Sports stats



Bernier, Kinley, Perugini, Urquhart Assigned From Springfield

October 4, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder, the proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers and American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons, announced today that right wing Marc-Andre Bernier (mark-awn-DRAY bern-YAY), defenseman Cleve Kinley (KIHN-lee), rookie goaltender Andrew Perugini (pair-uh-ZHEE-nee) and veteran center/left wing Cory Urquhart (URK-hart) have been assigned to the Thunder from Springfield.

The Thunder training camp roster now stands at 16 players, who will first take the ice at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 6 at Stockton Arena.

MARC-ANDRE BERNIER ASSIGNED TO THUNDER

Bernier, 23, was originally selected in the second round (60th overall) by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and has spent his last three seasons in the ECHL with the Victoria Salmon Kings, Columbia Inferno and with the AHL's Manitoba Moose, scoring 106 points (46g-60a) while skating in 182 career games.

Before signing an AHL contract with Springfield in the summer of 2008, the 6-foot-3, 218-pound forward tallied career-highs in scoring (48 points), goals (21) and assists (27) in 59 games for the Salmon Kings last season. While ranking fourth on the team in points and third in goals, Bernier added a team-leading six goals in 12 Kelly Cup Playoff games last year, helping guide Victoria to the National Conference Semifinals.

The Laval, Quebec native skated in 239 career junior games with Halifax and Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, scoring 164 points (83g-81a) and amassing 141 penalty minutes. Another hockey notable in Bernier's family includes his brother Jonathan, who made his NHL debut last season with the Los Angeles Kings and was picked by the Kings in the first round (11th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

EX-TEXAS BLUELINER CLEVE KINLEY ASSIGNED TO THUNDER

Kinley, 24, signed an AHL contract with Springfield during the summer of 2008 and spent the last ECHL season with the Texas Wildcatters, tying the team's lead among defensemen with 28 assists while scoring 34 points (6g-28a) in 60 regular season games. In just nine playoff games last season, Kinley scored 13 points (5g-8a) to rank second in Kelly Cup playoff scoring among all defenseman and led the Wildcatters in playoff scoring.

The 6-foot, 190-pound defenseman has skated in 74 career professional games with Texas, the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL and the Muskegon Fury of the United Hockey League, scoring 38 points (6g-32a) while posting 69 penalty minutes. Kinley skated in 137 career games during his four-year (2003-07) college career at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell (NCAA), scoring 65 points (15g-50a) while posting 116 penalty minutes.

ROOKIE NETMINDER ANDREW PERUGINI ASSIGNED TO THUNDER

Perugini, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound goaltender, spent his last four junior seasons with the Barrie Colts and Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League, amassing a career record of 75-40-3 in 123 games while totaling six career shutouts, a .915 save percentage and 3.00 goals-against-average. Perugini set a Colts record with 40 wins in 2006-07, earning an OHL All-Star selection and notching a career-best four shutouts and 2.83 goals-against-average in 57 games.

The 20-year old currently ranks as the youngest player to dot the Thunder roster and originally joined the Oilers by attending NHL training camp as a free-agent invitee.

VETERAN CORY URQUHART ASSIGNED TO THUNDER

Urquhart, 24, was previously selected in the second round (40th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and has spent four seasons (2004-08) with the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones and Long Beach Ice Dogs, the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs and the Central Hockey League's Arizona Sundogs, skating in 264 games while scoring 206 points (108g-98a) and amassing 159 penalty minutes.

The 6-foot-3, 196-pound veteran center/left winger was a part of Cincinnati's Kelly Cup championship team last year, posting 23 points (14g-9a) in just 21 games. Urquhart was loaned to the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes on Feb. 19 and subsequently re-assigned to Arizona of the Central Hockey League where he tallied 33 points (20g-13a) in just 16 games for the Sundogs.

Thunder players hit the ice for the first time during training camp on Monday, Oct. 6, proceeded by "FanFest" at 5:30 p.m. from Stockton Arena, free to the general public. The preseason schedule launches on Thursday, Oct. 9 when the Thunder faces the Fresno Falcons, starting at 7:00 p.m. from Stockton Arena. Stockton and Fresno will meet 10 times during the 2008-09 regular season, beginning with "Opening Night" on Saturday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Stockton Arena.

The Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of San Joaquin Magazine, has led the ECHL in attendance for three consecutive seasons and drew 239,337 fans to Stockton Arena in 2007-08. Season tickets and mini plans are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit www.StocktonThunder.com.

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from October 4, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central