Game Preview: Stockton Thunder at Utah Grizzlies

March 11, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


The Thunder faces the Utah Grizzlies for the ninth meeting of this season at Maverik Center to continue a four-game series on the road. The Thunder is 18-18-3, lifetime against Utah and 6-2-0 in the head-to-head series, winning four straight games in West Valley City. The last meeting between both teams was Feb. 9, when Stockton defeated Utah, 5-1 behind Craig Vaeltte ‚¬â„¢s pair of goals. Stockton ‚¬â„¢s magic number is at 1 to clinch a tie for a Kelly Cup Playoff berth and 2 to clinch outright. Fraser Clair ‚¬â„¢s nine points (3g-6a) in eight games leads the Thunder in scoring for the series.

Stockton can clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff berth tonight if either occur:

STOCKTON WINS

ONTARIO LOSES IN REGULATION

STOCKTON LOSES IN OVERTIME/SHOOTOUT AND ONTARIO LOSES IN OVERTIME/SHOOTOUT

LAST THREE GAMES:

STK 5 ‚¬" UTA 1 (3/9/11): Captain Craig Valette scored a pair of goals, Ryan Constant collected three points (1g-2a) and goaltender Bryan Pitton ‚¬â„¢s 32 stops boosted the Stockton Thunder (30-21-9, 69 points) to a 5-1 victory over the Utah Grizzlies before a crowd of 2,776 at Maverik Center on Wednesday night. For the first time in team history, the Thunder won four straight games at Utah in one season and used three unanswered goals in span of 5:38 to break open a 2-1 lead. The Thunder received some help as well with Idaho defeating Ontario, 6-3, reducing its magic number to 2 to outright clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff berth.

AK 5 ‚¬" STK 2 (3/6/11): Garry Nunn scored a pair of goals and added an assist to help the Alaska Aces clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff berth and defeat the Stockton Thunder (29-21-9, 67 points), 5-2, in front of a crowd of 5,029 fans at Stockton Arena on Sunday night. Curtis Fraser added another goal and an assist to spell the Aces in scoring. Kelly Czuy and Craig Valette recorded the only two Stockton goals.

AK 5 ‚¬" STK 0 (3/5/11): Goaltender Adam Courchaine recorded his third shutout of the season, making 30 saves while veteran Scott Burt had a pair of goals and assist to help the Alaska Aces defeat the Stockton Thunder (29-20-9, 67 points), 5-0, in front of 8,431 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday night.Tyler Ruegsegger had the game-winning goal in the first period on the first shot, while the Thunder were shut out at home for the first time since Nov. 24.

SEASON SERIES (Thunder is 6-2-0)

Fri. Nov. 26 Utah 3 at Stockton 2

Sat. Dec. 11 Utah 2 at Stockton 3

Fri. Jan. 14 Stockton 4 at Utah 2

Sat. Jan. 15 Stockton 4 at Utah 1

Mon. Jan. 17 Stockton 6 at Utah 3

Fri. Feb. 4 Utah 2 at Stockton 1

Sat. Feb. 5 Utah 2 at Stockton 3

Wed. Mar. 9 Stockton 5 at Utah 1

Fri. Mar. 11 at Utah 6:05 p.m.

Sat. Mar. 12 at Utah 6:05 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 13 at Utah 3:05 p.m.

UPCOMING MILESTONES:

· Ryan Constant is 2 games away from 300 in his professional career

· Jordan Foreman is 2 games away from 100 in his professional career

· Kelly Czuy is 1 point away from 100 in his ECHL career

SHOOT TO THRILL

The Thunder rank fourth in average shots per game in the ECHL with 33.4, topped only by Trenton ‚¬â„¢s average of 36.4 and Toledo ‚¬â„¢s of 33.8. There have been ten different occasions that Stockton has fired over 40 shots or more this season, and a Wednesday, Feb. 9 game (37-35, vs. Ontario) was the first time they were outshot by an opponent in 14 games, dating back to Jan. 7 at Victoria (24-34 in 4-2 defeat). Their 47 shots vs. Utah on Mar. 9 set a new season high. Right winger Fraser Clair leads the Thunder individually with 203 shots, ranking third in the ECHL.

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

The Thunder also rank second in least shots allowed per game in the ECHL with 27.8, topped only by Alaska ‚¬â„¢s average of 25.9. Stockton has held an opponent to under 30 shots on goal in 15 of the last 20 games and they allowed a season-low 13 shots to Las Vegas on Nov. 24 (1-0 defeat).

CROWDING OUT THE ECHL The Thunder is second in ECHL in attendance with 6,256 fans per game through 29 games. A whopping crowd of 9,482 piled into Stockton Arena on Jan. 22 for the ‚¬Å“Teddy Bear Toss ‚¬Â game, the largest crowd at Stockton Arena this season and the fourth crowd over 9,000 in the event ‚¬â„¢s history. Stockton has 15 sellouts in the team's franchise history and in 2008-09, the Thunder became the first team since 2004-05 to lead the ECHL in attendance for four straight seasons (Florida led the ECHL in attendance for five straight seasons - 2000-05). There have been nine crowds of 7,000 or more at Stockton Arena this season.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The Thunder capped the month of January with a record of 10-5-1, ending the first month of the new year in second place in the Pacific Division. In total, the Thunder had two weekend, three-game series sweeps (Utah and Ontario) and won eight consecutive games, their longest win streak of the season (Jan. 8-23).Stockton scored 51 goals, averaging 3.2 per game. Goaltender Bryan Pitton ran a record of 7-2-1 during the month, returning from Oklahoma City of the AHL.

CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDER

The Thunder enters the game with 98 major penalties, leading the ECHL. Individually, the Thunder is led by Garet Hunt, who has 179 penalty minutes (ranks second in ECHL) and leads the ECHL with 21 majors this season. Four players on the Thunder have registered 80 penalty minutes or more this season.

LIKE A BROKEN RECORD

The Thunder broke a club record on Saturday, Nov. 20 in a 2-1 shootout loss to Idaho for a 12-game unbeaten streak in regulation (8-0-4). The previous standard was set with an 11-0-0 run in 2006-07. The Thunder began the streak with a 5-4 overtime loss to Ontario on Oct. 16 at Stockton Arena and tied the mark on Nov. 18, in a 3-2 shootout win over Idaho.

THUNDER ANSWERS ROAD RULES CHALLENGE

The Thunder owned a 6-0-2 streak on the road to begin the season, finishing as the last remaining team in the ECHL yet to lose a game in regulation on the road. Additionally, the streak to start the season broke the mark of five straight games without a loss in regulation (5-0-0), set back in 2006-07 (Mar. 17-31).

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

Thunder head coach Matt Thomas ranks third in wins in the last decade in the ECHL (among active coaches), entering the year with a lifetime .606 win percentage (234-143-54 record) in six seasons as a head coach for Stockton, Fresno and Atlantic City. Thomas also has never missed the playoffs, won a Kelly Cup championship in 2002-03 as an assistant coach with Atlantic City, has been named coach for the ECHL All-Star Game twice (2005, 2009) and has been behind the bench in a coaching role for teams that advanced to the Conference Finals three times.

ALL-TIME WINS, REGULAR SEASON (2000-2010)

COACH WINS

1. Jeff Pyle (Gwinnett, Mobile) * 369

2. Malcolm Cameron (four teams) 317

3. Davis Payne (Alaska, Pee-Dee) 289

4. Matt Thomas (Stockton, Fre, A.C.) * 263

5. Glen Gulutzan (Las Vegas) 254

* Currently ECHL active

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 PIM

1 x *Alaska Aces 59 36 20 2 1 75 0.636 191 156 3-0-0-0 8-1-0-1 2-1 758

2 x *Las Vegas Wranglers 58 34 19 3 2 73 0.629 186 161 1-0-0-0 4-4-1-1 4-2 805

3 Idaho Steelheads 61 29 20 4 8 70 0.574 195 179 1-0-0-0 5-3-1-1 5-8 955

4 Stockton Thunder 60 30 21 4 5 69 0.575 185 177 1-0-0-0 5-5-0-0 5-5 1298

5 Bakersfield Condors 60 32 25 2 1 67 0.558 184 182 3-0-0-0 8-2-0-0 4-1 1260

6 Utah Grizzlies 59 29 24 4 2 64 0.542 167 174 0-1-0-0 2-7-0-1 2-2 1382

7 Victoria Salmon Kings 60 27 30 1 2 57 0.475 177 190 0-3-0-0 5-5-0-0 2-2 1235

8 Ontario Reign 61 21 34 2 4 48 0.393 158 231 0-2-0-0 3-5-0-2 2-4 1174

* 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

2011 Playoff March Notes -

- The Thunder has 12 regular season games remaining and has a magic number of 2 to clinch a playoff berth.

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

· Utah (3)

· Las Vegas (3)

· Idaho (3)

· Victoria (3)

- The top seven teams in the Western Conference will qualify for the 2011 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 Bakersfield Condors in the Western Conference Quarterfinal.

- Currently, 71 points guarantees a playoff spot as the 8th place Ontario Reign can only amass 70 points this season.

- The Thunder has surpassed the 30-win plateau for the fourth time in club history (2006-07, 2008-11)

- 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 fourth straight Kelly Cup Playoff berth with the 6th seed in the National Conference and a 33-29-10 record (76 points)



ECHL Stories from March 11, 2011


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