Game Preview: Stockton Thunder At Bakersfield Condors

Published on February 23, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


FACEOFF: 7:00 p.m. PT

RADIO: 1420-AM KSTN (joined in progress)

INTERNET: www.stocktonthunder.com (B2 Networks)

RECORDS:

Stockton Thunder (20-29-3, 43 points) - 3rd, Pacific

Bakersfield Condors (16-26-9, 41 points) - 4th, Pacific

2007-08 HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

10/19/07 Stockton 2 at Bakersfield 3

12/14/07 Bakersfield 5 at Stockton 3

12/21/07 Bakersfield 6 at Stockton 4

12/29/07 Stockton 5 at Bakersfield 4

01/06/08 Bakersfield 2 at Stockton 5

02/01/08 Bakersfield 0 at Stockton 4

02/02/08 Bakersfield 3 at Stockton 2 (OT)

02/23/08 Stockton at Bakersfield

03/17/08 Stockton at Bakersfield

MILESTONE TRACKER

o Jason Beeman is 25 games away from 100 in his ECHL career

o Brian Lee is 15 games away from 200 in his professional career

o Lance Monych is 7 points away from 100 in his professional career

o Brandon Schwartz is 13 points away from 100 in his ECHL career

o Tim Verbeek is 1 goal away from 100 in his professional career

o Tim Verbeek is 20 games away from 400 in his professional career

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Thunder and Bakersfield Condors tussle in a Saturday night matchup at Rabobank Arena, the eighth of nine meetings between both clubs this season. The Thunder will play the final two games of the head-to-head matchup in Bakersfield and carries a 3-3-1 record against the Condors this year and is 9-7-7 in the lifetime matchup. Saturday's game will be the final road game for the Thunder until March 4, playing the next four games at home after Saturday's contest.

LAST GAME RECAP

Rookie goaltender Glenn Fisher made 35 saves as the Thunder ended an eight-game winless skid and garnered its first all-time win in 12 games in Fresno, sinking the Fresno Falcons in a 3-2 victory before 6,408 at Save Mart Center on Friday night. Fisher stopped the final 25 of 26 shots faced in the final two periods to preserve the victory, garnering his first win since January 16 when he guided the Thunder to a 2-1 home victory over Fresno, when he stopped 44 shots. Pat Bateman, Adam Huxley and L.P. Lachance all scored first period goals for the Thunder.

FIRST THING'S FIRST

Of the 20 wins the Thunder has accumulated this season, 19 have come when the Thunder scores the first goal of the game. The Thunder is 19-12-1 when scoring the first goal of the game. Ryan MacMurchy leads the Thunder with five "first goals."

M.A.S.H. UNIT

The Thunder has been skating without Beau Geisler (injured reserve) and second-ranked goal-scorer Ryan MacMurchy (injured reserve). Additionally, injuries at the AHL and NHL level have summoned the services of center Ryan O'Marra, center Jonas Almtorp, left wing Stephane Goulet, left wing Jacob Micflikier, defenseman Brad Farynuk and defenseman Sebastien Bisaillon to AHL-affiliate Springfield. Injuries at the AHL have also claimed Micflikier (fractured leg) and Bisaillon (leg), with Micflikier scheduled to miss several weeks after suffering the injury in December while Bisaillon has been listed as out indefinitely.

CROWING OUT THE ECHL

The Thunder remains the league's leader in attendance with a league-high average of 6,530 fans in 26 dates (163,797 total) and has drawn three sellouts (9,737) this season, the most recent coming a Saturday, February 16 game against Alaska. The Thunder is vying to become the first team since 2004-05 to lead the ECHL in attendance for three straight seasons (Florida led the ECHL in attendance for five straight seasons). The Thunder drew 244,085 fans to Stockton Arena in 2006-07 and drew the fifth largest crowd in ECHL All-Star Game history on January 23 with a total of 7,455 fans.

WHEELING AND DEALING

The Thunder brought back a familiar face with the acquisition of right wing Lance Monych from the Mississippi Sea Wolves in exchange for left wing Andy Contois on Wednesday. Earlier on Friday morning, veteran center Joel Stepp was acquired from the Pensacola Ice Pilots in exchange for future considerations. Monych, who scored 21 points (11g-10a) with the Thunder as an assigned prospect from the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes in 2005-06, returned to the Thunder tied for eighth in the ECHL with 25 goals this season, standing as a career-high. Stepp, who helped guide the Gwinnett Gladiators to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2006, had career-high tying 54-point seasons in 2006-07 with Gwinnett and in 2005-06 with Gwinnett and Augusta.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING - LANCE MONYCH

"Sometimes you are leery when you are giving up this caliber of player, but I've coached Lance and know what he can do," Cichocki said. "He can get the puck in the net, and that's what we really need."

- Thunder head coach Chris Cichocki (on acquiring Lance Monych for Andy Contois), The Record, 2/16/08

SIR LANCE-A-LOT SETS THE PACE

Lance Monych's arrival to the Thunder roster already puts him atop the team's scoring lead with 39 points (25g-14a) and first in goal-scoring with 25 goals, entering Saturday at a ninth place tie in the ECHL for goals. Monych has points in his last five games, scoring six points (4g-2a) in that span.

IN THE NICK OF TIM

Goaltender Tim Boron has provided some of the most prolific goaltending in the Thunder's three-year history, recently breaking the single-season club record with three shutouts and made a career-high 50 saves against Las Vegas in a 1-0 win at Stockton Arena on January 20. Boron is tied for second in the ECHL with three shutouts.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS - PENALTY SHOTS

Entering the 2007-08 season, the Thunder has made 1 penalty shot and missed 6 penalty shots, while opponents had made 0 penalty shots and missed 4 penalty shots. Below is a look at Thunder and opposing penalty shots for this season:

PENALTY SHOTS BY THUNDER - REGULAR SEASON 0 MADE, 1 MISSED

1. MISSED - Tom Zanoski vs. Michael Mole vs. Utah 2/6/08

PENALTY SHOTS VS. THUNDER - REGULAR SEASON 1 MADE, 1 MISSED

1. MADE - Bo Cheesman vs. Glenn Fisher vs. Alaska 11/21/07

2. MISSED - Gino Guyer vs. Tim Boron vs. Phoenix 1/26/08

ABOUT THE CONDORS

Bakersfield is entering its fifth season in the ECHL and is celebrating its 10th season in professional hockey. The Condors are independent of an NHL affiliate and set team records last year with a 94-point season, posting a 41-19-12 record which placed second in the Pacific Division. Returning for his second stint between the Bakersfield pipes is goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji, who made history last year as the first Japanese-born player to make his NHL debut, suiting up for four games with the Los Angeles Kings.

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