Canucks prospect Dan Gendur was in fine form Friday night, Oct. 24, as he scored and added an assist to the Victoria Salmon Kings home opener.

The Stockton Thunder upset the home crowd with a 5-2 win over the Salmon Kings in the first game of a three leg series.

Stockton opened the scoring 2:37 into the first period. Subsequently, Victoria’s captain Wes Goldie tied it up on the power-play with his second goal of the season with 2:41 left in the first.

Both teams exchanged goals through the first two periods to make it 2-2, but from 12:43 of the second period onward, Stockton scored three unanswered goals to run away with the victory.

Salmon Kings head coach Mark Morrison was unimpressed with his team’s performance.

“We [had] some bodies in here that didn’t put the effort in and it’s a team game you know; everybody needs to be going,” said Morrison, who was pleased with some aspects of his side’s performance. “Our energy level [was] good ... we just have to channel it the right way.”

Captain Wes Goldie acknowledged the need for improvements after his side’s performance.

“We were really working hard out there,” Goldie said. “We need to turn our attention to the smarter plays and I think we’ll be fine.”

Victoria went one for five on the powerplay while Stockton ended with two for eight. Both teams ended the game with 32 shots on goal.

Vancouver native Dan Gendur scored his first goal of the season and added an assist before getting ejected from the game. He delivered a cross-check near the end of the second period that resulted in a game misconduct and a cross-checking five-minute major penalty. A scrap between defensemen Ryan Constant of the Thunder and Matt Kelly of the Salmon Kings ensued shortly after. Both danced for what felt like an eternity while exchanging heavy blows before the linesmen intervened.

Gendur played minor hockey at the Ian Stuart Complex before working his way up to the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he was noticed by the Vancouver Canucks. They then drafted him in the seventh round, 206th in 2007.

After a positive training camp with Vancouver earlier this fall, he came up short of making the Canucks’ opening roster and was sent to Victoria to develop his game.

The Save On Foods Memorial Centre was filled with over 6,600 fans in attendance to witness the home opener.

“It was definitely nice to see the enthusiasm with the fans,” Goldie added after the game.

The Salmon Kings were able to rebound Saturday night with a 5-2 win over Stockton, but lost Sunday’s matinee match by a score of 3-1.