Steelheads fall in see-saw affair

(Stockton, CA) ? Tony DeHart's third period goal, a forehand as he crashed the net from the blue line, was the game-winner Saturday night as the Stockton Thunder defeated the Idaho Steelheads, 4-3, in front of 6,397 fans at Stockton Arena. The loss was Idaho's sixth consecutive setback, three of them by just one goal. Idaho (1-6) struck first for the first time this season when Ondrej Roman fed Chad Klassen in front of the Stockton crease. Klassen beat Thomas Heemskerk with his second of the season to give Idaho its first, first-period marker of the season. Stockton would tie it on a Cameron Abney tally late in the first, evening the game at a goal apiece after one period. Stockton (2-3-1) scored twice midway through the second period to take a 3-1 lead, but Idaho did not go quietly. Kory Scoran's blast from the blue line found its way through traffic and past Heemskerk to get Idaho back within a goal. Then, early in the third, defenseman Matt Case made a terrific individual move to slide around a Stockton forward before a cross-ice pass to Roman. Roman had the easy tap-in goal to tie the game at three. DeHart's goal came three minutes later. As Stockton battled behind the Idaho net, DeHart crept down from the blue line between the circles. The puck was passed onto his tape and he lifted it over a sprawling Jerry Kuhn for the eventual game-winner. Heemskerk robbed David Fredriksson twice in the final minutes, allowing the Thunder to hold on for the victory. Kuhn stopped 27 of 31 shots in the loss. Idaho's power play came up empty for the third straight game, going 0-for-5 on the man advantage despite consistent pressure. Idaho returns home this week to host three games against the Las Vegas Wranglers. Games will be played Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at CenturyLink Arena. Puck drop each night is just after 7 PM. COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - Ondrej Roman AQUA FINA "3 STARS" - (1) Ian O'Connor (STO) (2) Thomas Heemskerk (STO) (3) Dan Ringwald (STO) Steelhead Season-Ticket Holders get six games FREE when they sign up for full-season packages. Fans can still get pro-rated full-season tickets for the remaining 35 home games, starting at less than $275 per seat. Partial-season plans are also available. Contact the Steelheads front office at 208.383.0080 or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com for more information.