Game 6 Preview: Stockton Thunder at Alaska Aces

Published on April 30, 2013 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


DATE: Tuesday, April 30, 2013

TIME: 8:15 p.m.

SITE: Sullivan Arena

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

NHL AFFILIATES

Stockton Thunder: Edmonton Oilers

Alaska Aces: Independent

NEXT HOME GAME

To be determined

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The fourth seeded Stockton Thunder looks to advance to the Conference Finals for the second time in four seasons today at Sullivan Arena in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinal against the top seeded Alaska Aces. Stockton fell to the Aces 4-2 at Stockton Arena in Game 5 on Sunday. It is the third playoff series meeting between the two teams and the second straight year they meet in the Conference Semifinal. The Thunder reached the second round for the fourth time in five seasons after eliminating Las Vegas, 4-3 in the opening round. Alaska claimed the Brabham Cup with the ECHL's best record for the third straight year and defeated San Francisco, 4-1 in the opening round.

STOCKTON VS. ALASKA - WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (all times listed PT)

(Stockton leads, 3-2)

Game 1: Stockton 2 at Alaska 5

Game 2: Stockton 5 at Alaska 3

Game 3: Alaska 3 at Stockton 5

Game 4: Alaska 1 at Stockton 2 (OT)

Game 5: Alaska 4 at Stockton 2

Game 6: Stockton at Alaska - Tuesday, April 30 - 8:15 p.m. (Sullivan Arena)

Game 7: Stockton at Alaska - Wednesday, May 1 - 8:15 p.m. (Sullivan Arena)*

*If necessary

SERIES RECAP

GAME 1 - AK 5 - STK 2 (4/19/13): Zach Harrison had a goal and added a pair of assists to lead the Alaska Aces past the Stockton Thunder, 5-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals before 4,289 fans at Sullivan Arena on Friday. Alaska took a 1-0 series and earned goals from five different sources. The Thunder, who got to within a goal in the second period, was paced offensively with goals from Gabriel Levesque (who also had an assist) and Shawn Weller.

GAME 2 - STK 5 - AK 3 (4/20/13): Matt Bergland broke a 3-3 tie with a stunning go-ahead goal with 4:45 left in regulation and the Stockton Thunder scored four goals in the third period to rally in a 5-3 victory over the Alaska Aces in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals before 4,638 fans at Sullivan Arena on Saturday. The Thunder was led by Harrison Reed's two goals and Tony DeHart's two assists. Olivier Roy made 24 saves for the win, helping swipe home ice advantage in a 1-1 series tie.

GAME 3 - STK 5 - AK 3 (4/25/13 ): The Stockton Thunder used a three-goal first period to take an early lead and held on for a 5-3 win over the Alaska Aces in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals, taking a 2-1 series lead in front of 3,297 fans at Stockton Arena on Thursday. Forward Matt Bergland led the Thunder with two goals and three total points. Forwards Andrew Clark and Maxime Boisclair each scored and had two point games, while forward Harrison Reed notched the other goal for the Thunder. Captain Garet Hunt and forward Ryan Hayes each tallied two assists.

GAME 4 - STK 2 - AK 1 (OT) (4/26/13): The Stockton Thunder rallied from down a goal in the third period and was lifted by Andrew Clark's re-direction at the net with 6:57 left in sudden overtime for a 2-1 comeback victory in OT over the Alaska Aces in Game 4 and a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Semifinals in front of 4,298 fans at Stockton Arena on Friday. Goaltender Olivier Roy posted a 33-save effort to put Alaska on the brink of playoff elimination, while his counterpart Gerald Coleman stopped 33 shots. It was Stockton's fourth comeback win in the playoffs when trailing in the third period and its ninth consecutive win in playoff overtime. Eric Hunter tied the game with a goal in the third period.

GAME 5 - AK 4 - STK 2 (4/28/13): The Alaska Aces used three goals in the third period to stave off a rally and playoff elimination, sending the Stockton Thunder to a 4-2 defeat in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals in front of 4,327 fans at Stockton Arena on Sunday. In Game 5, the Aces came back from down 1-0 with Zach Harrison leading the way with two points. In goal, Olivier Roy made 27 stops for the Thunder. Alaska's Gerald Coleman made 23 saves. Forwards Maxime Boisclair and Shawn Weller scored for the Thunder.

BREAKDOWN: THUNDER ALL-TIME RECORD BY GAMES

GAME SIX

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

Apr. 18, 2007 NQF Idaho Qwest Arena L, 1-6 - Dubnyk/Silverthorn John Lammers

Apr. 22, 2008 NQF Las Vegas Orleans Arena L, 1-4 - Boron/LALANDE-Sims Curtis Fraser

Apr. 21, 2009 PSF Ontario CB Bank Arena L, 3-4 - Van Buskirk/Zatkoff Brad Mehalko

May 5, 2009 PF Las Vegas Orleans Arena W, 3-1 - Van Buskirk/Fisher Kenny MacAulay

May 11, 2010 NCF Idaho Qwest Arena L, 5-7 - Pitton/Beauchemin Mark Derlago

April 12, 2013 WQF Las Vegas Stockton Arena W, 5-3 - Roy/Fallon Daniel Gibb

All-time game six record: 2-4

THUNDER OPPONENTS WHEN FACING ELMINATION

Possible Playoff Elimination Games Played: 8

Opponent record: 3-5

DATE OPPONENT SITE ROUND/GAME # SCORE GWG

4/21/09 Ontario CB Bank Arena PSF/#6 3-4 L Brad Mehalko

4/22/09 Ontario CB Bank Arena PSF/#7 5-4 W Craig Valette

5/6/09 Las Vegas Orleans Arena PF/#7 1-5 L Tyler Mosienko

4/10/10 Alaska Stockton Arena NQF/#4 8-5 W Garet Hunt

4/24/10 Bakersfield Stockton Arena NSF/#5 7-4 W Colin Hemingway

4/6/12 Colorado Budweiser EC WQF/#3 4-2 W Max Campbell

4/14/13 Las Vegas Stockton Arena WQF/#7 6-4 W Shawn Boutin

4/28/13 Alaska Stockton Arena WSF/#5 2-4 L Alex Hudson

SEASON SERIES (Thunder: 2-6-2)

Sat. Nov. 3 Alaska 4 at Stockton 7

Sun. Nov. 4 Alaska 1 at Stockton 5

Wed. Nov. 28 Alaska 6 at Stockton 2

Wed. Dec. 19 Stockton 3 at Alaska 4 (SO)

Fri. Dec. 21 Stockton 1 at Alaska 5

Sat. Dec. 22 Stockton 1 at Alaska 4

Fri. Jan. 4 Alaska 3 at Stockton 1

Fri. Feb. 8 Stockton 1 at Alaska 3

Sat. Feb. 9 Stockton 2 at Alaska 3 (SO)

Sun. Feb. 10 Stockton 1 at Alaska 3

SEASON SERIES IN REVIEW :

The Thunder finished 2-6-2 against Alaska this season with the last four games decided by two goals or less ... Stockton began the season series with two big wins on Thunder Goes Pink VII Weekend ... Toni Rajala (two goals) and Philippe Cornet (four points) powered the Thunder to a 7-4 win on 11/3 ... Harrison Reed, Toni Rajala, and Justin Maylan each totaled a goal and an assist in a 5-1 Thunder win on 11/4 ... the Aces ran away in the third period in a 6-2 Thunder loss at Stockton Arena on 12/3 - Nate Thompson finished with two goals ... the Thunder suffered a three-game sweep in Anchorage ... Cody Reichard made 25 saves (including two shootout attempts), but the Thunder fell 4-3 in a shootout on 12/19 ... Scott Gomez (now with the NHL's San Jose Sharks) was one of three Aces to record two points in a 5-1 Alaska win on 12/21 ... the following night, Nick Mazzolini's three assists paced Alaska to a 4-1 win ... the Aces got the last laugh at Stockton Arena, with an empty net goal by Joey Crabb (who played 26 games with the NHL's Washington Capitals this season) sealing a 3-1 Alaska win on 1/4 ... three goals were enough for Alaska, who topped the Thunder in three games in three nights at Sullivan Arena to close out the season series ... Gerald Coleman made 24 stops in a 3-1 Aces win on 2/8 ... Teigan Zahn tied the game in the third period, but Alaska escaped in a 3-2 shootout win on 2/9 ... Ryan Constant opened the scoring, but Alexandre Imbeault scored a natural hat trick in a 3-1 win in the season series finale for the Aces.

STOCKTON VS. ALASKA - THE LAST TIME OUT: 2012 WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

STOCKTON THUNDER (#5) VS. ALASKA ACES (#1)

Thunder Summary: Won-1 Lost-4

Date Score Attend. Goaltenders GW Goal

Apr. 13, 2012 (1) Thunder 1, @Aces 2 4872 Roy/Coleman Garry Nunn

Apr. 14, 2012 (2) Thunder 3, @Aces 2 (OT) 5561 Roy/Coleman Chris D'Alvise

Apr. 18, 2012 (3) @Thunder 0, Aces 4 3255 Roy/Coleman Ryan Cruthers

Apr. 20, 2012 (4) @Thunder 2, Aces 4 4173 Roy/Coleman Steve Ward

Apr. 21, 2012 (5) @Thunder 1, Aces 4 3793 Roy/Coleman Steve Ward

RECORD RUN

The Thunder tied its playoff record with five goals in one period (3rd) on Apr. 12 in its 5-3 comeback win over the Las Vegas Wranglers in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinal. The feat equaled the accomplishment which was set twice in the Conference Quarterfinal in 2010 against the Alaska Aces, set in Game 3 (3rd period) and in Game 4 (1st period). Stockton won that series, 3-1.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL(ER)

Thunder forward Shawn Weller collected 17 points and a +6 rating in 19 regular season 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.

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 nine 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 9-1 in sudden death overtime in the playoffs. The last Thunder win in sudden death overtime came in a 2-1 win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Alaska Aces, with Andrew Clark 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 26-12-3. Below is a look at key figures for the Thunder at home this season:

At home this season, the Thunder:

- Recorded record of 26-12-3

- Totaled 17 games of scoring four goals or more

- Outshot the opposition 20 times this season

- Posted 25 games of 30 shots on goal or more

- Collected at least one power play goal in 20 of the last 30 games

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