Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Alaska Aces

Published on March 5, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


Stockton Thunder hosts the Alaska Aces for a three-game series at Stockton Arena, continuing tonight. The last time both teams met, the Thunder defeated Alaska, 4-1 at Stockton Arena last night. Both teams will meet nine times this season and the Thunder is 2-4-1 in the series this season against Alaska. However, the Thunder also carries a record of 7-0-3 in the last ten lifetime games against Alaska at Stockton Arena and is 18-10-4 against teams from the Mountain Division.

LAST THREE GAMES:

STK 4 ‚¬" AK 1 (3/4/11): Brothers Bryan and Jason Pitton led the way to a 4-1 Thunder victory against the Alaska Aces in front of a home crowd of 6,838 fans on Friday night at Stockton Arena.Goaltender Bryan Pitton stood tall against a third period barrage of shots to preserve the win against the Aces with 29 stops in his first game back from the AHL, while Jordan Foreman and Chris Lawrence added third period goals. Jason Pitton had the game-winning goal earlier in the second period to complete a two point effort. The Thunder improved their record to 2-4-1 this season versus the Aces and whittled its magic number down to seven for a Kelly Cup Playoff berth.

STK 4 ‚¬" ONT 3 (2/2711): Goaltender Dan Tormey celebrated his 26th birthday with a win in his first career start, making 26 saves, while Chris Lawrence buried a pair of goals to lead the Stockton Thunder (28-19-9, 65 points) to a 4-3 victory over the Ontario Reign at Citizens Business Bank Arena on Sunday. The Thunder, who erased a three-game losing skid and finished the head to head series at 7-1-2 against Ontario, also got goal scoring help from Jordan Fulton and Jordan Foreman, while Kyle Kraemer and Jordan Hill chipped in with a goal and assist each for Ontario.

BAK 4 ‚¬" STK 1 (2/26/11): Goaltender Josh Tordjman made 36 saves and was helped by a power-play that scored three times, helping the Bakersfield Condors send the Stockton Thunder (27-19-9, 63 points) to a 4-1 defeat before a crowd of 4,303 at Rabobank Arena on Saturday. The Thunder, who finished 4-5-2 in the head-to-head series against Bakersfield this season, were anchored by Chris Lawrence ‚¬â„¢s first period goal, before surrendering the last three in the game. The Condors cashed in with a 3-for-5 effort on the power play, leaving both teams separated by two points in the Pacific Division.

SEASON SERIES (Thunder is 2-4-1)

Wed. Dec. 15 Stockton 3 at Alaska 8

Fri. Dec. 17 Stockton 1 at Alaska 3

Sat. Dec. 18 Stockton 2 at Alaska 5

Fri. Feb. 11 Stockton 2 at Alaska 5

Sat. Feb. 12 Stockton 3 at Alaska 4 (OT)

Sun. Feb. 13 Stockton 3 at Alaska 2

Fri. Mar. 4 Alaska 1 at Stockton 4

Sat. Mar. 5 Alaska 7:30 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 6 Alaska 4:00 p.m.

UPCOMING MILESTONES:

· Ryan Constant is 4 games away from 300 in his professional career

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

· Bryan Pitton is 2 games away from 100 in his professional career

SHOOT TO THRILL

The Thunder rank third in average shots per game in the ECHL with 33.3, topped only by Trenton ‚¬â„¢s average of 35.8 and Toledo ‚¬â„¢s, of 34.0. There have been nine 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). Right winger Fraser Clair leads the Thunder individually with 195 shots.

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 25.7. Stockton has held an opponent to under 30 shots on goal in 13 of the last 17 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 6,221 fans per game through 27 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 eight 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 91 major penalties, leading the ECHL. Individually, the Thunder is led by Garet Hunt, who has 160 penalty minutes (ranks fourth in ECHL) and is tied with Adam Huxley of Idaho for the ECHL lead with 18 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) * 368

2. Malcolm Cameron (four teams) 317

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

4. Matt Thomas (Stockton, Fre, A.C.) * 262

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 PIM

1 *Las Vegas Wranglers 57 33 19 3 2 71 0.623 180 156 0-1-0-1 3-5-1-1 795

2 *Alaska Aces 56 33 20 2 1 69 0.616 176 151 0-1-0-1 7-2-0-1 719

3 Idaho Steelheads 58 28 18 4 8 68 0.586 183 168 4-0-1-1 6-2-1-1 931

4 Stockton Thunder 57 29 19 4 5 67 0.588 178 166 2-0-0-0 5-4-1-0 1229

5 Bakersfield Condors 58 30 25 2 1 63 0.543 177 179 1-0-0-0 6-4-0-0 1225

6 Utah Grizzlies 57 28 23 4 2 62 0.544 161 168 0-6-0-1 2-7-0-1 1296

7 Victoria Salmon Kings 58 27 28 1 2 57 0.491 172 180 0-1-0-0 7-3-0-0 1219

8 Ontario Reign 59 21 32 2 4 48 0.407 154 220 1-0-0-0 4-4-0-2 1102

* 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 15 regular season games remaining and has a magic number of 7 to clinch a playoff berth.

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

· Alaska (2)

· Utah (4)

· 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, 74 points guarantees a playoff spot as the 8th place Ontario Reign can only amass 74 points this season. The Thunder wins the tie-breaker with Ontario for the final playoff spot.

- The Thunder is looking to surpass the 30-win plateau for the fourth time in club history (2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10)

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