Game 5 Preview: Stockton Thunder At Las Vegas Wranglers

Published on April 10, 2013 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 2013

TIME: 7:05 p.m.

SITE: Orleans Arena

RADIO: 1360 AM KFIV/StocktonThunder.com (America One)

NHL AFFILIATES

Stockton Thunder: Edmonton Oilers

Las Vegas Wranglers: Independent

NEXT HOME GAME

Friday, April 12 vs. Las Vegas Wranglers (7:30 p.m.)

GAME 6 - WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINAL

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The fourth seeded Thunder battle the Las Vegas Wranglers tonight in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal at Orleans Arena with the series tied, 2-2. Las Vegas defeated the Thunder, 5-2 last night in Game 4 of the series at Orleans Arena. Thunder head coach Matt Thomas took the win over Wranglers head coach Ryan Mougenel (who served as Thomas' assistant coach from 2005-09. Mougenel was a forward for the 2003 Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, who won the Kelly Cup with Thomas as an assistant coach. The home team has won each game so far in the series.

STOCKTON VS. LAS VEGAS- WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS (all times listed PT)

(Series tied, 2-2)

Game 1: Las Vegas 2 at Stockton 3 (OT)

Game 2: Las Vegas 2 at Stockton 3 (OT)

Game 3: Stockton 0 at Las Vegas 3

Game 4: Stockton 2 at Las Vegas 5

Game 5: Stockton at Las Vegas - Wednesday, April 10 - 7:05 p.m. (Orleans Arena)

Game 6: Las Vegas at Stockton - Friday, April 12 - 7:30 p.m. (Stockton Arena)

Game 7: Las Vegas at Stockton - Sunday, April 14 - 4:00 p.m. (Stockton Arena) *

*If necessary

BREAKDOWN: THUNDER ALL-TIME RECORD BY GAMES

GAME FIVE

DATE ROUND OPP. LOCATION SCORE OT GOALIES (STK/opp) GWG

Apr. 16, 2007 NQF Idaho Stockton Arena L, 2-3 (OT) 6:54 Dubnyk/Silverthorn Lance Galbraith

Apr. 20, 2008 NQF Las Vegas Stockton Arena W, 6-3 - Boron/LALANDE-Sims Stephane Goulet

Apr. 19, 2009 PSF Ontario Stockton Arena W, 4-2 - Van Buskirk/Zatkoff Craig Valette

May 4, 2009 PF Las Vegas Orleans Arena L, 2-4 - Van Buskirk/Fisher Dan Spang

Apr. 24, 2010 NSF Bakersfield Stockton Arena W. 7-4 * - Perugini/Pielmeier Colin Hemingway

May 8, 2010 NCF Idaho Stockton Arena L, 3-6 - Pitton/Beauchemin Marty Flichel

April 21, 2012 WSF Alaska Stockton Arena L, 1-4 - Roy/Coleman Steve Ward

All-time game five record: 3-4

PLAYOFF SERIES RECAP:

GAME 1 - STK 3 - LV 2 (OT) (4/5/13): Matt Bergland's wrist shot 3:49 into overtime helped the Stockton Thunder finish off a rally from a two goal deficit to take Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, 3-2 over the Las Vegas Wranglers at Stockton Arena on Friday. Bergland, who finished an up ice rush with a wrist shot from the right circle, notched Stockton's seventh consecutive overtime victory in the playoffs. He was joined on the scoresheet by center Harrison Reed and defenseman Shawn Boutin, who notched his first goal with the Thunder. Goaltender Olivier Roy made 29 saves, while Las Vegas' Joe Fallon stopped 27 shots.

GAME 2 - STK 3 - LV 2 (OT) (4/6/13): Harrison Reed buried a wrist shot from the slot with 1:44 elapsed in sudden death overtime to lift the Stockton Thunder to another exhilarating finish for the second straight evening in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal before 4,403 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday. The Thunder took a 2-0 series lead and has won eight straight playoff games finishing in overtime. Goaltender Olivier Roy made 28 stops for the Thunder. Reed finished with two points, while forward Shawn Weller recorded two goals. Las Vegas' Joe Fallon stopped 26 shots.

GAME 3 - LV 3 - STK 0 (4/8/13): Joe Fallon made 27 saves for a shutout and his first win in seven playoff games, helping the Las Vegas Wranglers send the Stockton Thunder to a 3-0 defeat in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal before 2,658 fans at Orleans Arena on Monday. Olivier Roy took the loss with 23 saves and the Wranglers capitalized on goals by Scott Pitt, Judd Blackwater and Carlo Finucci in the final 40 minutes. Las Vegas was able to break away from a scoreless tie with a shorthanded goal in the second period and a power play goal stemming from a five minute major early in the third period.

GAME 4 - LV 5 - STK 2 (4/9/13): C hris Francis scored a pair of goals while Judd Blackwater chipped in with two assists to help the Las Vegas Wranglers hold off the Thunder, 5-2 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal on Tuesday at Orleans Arena. Nik Pokulok and Matt Reber earned the Thunder goals in the first period, nearly erasing an early 3-0 deficit in the first period.

2012-13 SEASON SERIES (Thunder: 4-1-3)

Fri. Oct. 19 Stockton 2 at Las Vegas 3 (OT)

Sat. Oct. 20 Stockton 5 at Las Vegas 4

Tue. Dec. 4 Las Vegas 1 at Stockton 3

Wed. Dec. 5 Las Vegas 0 at Stockton 1

Sat. Dec. 8 Stockton 3 at Las Vegas 4 (SO)

Sat. Dec. 29 Las Vegas 3 at Stockton 2 (OT)

Fri. Mar. 8 Las Vegas 3 at Stockton 4

Sat. Mar. 9 Las Vegas 3 at Stockton 2

SEASON SERIES IN REVIEW :

The Thunder finished 4-1-3 against Las Vegas this season and won four of the five games that ended in regulation ... The two teams split the first two games in the season series at Las Vegas on Oct. 19-20 ... Scott Campbell's overtime goal gave the Wranglers a 3-2 win over the Thunder in the season series opener on Oct. 19 ... Cameron Brodie got revenge for the Thunder with the game-winning goal with 16 seconds left for a 5-4 win the next night ... Cody Reichard made 38 saves in both a 3-1 Thunder win on Dec. 4 at Stockton Arena and a 1-0 victory on Dec. 5 at home for the first shutout of his pro career ... the Thunder scored three power play goals in a 4-3 shootout loss on Dec. 8 at Orleans Arena - Chris Francis finished with two goals ... Las Vegas ended the Thunder's 2012 schedule at Stockton Arena with a 3-2 overtime win on Dec. 29 thanks to Adam Hughesman's goal ... the two teams split two games at Stockton arena on Mar. 8-9 in the season series finale ... Maxime Boisclair finished with three points in a 4-3 Thunder win on Mar. 8 ... former Thunder player Judd Blackwater finished with two points and the game-winning goal in a 3-2 Las Vegas win in the Mar. 9 finale.

THE DEFENSE DOESN'T REST

During the month of February, the Thunder defense limited opponents to three goals or less in each of the seven games featuring a win or shootout loss (Feb. 9 at Alaska - 3-2 shootout loss). The Thunder defense allowed just two goals or less in five of the previous seven games.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL(ER)

Thunder forward Shawn Weller collected 17 points and a +5 rating in 20 games since joining the Thunder during the middle of the season. Weller, a former captain of Bakersfield and South Carolina and an ECHL All-Star in 2010, was acquired by the Thunder from South Carolina on Jan. 25 in exchange for defenseman Cameron Brodie and future considerations . Following his arrival, Weller posted four multi point games and tied his career high with a four point outing on Mar. 10 vs. Ontario.

STOCKTON VS. LAS VEGAS - THE LAST TIME OUT: 2009 PACIFIC DIVISION FINALS

STOCKTON THUNDER (#4) VS. LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS (#2)

Thunder Summary: Won-3 Lost-4

Date Score Attend. Goaltenders GW Goal

Apr. 24, 2009 (1) @ Thunder 4, Wranglers 3 4398 Van Buskirk/Fisher-DeCARO Cory Urquhart

Apr. 27, 2009 (2) Thunder 2, @ Wranglers 4 2816 Van Buskirk/Fisher Jason Dest

Apr. 30, 2009 (3) @ Thunder 5, Wranglers 1 4237 Van Buskirk/DeCaro Craig Valette

May 2, 2009 (4) @ Thunder 2, Wranglers 3 (OT) 6596 Van Buskirk/DeCaro Mick Lawrence

May 4, 2009 (5) Thunder 2, @ Wranglers 4 5389 Van Buskirk/Fisher Dan Spang

May 5, 2009 (6) Thunder 3, @ Wranglers 1 3136 Van Buskirk/Fisher Kenny MacAulay

May 6, 2009 (7) Thunder 1, @ Wranglers 5 3282 Van Buskirk/Fisher Tyler Mosienko

MAN ADVANTAGE

This season, the Thunder ranked fourth in the ECHL on power play (20.9%) percentage. Harrison Reed - who led the Thunder in scoring with 45 points in 46 games - earned 12 goals on the man advantage which finished fifth in the ECHL. Their best streak was nine straight games with a power play goal from Jan. 12 to Feb. 1.

OVERTIME HEROICS

The Thunder has won eight consecutive playoff games in sudden death overtime and went 2-0 in postseason overtime last year. Since Matt Thomas took over as Thunder head coach in 2008-09, Stockton is 8-1 in sudden death overtime in the playoffs. The last Thunder win in sudden death overtime came in a 3-2 win in Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Las Vegas Wranglers, with Harrison Reed scoring the game-winner.

RUNNING TO THE FINISH LINE

Dating back to Feb. 15, the Thunder completed a run to the regular season's conclusion with a record of 13-6-0. They won their final four games of the regular season which was their longest winning streak since Oct. 20 to Nov. 4 (6-0-0). Seven wins during the final 19 games were decided by one goal.

OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN

Garet Hunt was named the sixth captain in Thunder history on Oct. 12, taking the "C" for the first time in his career for full-time duty. Hunt served as an alternate captain for the Thunder last season and has helped guide the team to the playoffs for four straight seasons since his 2008-09 rookie campaign. Hunt is the Thunder all-time leader with 314 games played.

HOME SWEET HOME

The Thunder has made Stockton Arena ideal for home ice advantage this season with a record of 23-11-3. Below is a look at key figures for the Thunder at home this season:

At home this season, the Thunder:

- Recorded record of 23-11-3

- Totaled 15 games of scoring four goals or more

- Outshot the opposition 19 times this season

- Posted 24 games of 30 shots on goal or more

- Collected at least one power play goal in 19 of the last 27 games

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