Things were going great for the Stockton Thunder, which won 10 of its first 14 games and had a quick-strike offense which could pile up goals in a hurry.
But a quick call from Oklahoma City has changed everything.
The Oklahoma City Barons of the AHL lost three players to injury last weekend, and that was bad news for the Thunder. Its leading scorers, Toni Rajala and Philippe Cornet are headed to Oklahoma City and along with Cameron Abney, who has bounced back and forth between Stockton and OKC. Abney and Rajala were called up Tuesday. and Thunder coach Matt Thomas said Cornet would be officially transferred later this week.
That’s a lot of offense, and momentum, to lose. Stockton has other people who can score, of course, but no one hotter than Rajala. This is the first big test of the new season, and it will be interesting to see how Thomas sets up his lines to try to keep things going smoothly.
Look for forwards such at Harrison Reed, Matt Reber, Gabriel Levesque and others to try to fill the holes.
