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Game Preview: Stockton Thunder At Bakersfield Condors

December 9, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


GAME PREVIEW: STOCKTON THUNDER at BAKERSFIELD CONDORS

DATE: Sunday, December 9, 2012

TIME: 5:00 p.m.

SITE: Rabobank Arena

RADIO: 1280 AM KWSX/StocktonThunder.com (AmericaOne)

NHL AFFILIATES

Stockton Thunder: Edmonton Oilers

Bakersfield Condors: Independent

NEXT HOME GAME

Friday, Dec. 14 vs. Colorado Eagles (7:30 p.m.)

COATS FOR KIDS (presented by News10, KAT Country 103 and The Golden1 Credit Union)

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Stockton Thunder continues a three game road trip visiting the Bakersfield Condors. It will be the sixth of 11 meetings between both teams this season and the Thunder has dominated the series so far with a 4-0-1 record, outscoring the Condors at a 23-14 clip. They carry a record of 33-27-13 against Bakersfield and settled for a 5-4 shootout defeat in the last meeting on Dec. 1. It will also be another reunion between Thunder head coach Matt Thomas and Bakersfield counterpart Matt O'Dette - previously a Thunder defenseman, captain and assistant coach from 2008-11. Thomas has the upper hand in the matchup with a lifetime 12-5-1 record. Bakersfield comes off a 4-2 defeat at Ontario on Friday.

2012-2013 Head to Head Schedule: (4-0-1)

Sat. Oct. 27 Stockton 4 at Bakersfield 3

Sun. Oct. 28 Bakersfield 2 at Stockton 3 (OT)

Fri. Nov. 2 Bakersfield 1 at Stockton 6

Fri. Nov. 23 Bakersfield 3 at Stockton 6

Sat. Dec. 1 Bakersfield 5 at Stockton 4 (SO)

Sun. Dec. 9 at Bakersfield 5:00 p.m.

Thur. Dec. 27 at Bakersfield 7:00 p.m.

Fri. Dec. 28 at Bakersfield 7:00 p.m.

Tue. Feb. 5 at Bakersfield 7:00 p.m.

Thur. Feb. 21 at Bakersfield 7:00 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 17 Bakersfield 4:00 p.m.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT

The Thunder is 6-0-2 when leading after one period this season.

LAST THREE GAMES:

LV 4 - STK 3 (SO) (12/8/12): Yannick Riendeau had two assists and goaltender Cody Reichard made 39 saves for the Stockton Thunder (13-5-4, 30 points), who settled for a 4-3 shootout loss to the Las Vegas Wranglers at Orleans Arena on Saturday. Justin Maylan helped force overtime with a late third period goal, but Las Vegas held on with Mitch O'Keefe's 41 saves including four additional stops in the shootout. Chris Francis led the Las Vegas offense with a pair of goals.

STK 1 - LV 0 (12/5/12): Goaltender Cody Reichard (5-1-1), just one day after putting on his best performance of the season, upped the bar even higher by stopping all 38 shots he faced and posting the first shutout of his professional career Wednesday night. The Stockton Thunder (13-5-3, 29 points) needed all of his stops, as they pulled out a 1-0 victory at home over the Las Vegas Wranglers in front of 2,538 fans at Stockton Arena. Toni Rajala buried the game winning goal in the second period.

STK 3 - LV 1 (12/4/12): The Stockton Thunder (12-5-3, 27 points) snapped a four-game winless skid, using a three-goal second period to defeat the Las Vegas Wranglers 3-1 at Stockton Arena on Tuesday. Goaltender Cody Reichard (4-1-1) had his best start of the season, stopping 38 shots. In his return to the Thunder, forward Toni Rajala scored to continue his ECHL-leading scoring streak at 12 games. Centers Phil Mangan and Harrison Reed each found the net. Las Vegas' Joe Fallon made 22 saves.

JUSTIN TIME

Center Justin Maylan leads all Thunder rookies with 21 points in 20 games this season (T-2, ECHL rookies) and has collected 11 points in the last ten games. Maylan has also posted six multi point games and posted a goal in last night at Las Vegas.

ROLLING IN THE (RIEN)DEAU

Forward Yannick Riendeau is on a six game scoring streak and has posted six multi point games this season. In the last game, Riendeau collected two assists at Las Vegas. He leads the Thunder with 15 assists this season.

DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE?

The Thunder announced on Dec. 4 that it will play in a game on Monday, Dec. 17 (7:30 p.m.) at HP Pavilion at San Jose (home of the San Jose Sharks since 1993) against the San Francisco Bulls. It will be the first game in Thunder history to be played on a current NHL ice surface. Tickets for the game are free and will be available to the general public beginning Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.com (space permitting - season ticket holders of the San Jose Sharks and San Francisco Bulls will have first-priority for seating). Parking is free on a first-come, first-served basis in the HP Pavilion-controlled parking lots. A "Toys for Tots" toy drive will also be hosted at the North and South Entrances of the arena.

BOLTING OUT OF THE GATE

The Thunder's 7-1-1 record was its best nine game stretch to begin the season since 2006-07, when the Thunder and Edmonton Oilers were in the first season of their affiliation agreement. During that stretch, the Thunder offense earned six occasions where they produced four goals or more in a game.

AN OFFENSE DRESSED TO THE NINES

The Thunder tied a club record for most goals in a game (9) on Nov. 12 in a 9-6 victory at Utah, matching the record previously set on Dec. 10, 2011 against Bakersfield. The Thunder also notched a season high for most goals (5) in a period, accomplishing the feat in the second period at Maverik Center on Nov. 12. The Thunder is averaging 3.8 goals per game this season, tied for fourth in the ECHL.

THUNDER CROWDS ROLL IN

The Thunder has drawn over 200,000 fans for seven straight seasons to Stockton Arena, totaling over 1.5 million through the turnstiles since opening in 2005-06. There have been 17 sellouts at Stockton Arena in Thunder history and last season, there were seven crowds of 7,000 or more at Thunder home games. The Thunder drew a club record 244,085 fans to Stockton Arena in 2006-07. Last season, the Thunder ranked third in ECHL attendance.

TOP FIVE THUNDER HOME CROWDS IN 2011-12

OPPONENT DATE ATTENDANCE

1. Alaska 3/3/12 9,398

2. Bakersfield 3/24/12 9,323

3. Utah 11/5/11 9,012

4. Alaska 1/28/12 7,613

5. Utah 3/17/12 7,537

UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Ryan Constant is 4 assists away from 100 in his professional career

- Mike Little is 9 games away from 100 in his ECHL career

COVERED WITH OIL

The Edmonton Oilers return as the NHL affiliate of the Thunder for the seventh straight season, helping advance eight players from the Thunder onto playing in the National Hockey League. The Thunder has also never missed the playoffs since first connecting with the Oilers in 2006-07. Edmonton has won five Stanley Cup championships and sent seven players onto induction in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Among the players assigned to Stockton, beginning this season, was LW Philippe Cornet, who made his NHL debut with Edmonton and led the AHL affiliate Oklahoma City Barons with 24 goals last season.

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 266 games played.

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