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Game Preview: Stockton Thunder At San Francisco Bulls

March 23, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


DATE: Saturday, March 23, 2013

TIME: 7:15 p.m.

SITE: Cow Palace

RADIO: 1280 AM KWSX/StocktonThunder.com (America One)

NHL AFFILIATES

Stockton Thunder: Edmonton Oilers

San Francisco Bulls: San Jose Sharks

NEXT HOME GAME

Saturday, Mar. 30 vs. Idaho Steelheads (7:30 p.m.)

RALLY TOWELS (presented by 104.1 The Hawk)

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Thunder heads back to the Bay Area for a rematch against the San Francisco Bulls in the final of 13 meetings between the two teams. The Thunder is 6-5-1 against San Francisco this season. The Thunder defeated San Francisco, 2-1 in a shootout last night at the Cow Palace, rallying for a 1-1 tie with 0.1 seconds left in the third period. The Thunder is assured a playoff spot and has a magic number of two points to clinch home ice advantage for the opening round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

2012-13 Head to Head Schedule: (6-5-1)

Fri. Nov. 9 Stockton 1 at San Francisco 4

Sat. Nov. 24 Stockton 3 at San Francisco 6

Thur. Dec. 13 Stockton 3 at San Francisco 4 (OT)

Mon. Dec. 17 Stockton 6 at San Francisco 4 *

Fri. Jan. 18 San Francisco 2 at Stockton 5

Sat. Jan. 19 Stockton 2 at San Francisco 4

Sun. Jan. 20 San Francisco 5 at Stockton 2

Wed. Jan 30 San Francisco 3 at Stockton 4 (SO)

Sat. Feb. 16 San Francisco 0 at Stockton 4

Sun. Feb. 17 Stockton 3 at San Francisco 1

Wed. Mar. 13 San Francisco 7 at Stockton 2

Fri. Mar. 22 Stockton 2 at San Francisco 1 (SO)

Sat. Mar 23 at San Francisco 7:15 p.m.

*Game at HP Pavilion at San Jose

NOTE OF THE NIGHT

Seven of the last 11 Thunder wins (11-6-0 in a 17 game stretch since Feb. 15) have been decided by one goal.

LAST THREE GAMES:

STK 2 - SF 1 (SO) (3/22/13): Veteran Shawn Weller scored his 12th goal with 0.1 seconds left in regulation for a game tying marker and earned the winner in the fifth round to lift the Stockton Thunder (35-26-9, 79 points) to a heart stopping 2-1 comeback shootout win before 4,027 fans at the Cow Palace on Friday. The Thunder, who had just 12 shots through the first 40 minutes, came back with a 17 shot effort in the third period and posted its third come-from-behind victory when trailing after two periods this season. Goaltender Olivier Roy made 37 saves for the win and stopped four of five bids in the shootout.

STK 2 - BAK 1 (3/17/13): Captain Garet Hunt's second period finish proved to be the game-winning goal, as the Stockton Thunder (34-26-9, 77 points) held on for a 2-1 win in the season series finale against the Bakersfield Condors (21-41-5, 47 points) in front of 4,304 fans at Stockton Arena on Sunday. Hunt and forward Shawn Weller found the back of the net for the Thunder, who polished their final season series record at 8-2-1 against Bakersfield. Olivier Roy made 29 stops, while his Bakersfield counterpart Brian Stewart made 28 saves.

ONT 1 - STK 0 (3/16/13): The Stockton Thunder (33-26-9, 75 points) was shut out at home for the first time since December 2011 as Troy Redmann earned his first ECHL win in a 1-0 victory for the Ontario Reign (43-16-7, 93 points) in front of 8,155 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday. Redmann stopped all 27 shots he faced on the night. His Thunder counterpart Olivier Roy - making his first start since returning from Oklahoma City - made 25 saves in his return to Stockton.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Ryan Constant is 3 points away from 100 in his Thunder career

- Shawn Weller is 9 games away from 400 in his professional career

- Gabriel Levesque is 10 games away from 100 in his Thunder career

EXTRA! REED ALL ABOUT IT

Center Harrison Reed returned to the Thunder this week from the Lake Erie Monsters and leads the club with 12 power play goals (5th, ECHL). Reed finished as a runner up for ECHL Player of the Week twice before his loan to Lake Erie in February and has 14 multi point games this season.

PACIFIC HEIGHTS

The Thunder has amassed a record of 24-13-6 against teams in the Pacific Division this season. Their schedule has featured an exclusive run against Pacific Division opponents since Feb. 15 and the Thunder is 11-6-0 in that 17 game span. Their next game outside of its division will be the regular season finale, Mar. 30 vs. Idaho at Stockton Arena.

THE DEFENSE DOESN'T REST

During the month of February, the Thunder defense limited opponents to three goals or less in each of the seven games featuring a win or shootout loss (Feb. 9 at Alaska - 3-2 shootout loss). The Thunder defense allowed just two goals or less in five of the previous seven games.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL(ER)

Thunder forward Shawn Weller has collected ten points in the last seven games. Weller continued his run with a game tying goal with 0.1 seconds left in regulation, last night at San Francisco. 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.

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 now helped guide the team to the playoffs for five straight seasons since his 2008-09 rookie campaign. Hunt is the Thunder all-time leader with 312 games played.

2012-13 MEDIA GUIDE AVAILABLE ONLINE

The Stockton Thunder 2012-13 media guide is available online in .pdf form at http://www.stocktonthunder.com/team/history/. The guide can be accessed by following the link and clicking "2012-2013 Media Guide."

PLAYOFF NOTES

2013 Playoff March Notes -

- The Thunder has clinched a playoff berth for the seventh straight season.

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

- San Francisco (1)

- Idaho (1)

- IF THE KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY: the Thunder would face the Las Vegas Wranglers in the Western Conference Quarterfinal.

- The Thunder has a magic number of three points to clinch (outright) the fourth seed in the opening round of the playoffs.

- The Thunder has reached the 30-win plateau for the sixth time in club history (previously 2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)

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