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Game Preview: Stockton Thunder at Idaho Steelheads

March 31, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


GAME PREVIEW: STOCKTON THUNDER at IDAHO STEELHEADS

DATE: Saturday, March 31, 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

Tuesday, April 3 vs. Colorado Eagles - 7:00 p.m.

KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS, 1st ROUND (WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINAL)

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Stockton Thunder visits the Idaho Steelheads to conclude the regular season schedule at Century Link Arena. The Thunder owns a record of 5-5-1 against Idaho this season and last met them on Friday in a 2-1 defeat in Boise to fall to 2-2-0 at Century Link Arena this season. In the all time series, the Thunder record is 29-31-7 against Idaho. The Thunder is looking to finish with a win in the regular season finale for the second straight season.

SEASON SERIES (Thunder: 5-5-1)

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 Stockton 3 at Idaho 2

Fri. Mar. 30 Stockton 1 at Idaho 2

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

LAST THREE GAMES:

IDH 2 - STK 1 (3/30/12): Goaltender Bryan Hince stopped 22 shots and the Idaho Steelheads never trailed, sending the Stockton Thunder (34-32-5, 73 points) to a 2-1 defeat at Century Link Arena before a crowd of 4,612 on Friday. The Thunder, who nearly rallied from down 2-0 in the final 20 minutes, earned the fifth seed in the Western Conference for the upcoming 2012 Kelly Cup Playoffs after Bakersfield defeated Utah, 4-1. Jordan Fulton earned the only Thunder goal in the opening minute of the third period while Olivier Roy took the loss with 34 saves. Joe Pereira earned the game winner with 13:23 left in the second period.

STK 3 - IDH 2 (3/28/12): 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.

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

TICKET PUNCHED

The Thunder (#5 seed) will open the Kelly Cup Playoffs with a first round matchup (Western Conference Quarterfinal) against the Colorado Eagles (#4 seed). Games 1 and 2 will take place at Stockton Arena at 7:00 p.m. with the series opening on Tuesday, April 3 and continuing with Game 2 on Wednesday, April 4.

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 473 455 276 179 11

2 Kevin Baker STK 334 363 177 186 15

3 Mark Derlago IDH 281 340 174 166 41

4 Olivier Labelle REA 310 252 134 118 -16

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 second in the ECHL behind Mathieu Aubin of Cincinnati (+24). Currently competing in his first full season, Little has also registered 28 points (7g-21a) in 41 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.

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