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Game Preview: Stockton Thunder At Utah Grizzlies

February 21, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


February 21, 2009 - The E-Center

FACEOFF: 6:05 p.m.

RADIO: None

INTERNET: www.StocktonThunder.com (B2 Networks)

2008-09 HEAD-TO-HEAD MATCHUP

12/12/08 Stockton 2 at Utah 4

12/13/08 Stockton 3 at Utah 5

2/13/09 Utah 1 at Stockton 2 (SO)

2/20/09 Stockton 2 at Utah 5

2/21/09 @ Utah 6:05 p.m.

3/7/09 Utah 7:30 p.m.

3/27/09 Utah 7:30 p.m

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Thunder visit the Utah Grizzlies for the final time this season, marking the fifth meeting between both teams on Saturday. Through 26 games in the lifetime series, the Thunder is 10-13-3 against Utah. The Thunder dropped two consecutive games to the Grizzlies on Dec. 12-13 in Salt Lake City and last time both clubs met, the Grizzlies defeated the Thunder 5-2 at The E-Center last night.

LAST THREE THUNDER GAMES

2/20/09 - STK 2 at UTA 5: Tom May scored a pair of goals to lead the Utah Grizzlies in a five-goal run in the first and second period, sending the Stockton Thunder (24-24-5, 53 points) to its third straight loss, 5-2 in front of a crowd of 6,231 at The E-Center on Friday. The game marked the debut of Thunder center Oren Eizenman, a 2008 ECHL All-Star who was signed by the Thunder as free agent on the same day. Eizenman tallied an assist while defensemen Matt O'Dette and Daryl Marcoux scored for Stockton. Utah, who scored four goals on six shots in the second period, were aided by goals from Tim Verbeek, Scott Thauwald and James Brannigan.

2/15/09 - ONT 3 at STK 2: P.J. Atherton's shorthanded goal with 12:12 left in regulation capped a three-goal comeback in the final 40 minutes for the Ontario Reign, who sent the Stockton Thunder to a 3-2 loss before a crowd of 5,008 at Stockton Arena on Sunday. The Thunder, who suffered their third loss in four games, slipped to five points behind the Reign for first place in the Pacific Division. Adam Huxley and Ryan Huddy each scored in the first period for Stockton, while Ontario received additional support on goals from Dale Reinhardt and Jon Francisco. Goaltender Kellen Briggs earned the win in net with 32 stops.

2/14/09 - BAK 5 at STK 4: The Bakersfield Condors scored five unanswered goals, including four in the final period of play to erase a 3-0 deficit and defeat the Stockton Thunder (24-22-5, 53 points), 5-4 before a crowd of 7,522 at Stockton Arena on Saturday night. Veteran Cory Urquhart scored twice and added two assists on the same night that he was honored with a bobblehead doll giveaway. Mike Lalonde and Ryan MacMurchy added first period goals, as the trio combined for 10 points on the Condors defense. Bakersfield was led by a three-point game (1g-2a) from Mike Wirll while Dave Bonk scored the eventual game-winner in the third period.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Thunder have won 14 games on the road this season (surpassing the total of 11 last year) and have just 5 of the remaining 19 regular season games left away from Stockton Arena. The Thunder is 14-11-5 on the road this season, ranking third in the ECHL with a .550 road winning percentage. The Thunder needs four road wins to surpass the club record of 17 (set in 2006-07).

HUDDY IS GOAL-ORIENTED

Ryan Huddy's 27 goals lead the Thunder this season and rank seventh in the ECHL for goal-scoring. Huddy needs three goals to break Mike Lalonde's single-season record (29) set in 2005-06. Currently signed to an AHL contract with the Springfield Falcons, Huddy participated for the National Conference at the 2009 ECHL All-Star Game in Reading, PA.

CROWDING OUT THE ECHL

The Thunder leads the ECHL in attendance with an average of 6,269 through 23 home games, has 13 sellouts in the team's franchise history and finished last year as the ECHL's attendance leader for the third consecutive season. It was the second straight year the Thunder surpassed the mark of 230,000 fans for one season. The Thunder's yearly attendance total finished at 239,337, an average of 6,648 fans per game. The Thunder became 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). Stockton's crowd of 9,737 on Nov. 8 against Victoria was the team's first sellout of the year.

STEP UP TO THE MIKE

Returning to the lineup this season is left wing Mike Lalonde, who is the Thunder all-time leading goal scorer with 69 goals and ascended to the top perch as the Thunder all-time leading scorer with 145 points, scoring the milestone point on a goal on Dec. 21 at Ontario. Selected as the first player in Thunder history to the ECHL All-Star Game (2006), Lalonde led the ECHL with 308 shots and paced the Thunder with 29 goals as a rookie in 2005-06. Lalonde spent last season with Tilburg of the Netherlands League, guiding his team to the Dutch Cup and scoring 92 points (43g-49a) in just 34 games.

Below is a look at Lalonde's placing on the Thunder career scoring charts:

GOALS:

1. Mike Lalonde 69

2. Ryan MacMurchy 29

Nathan Martz 29

Steve Slonina 29

5. Tim Verbeek 28

POINTS

1. Mike Lalonde 143

2. Nathan Martz 122

3. Joel Irwin 68

4. Ryan MacMurchy 63

Stephane Goulet 63

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"He does all the little things right; that's why so many teams looked at him and wanted him," Thomas said. "That's a stat (+13 rating since Dec. 31) that is pretty consistent with a players attention to detail defensively. And Daryl is a smart, hard-working player. He doesn't make many mistakes."

- Head Coach Matt Thomas on defenseman Daryl Marcoux, The Record, 2/13/09

"It's nice for the guys and coaches to have confidence in me, and that was a great win for us," O'Dette said. "We need all the wins we can get."

- Defenseman Matt O'Dette on a Thunder 2-1 shootout win vs. Utah, the same day he was named captain, The Record, 2/14/09



ECHL Stories from February 21, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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