Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Alaska Aces

February 16, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


FACEOFF: 7:30 p.m. PT

RADIO: 1420-AM KSTN

INTERNET: www.stocktonthunder.com (B2 Networks)

RECORDS:

Stockton Thunder (19-26-3, 41 points) - 3rd, Pacific

Alaska Aces (22-19-5, 49 points) - 1st, Pacific

2007-08 HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

10/27/07 Alaska 2 at Stockton 3 (OT)

11/21/07 Alaska 8 at Stockton 5

11/23/07 Alaska 3 at Stockton 4

12/11/07 Stockton 2 at Alaska 5

12/12/07 Stockton 4 at Alaska 3 (OT)

01/09/07 Stockton 5 at Alaska 4 (OT)

01/11/08 Stockton 4 at Alaska 3 (OT)

01/12/08 Stockton 2 at Alaska 4

02/16/08 Alaska at Stockton

02/17/08 Alaska at Stockton

UPCOMING MILESTONES

o Spencer Carbery is 2 games away from 100 in his professional career

o Andy Contois is 11 points away from 100 in his ECHL career

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

Saturday's game between the Thunder and Alaska Aces marks the start of a back-to-back series and the ninth of 10 meetings between both teams this season. Following Sunday's contest, both teams are finished with the head-to-head matchup for the regular season. The Thunder is 5-3-0 in the season series and needs to avoid one more regulation loss to guarantee its first winning record against the Aces for a regular season series. The two teams last met in Anchorage on Jan. 12 with the Thunder falling 4-2.

TONIGHT'S GUEST

The Stockton Thunder welcomes staff from the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League to tonight's game, attended by Oilers Skating and Skills Coach Steve Serdachny.

LAST GAME RECAP

Kevin Lalande made 25 saves for his third shutout of the season as the visiting Las Vegas Wranglers handed the Thunder its fourth consecutive defeat in a 3-0 loss before a crowd of 4,348 at the Stockton Arena on Wednesday. Las Vegas was led by right wing Adam Cracknell (1g-1a), who had two points and the game-winning goal. Thunder goaltender Glenn Fisher made 36 saves in the losing cause.

FIRST THING'S FIRST

Of the 19 wins the Thunder has accumulated this season, 18 have come when the Thunder scores the first goal of the game. The Thunder is 18-9-1 when scoring the first goal of the game. Ryan MacMurchy leads the Thunder with five "first goals."

M.A.S.H. UNIT

The Thunder has been skating without Beau Geisler (injured reserve), Ryan Geris (injured reserve), and Adam Huxley (injured reserve). Ryan MacMurchy (injury) missed last Saturday's game at Fresno and is listed as day-to-day. Additionally, injuries at the AHL and NHL level have summoned the services of center Ryan O'Marra, center Jonas Almtorp, left wing Stephane Goulet, left wing Jacob Micflikier, defenseman Brad Farynuk and defenseman Sebastien Bisaillon to AHL-affiliate Springfield. Injuries at the AHL have also claimed Micflikier (fractured leg) and Bisaillon (leg), with Micflikier scheduled to miss several weeks after suffering the injury in December while Bisaillon has been listed as out indefinitely.

CROWING OUT THE ECHL

The Thunder remains the league's leader in attendance with a league-high average of 6,423 fans in 24 dates (154,151 total) and has drawn two sellouts (9,737) this season. The Thunder has led the ECHL in attendance for two consecutive seasons, drew 244,085 fans to Stockton Arena in 2006-07 and drew the fifth largest crowd in ECHL All-Star Game history on January 23 with a total of 7,455 fans.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING - GEOFF PAUKOVICH

"Geoff is a physical presence out there, and that line has really given us a good offensive jolt. This is a good opportunity for Geoff because I hadn't really given him the opportunity to play on a more offensive line. I've counted on him a lot to help stop the other team's top offensive line."

- Thunder head coach Chris Cichocki, The Record, 2/6/08

IN THE NICK OF TIM

Goaltender Tim Boron has provided some of the most prolific goaltending in the Thunder's three-year history, recently breaking the single-season club record with three shutouts and made a career-high 50 saves against Las Vegas in a 1-0 win at Stockton Arena on January 20. Boron is tied for second in the ECHL with three shutouts. Below is a look at Boron's comparison (ranked by save percentage) through the first 18 games as a member of the Thunder, matched with past Stockton goaltenders:

PLAYER YEAR GAA PCT SO GAMES

DEVAN DUBNYK 2006-07 2.48 .922 1 18

TIM BORON 2007-08 2.91 .914 3 18

JAKE MORELAND 2005-06 3.21 .908 2 18

CAM ELLSWORTH 2006-07 2.64 .899 1 18

JEFF WEBER 2005-06 3.46 .899 0 18

INSIDE THE NUMBERS - PENALTY SHOTS

Entering the 2007-08 season, the Thunder has made 1 penalty shot and missed 6 penalty shots, while opponents had made 0 penalty shots and missed 4 penalty shots. Below is a look at Thunder and opposing penalty shots for this season:

PENALTY SHOTS BY THUNDER - REGULAR SEASON 0 MADE, 1 MISSED

1. MISSED - Tom Zanoski vs. Michael Mole vs. Utah 2/6/08

PENALTY SHOTS VS. THUNDER - REGULAR SEASON 1 MADE, 1 MISSED

1. MADE - Bo Cheesman vs. Glenn Fisher vs. Alaska 11/21/07

2. MADE - Gino Guyer vs. Tim Boron vs. Phoenix 1/26/08

ABOUT THE ACES

The Alaska Aces are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's St. Louis Blues and the AHL's Peoria Rivermen and are in their fifth season of ECHL play. The Aces' Kelly Cup championship in 2005-06 helped them become the second team to win a professional sports championship in the state, and the first since 1980. Entering his first behind the bench is head coach Keith McCambridge, a former 11-year defenseman who wrapped up his career with the Aces in 2005-06 and now takes over for the departed Davis Payne, who accepted a coaching position with the Rivermen. Alaska has several players remaining on its Kelly Cup championship squad, including center Kimbi Daniels, who has over 700 games of professional playing experience.



ECHL Stories from February 16, 2008


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