Game Preview: Stockton Thunder At Victoria Salmon Kings

November 16, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


FACEOFF: 7:05 p.m. PT

RADIO: 1420-AM KSTN

INTERNET: www.stocktonthunder.com (B2 Networks)

UPCOMING MILESTONES

11/14/07 Stockton 4 at Victoria 7

11/16/07 Stockton at Victoria

11/17/07 Stockton at Victoria

12/28/07 Victoria at Stockton

02/07/08 Victoria at Stockton

03/26/08 Victoria at Stockton

03/29/08 Victoria at Stockton

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP Playing within a tight race early in the season for the top spot in the Pacific Division, the Thunder continues a three-game road trip against the Victoria Salmon Kings tonight at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. It is the only trip into Canada for the Thunder in regular season play, carrying a 4-2-2 record last year against the Salmon Kings and a 2-5-2 lifetime record at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. The stretch wraps up a busy schedule for the Thunder, who is in the midst of playing four games in six nights.

LAST GAME RECAP

Marc-Andre Bernier scored two goals and added an assist while former Thunder center Chris St. Jacques had a three-point game (1g-2a) to help the Victoria Salmon Kings send the Thunder to a 7-4 loss at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre on Wednesday. Victoria scored three unanswered goals to open the scoring and the Thunder got within two-goal deficits twice, paced by scores from David Rohlfs, Geoff Paukovich, Ryan MacMurchy and Jacob Micflikier. Julien Ellis stopped 40 shots for Victoria.

ON THE AIR

1420 KSTN is the Thunder's flagship radio station and all Thunder games can be heard live on the Internet (free-of-charge) and are available for viewing at a $6 "pay-per-view" charge at www.stocktonthunder.com, courtesy of B2 Networks. Friday's game can be heard on both radio and internet, with Saturday's game broadcasted exclusively online through www.stocktonthunder.com.

FEATURE FLIK

Rookie forward Jacob Micflikier has emerged with 10 points (3g-7a) in his last seven games, jumping into a tie for the team's lead in scoring with Andy Contois and tying for fourth among all ECHL rookies in scoring with 13 points (3g-10a) - pacing two points back of Dayton's Matt Beaudoin and South Carolina's Paul McIlveen. Micflikier, out of the University of New Hampshire (NCAA), has posted three multi-point games this season.

CONTOIS STORY

Known for his speed and one of the headline free-agent pickups during the ECHL offseason, Andy Contois is tied for the team's lead in scoring with 13 (4g-9a) in 12 games - already about a third of the way to his 40 point (19g-21a) total produced last season as a rookie with the Gwinnett Gladiators. Contois has points in nine of his last 10 games, tallying three multi-point efforts and a shorthanded goal. Additionally, Contois has a +6 rating in the last nine games.

ABOUT THE SALMON KINGS

The Victoria Salmon Kings are in their fourth season of ECHL play and are in their second season under the NHL affiliate umbrella of the local Vancouver Canucks. In his first year as head coach last year, Mark Morrison guided the Salmon Kings to their first-ever Kelly Cup Playoff berth, garnering the seventh seed at a 36-32-4 clip (76 points) and pushed the defending Kelly Cup Champion Alaska Aces to a grueling, six-game series in the first round. 11 players who graced Victoria's roster last year are back, including brothers Derek and (former Colorado Avalanche forward) Jordan Krestanovich. Re-united are brothers Wes and Ash Goldie, after Victoria signed Ash as a free-agent last summer. Ash Goldie's 10 goals currently are tied for the ECHL lead.



ECHL Stories from November 16, 2007


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