Game 7 Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Las Vegas Wranglers

Published on April 14, 2013 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


DATE: Sunday, April 14, 2013

TIME: 4:00 p.m.

SITE: Stockton Arena

RADIO: 1280 AM KWSX/StocktonThunder.com (America One)/92.5 FM (in house feed)

NHL AFFILIATES

Stockton Thunder: Edmonton Oilers

Las Vegas Wranglers: Independent

HOME GAME PROMOTIONAL NOTES

National Anthem Singer: Sabrina McCann

Public Address Announcer: Mike McKnight

In-Arena Emcee: "Hot Rod"

NEXT HOME GAME

To be determined

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The fourth seeded Thunder plays in its first Game 7 at home in team history against the Las Vegas Wranglers at Stockton Arena in the Western Conference Quarterfinal. The series is tied at 3-3. In Game 6 on Friday, the Thunder rallied from a 3-0 deficit with five goals in the third period to defeat Las Vegas 5-3. The series finishes at Stockton Arena, where the Thunder has won three games led by head coach Matt Thomas, who defeated 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, 3-3)

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 0 at Las Vegas 3

Game 6: Las Vegas 3 at Stockton 3

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

BREAKDOWN: THUNDER ALL-TIME RECORD BY GAMES

GAME SEVEN

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

Apr. 22, 2009 PSF Ontario CB Bank Arena W, 5-4* - Van Buskirk/Zatkoff Craig Valette

May 6, 2009 PF Las Vegas Orleans Arena L, 1-5* - Van Buskirk/Fisher Tyler Mosienko

All-time game seven record: 1-1

THUNDER OPPONENTS WHEN FACING ELIMINATION

Possible Playoff Elimination Games Played: 6

Opponent record: 2-4

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

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.

GAME 5 - LV 3 - STK 0 (4/10/13): Joe Fallon earned his second shutout in three games with 32 stops while Andrew Sarauer picked up two goals and an assist to lift the Las Vegas Wranglers over the Stockton Thunder, 3-0 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal before 2,397 fans at Orleans Arena on Wednesday. Olivier Roy, who was pulled in Game 4 after uncharacteristically giving up three goals on the first nine shots, bounced back with a 26 save effort and kept the Thunder to within a goal through the first 40 minutes.

GAME 6 - STK 5 - LV 3 (4/12/13): Down 3-0 with just over fifteen minutes left in their season, the Stockton Thunder rallied for five unanswered goals in the third period to stay alive and earn a remarkable 5-3 win over the Las Vegas Wranglers in Game 6 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on Friday at Stockton Arena. Thunder captain Garet Hunt notched the tying goal and a +4 rating. Defenseman Daniel Gibb netted the game-winner (the first goal of his professional career). Forwards Andrew Clark, Harrison Reed, and Shawn Weller each contributed goals to the rally as well. In net, Olivier Roy made 18 saves, while his Las Vegas counterpart Joe Fallon stopped 45 shots.

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.

RECORD RUN

The Thunder tied its playoff record with five goals in one period (3rd) on Friday in its 5-3 comeback win over the Las Vegas Wranglers in Game 6. 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 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 24-11-3. Below is a look at key figures for the Thunder at home this season:

At home this season, the Thunder:

- Recorded record of 24-11-3

- 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 28 games

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