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Game Preview: Stockton Thunder at Idaho Steelheads

March 30, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


GAME PREVIEW: STOCKTON THUNDER at IDAHO STEELHEADS

DATE: Friday, March 30, 2012

TIME: 6:10 p.m.

SITE: Century Link Arena

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

NHL AFFILIATES

Stockton Thunder: Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks

Idaho Steelheads: Dallas Stars

NEXT HOME GAME

TO BE ANNOUNCED - KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS, 1st ROUND (WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINAL)

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Stockton Thunder visits the Idaho Steelheads to continue a three game road trip tonight at Century Link Arena. The Thunder owns a record of 5-4-1 against Idaho this season and last met them on Wednesday in a 3-2 win in Boise to improve to 2-1-0 at Century Link Arena this season. In the all time series, the Thunder record is 29-30-7 against Idaho. Stockton enters the game needing just one point (or a loss by Utah) to claim the fifth seed in the Western Conference for the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

SEASON SERIES (Thunder: 5-4-1)

Sat. Oct. 29 Idaho 3 at Stockton 4

Fri. Dec. 16 Idaho 6 at Stockton 2

Sat. Dec. 17 Idaho 5 at Stockton 4

Tue. Jan. 24 Stockton 4 at Idaho 1

Wed. Jan. 25 Stockton 0 at Idaho 1

Fri. Feb. 3 Idaho 2 at Stockton 7

Sat. Feb. 4 Idaho 2 at Stockton 1 (SO)

Fri. Feb. 17 Idaho 2 at Stockton 3

Wed. Mar. 14 Idaho 3 at Stockton 2

Wed. Mar. 28 at Idaho 6:10 p.m.

Fri. Mar. 30 at Idaho 6:10 p.m.

Sat. Mar. 31 at Idaho 6:10 p.m.

LAST THREE GAMES:

STK 3 - BAK 2 (3/26/12): Matt Reber broke a 2-2 tie on a game winning goal coming with 2:57 left in regulation to lift the Stockton Thunder (34-31-71 points) to a 3-2 victory over the Idaho Steelheads before 3,761 fans at Century Link Arena on Wednesday night. The goal was Reber's 11th on the season and the win guaranteed the Thunder of a finish of no lower than sixth place in the Western Conference. Stockton moved to within two points of claiming the conference's fifth seed in the upcoming Kelly Cup Playoffs and was aided in additional goals by Max Campbell and Gabriel Levesque. Goaltender Olivier Roy improved to 6-1-0 in his last seven decisions with 33 saves.

STK 3 - BAK 2 (3/24/12): Goaltender Oliver Roy made 33 saves while a goal and an assist each from Jesse Fratkin and Jordan Fulton helped lead the Stockton Thunder (32-31-5, 69 points) to a 3-2 victory over the Bakersfield Condors before a crowd of 9,323 on "Fan Appreciation" night at Stockton Arena on Saturday. The Thunder are preparing for the Kelly Cup Playoffs by closing out the regular season home schedule with a record of 19-14-3 and drawing over 200,000 fans for the seventh straight season at Stockton Arena. With the win, they moved to within five points of fourth place Colorado in the Western Conference. They were also aided on a game winning goal by Chris D'Alvise in the second period.

BAK 6 - STK 5 (3/23/12): Jesse Gimblett earned a key third period goal and added an assist, enough to help the Bakersfield Condors escape and send the Stockton Thunder (32-31-5, 69 points) to a 6-5 defeat before 5,888 fans at Stockton Arena on Friday. The Thunder, who trailed 6-3 with less than two minutes remaining, scored twice late in the game on Mike Little and Matt Reber goals to reach a one goal deficit and nearly stuffed two chances for a goal in the waning seconds of the game with an extra attacker. Max Campbell buried two goals, Garet Hunt added a second period tally and Reber led the Thunder offense with a goal and two assists.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Kevin Baker is 11 goals away from 200 in his professional career

- Matt Foy is 13 goals away from 100 in his professional career

NOTE OF THE NIGHT

This season, the Thunder has boasted a record of 19-14-3 when playing in the second game of a "back to back" or in a "three game in three day" scenario. The last Thunder win in that situation came last Saturday in a 3-2 victory over the Bakersfield Condors at Stockton Arena.

GOAL ORIENTED

Thunder right winger Kevin Baker was signed as a free agent on Aug. 24, 2011 and brings a wealth of offensive accomplishments to the Thunder roster. He was named ECHL Most Valuable Player in 2008-09 and his 57 goals that season were most in the league since 2000-01. He ranks second in ECHL all-time goal scoring (since 2006-07) with 177 goals. On Dec. 10 vs. Bakersfield, he collected his first hat trick of the season.

MOST GOALS, ECHL (SINCE 2006-07)

Rank Player Team GP PTS G A +/-

1 Wes Goldie AK 472 454 275 179 10

2 Kevin Baker STK 334 363 177 186 15

3 Mark Derlago IDH 281 340 174 166 41

4 Olivier Labelle REA 309 252 134 118 -14

5 Marty Flichel IDH 395 366 132 234 -5

** Statistics include regular season and playoffs

CHRIS CONTROL

Chris D'Alvise, named runner up for ECHL Player of the Week on Tuesday, enters tonight's game ranking fourth on the Thunder's all time scoring chart with 104 points. He was named Thunder Rookie of the Year in 2009-10 and has collected four hat tricks in less than two full seasons in the ECHL. Below is where D'Alvise ranks on the Thunder all time scoring list:

ALL TIME THUNDER SCORING

Player PTS

1. Mike Lalonde 156

2. Nathan Martz 122

3. James Bates 121

4. Chris D'Alvise 104

5. Garet Hunt 78

LITTLE DETAILS

Since Jan. 1, Thunder defenseman Mike Little has soared to a +21 rating which leads the ECHL. His +22 rating this season is tied for the ECHL lead with Alaska's Kane Lafranchise. Currently competing in his first full season, Little has also registered 28 points (7g-21a) in 40 games since New Year's Day.

HUNTING DOWN A MILESTONE

Thunder left winger Garet Hunt has surpassed Mark Adamek as the club's career leader in games played. Hunt is in his fourth season as a member of the Thunder and last season, was named the team's "Unsung Hero" and "Fan Favorite." This season, he was named alternate captain on Oct. 13. He played in his 200th career game with the Thunder on Dec. 16 vs. Idaho.

ALL-TIME THUNDER GAMES PLAYED

Player GP

1. Garet Hunt 241

2. Mark Adamek 186

3. Adam Huxley 183

4. Mike Lalonde 182

5. Daryl Marcoux 166

THUNDER CROWDS ROLL IN

The Thunder has now totaled over 200,000 fans for seven consecutive seasons. Stockton has 17 sellouts in the team's franchise history. They welcomed 12 crowds of 7,000 or more at Stockton Arena last season and had its highest attendance since 2007-08, a six percent increase from 2009-10. This season, the Thunder welcomed 18 crowds of 6,000 or more to Stockton Arena and drew a season high 9,398 fans on Mar. 3 vs. Alaska. The Thunder is third in ECHL attendance with an average of 5,916 fans per game.

PLAYOFF NOTES

ECHL WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF STANDINGS

(Top-7 in the conference qualify for Kelly Cup playoffs)

Rank Western Conference GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA STK P10 SO

1 z * - Alaska Aces 70 43 17 2 8 96 0.686 222 164 1-0-0-0 6-2-0-2 3-8

2 x * - Ontario Reign 70 41 21 5 3 90 0.643 234 191 0-2-0-0 4-5-0-1 7-3

3 x Las Vegas Wranglers 70 41 22 1 6 89 0.636 226 190 2-0-0-2 5-3-0-2 4-6

4 x Colorado Eagles 70 37 27 1 5 80 0.571 242 243 2-0-0-0 5-5-0-0 4-5

5 x Stockton Thunder 70 34 31 1 4 73 0.521 200 210 2-0-0-0 4-6-0-0 6-4

6 x Utah Grizzlies 70 32 32 0 6 70 0.500 178 219 2-0-0-1 7-2-0-1 7-6

7 x Idaho Steelheads 70 29 32 2 7 67 0.479 188 232 0-1-0-0 5-3-0-2 9-7

8 Bakersfield Condors 70 23 40 4 3 53 0.379 195 236 0-2-0-0 5-4-0-1 2-3

* Division leader

x Teams who have clinched a playoff spot.

y Teams who have clinched the division title

z Team who has clinched the conference title, 1st round bye

2012 Playoff March Notes -

- The Thunder has clinched a Kelly Cup Playoff berth for the sixth consecutive season. They clinched a Kelly Cup Playoff berth on Mar. 14, the second fastest pace in club history.

- Stockton has regular season games remaining against the following teams:

- Idaho (2)

- Stockton can clinch the fifth seed in the Western Conference tonight if:

- Stockton WINS (OR)

- Stockton loses in overtime or a shootout (OR)

- Utah loses

***Note: Stockton owns the first tiebreaker over Utah. With two games to play, Stockton has 28 wins in regulation/overtime and Utah has 25 wins in regulation/overtime.

- The top seven teams in the Western Conference will qualify for the 2012 Kelly Cup Playoffs and will be seeded by conference ranking in the first and second round of the playoffs. The #1 seed will receive a bye through the first round and the #2 seed will play #7, the #3 seed will play #6, and the #4 seed will play #5. Home ice advantage will be determined by points.

- If the Kelly Cup Playoffs began today, the Thunder would face the Colorado Eagles in the Western Conference Quarterfinal.

- The Thunder has surpassed the 30-win plateau for the fifth time in club history (2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12)

- TIE-BREAKER: The tiebreaker for the Western Conference if two teams tie will be: 1. Wins (regulation and OT only), regular season; 2. Points, head-to-head; 3. Wins, head-to-head; 4. Goal differential, head-to-head; 5. Winning percentage, division (if tied teams are from same division; if not, skip to 6); 6. Winning percentage, conference; 7. Goals for, regular season; 8. Goals against, regular season; 9. Coin toss

The tiebreaker for the Western Conference if three teams are tied will be: 1. Wins (regulation and OT only); 2. Winning percentage, games between the teams; 3. Goal differential, games between the teams; 4. Winning percentage, division; 5. Winning percentage, conference; 6. Goals for, regular season; 7. Goals against, regular season; 8. Coin toss. When two teams remain after the third or other teams are eliminated during any step above, the tiebreaker reverts to Step 1 of the two-team format.

- Last season, the Thunder clinched its fifth straight Kelly Cup Playoff berth with the 3rd seed in the Western Conference and a tied a club record in points for one season with a 37-23-12 record (86 points)



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