Paget, and Kyle Radke. Shepheard and Garet Hunt squared off from the opening faceoff, along with Radke and Stockton?s Adam Huxley. Radke and Huxley, however, waited until later in the period to decide their differences. Igor Gongalsky opened the scoring in the game to put Stockton up 1-0; Ryan Huddy and Ryan MacMurchy earned the assists on the power play goal at 8:03. At 16:43, Mark Bomersback tied the game for Idaho when he took a saucer pass from Bryan McGregor as the two strolled in against one Stockton defender; McGregor?s pass was on the money and Bomersback found the back of the net. Garett Bembridge also assisted on the goal. Less than a minute later, Cory Urquhart put Stockton back up by a goal, with assists going to Huddy and David Rohlfs. Stockton went into the third up a goal, and extended their lead to two with the eventual game-winner in the form of Uquhart?s 25th at 10:20; Huddy and James Bates had the assists on the goal. Bomersback scored again just over two minutes later to pull the Steelheads to within one, but it was not enough. The goal was Bomersback?s 20th, assisted by Bembridge and Trevor Ludwig. Climie stopped 24 of 27 and suffered the loss, falling to 18-10-1. Andrew Perugini stopped 24 of 26 for the win, improving to 15-8-2. The two teams are back at it tomorrow night in Stockton. The puck drops at 8:30 Mountain Time.