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Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Bakersfield Condors

February 14, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


February 14, 2009 - Stockton Arena

FACEOFF: 7:30 p.m.

RADIO: None

INTERNET: www.StocktonThunder.com (B2 Networks)

2008-09 HEAD-TO-HEAD MATCHUP

10/22/08 Stockton 4 at Bakersfield 7

11/1/08 Stockton 8 at Bakersfield 3

11/16/08 Bakersfield 6 at Stockton 5

12/26/08 Stockton 3 at Bakersfield 7

2/14/09 Bakersfield 7:30 p.m.

3/6/09 Bakersfield 7:30 p.m.

3/21/09 Bakersfield 7:30 p.m.

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Thunder continues a stretch of playing seven home games out of eight total with a Saturday contest against the Bakersfield Condors. It will be the second meeting at Stockton Arena between both teams this season. It is the fifth of seven games against the Condors for the 2008-09 season and in the last meeting, the Condors defeated the Thunder 7-3 on Dec. 26 at Rabobank Arena. Stockton carries at lifetime record of 11-11-7 against Bakersfield and is 1-3-0 against the Condors this year. The game will feature a bobblehead giveaway in the likeness of Thunder all-star center Cory Urquhart while the ice of Stockton Arena will be turned into a large wedding for "Great American Wedding Rink," as couples will be wed on during the first intermission!

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.

HOCKEY, VOWS AND FALCONS

The Stockton Thunder, in partnership with KAT Country 103 is scheduled to host "The Great American Wedding Rink," an event which 103 couples will tie the knot or renew their vows on the ice tonight during the first intermission on the most romantic holiday of the year. Radio personality "D.J. Walker" of KAT Country 103, a licensed minister in the state of California, is scheduled to preside over the ceremonies. In addition, the Thunder is hosting "Fresno Falcons Tribute Night," highlighted by special gestures to the Falcons place in the world of hockey which include an appearance by famed Falcons mascot "Freddie the Falcon," a Stockton Arena videoboard montage which salutes Falcons greats in team history, the fans and the organization, and a post-game address by Thunder head coach Matt Thomas.

LAST THREE THUNDER GAMES

2/13/09 - UTA 1 at STK 2 (SO): The Stockton Thunder won their seventh home in the last 10 attempts while rookie goaltender Andrew Perugini tied a club record with his ninth straight victory in a 2-1 shootout win over the Utah Grizzlies before a crowd of 5,461 at Stockton Arena on Friday. The Thunder, who began a stretch of playing three games in three nights at home, beat Utah on their own home ice for the first time since Dec. 2, 2006. Perugini's record tied Devan Dubnyk's mark, set in 2006-07. Captain Matt O'Dette scored the only Thunder goal in regulation while Utah's only goal came from Tom May.

2/9/09 - IDA 6 at STK 1: Battling through their fourth game in six nights with a shorthanded roster, the Stockton Thunder (23-21-5, 51 points) had its five-game winning streak snapped by giving up six straight goals in a 6-1 loss to the Idaho Steelheads before 4,245 fans at Stockton Arena on Monday night. Kris Sparre led Idaho's offense with the first hat trick of his pro career, while veteran Marty Flichel registered three assists. Mike Lalonde scored the only Thunder goal while Idaho goaltender Matt Climie registered 17 saves.

2/8/09 - AK 2 at STK 3: With another shorthanded roster, this time with 14 skaters, the Stockton Thunder (23-20-5, 51 points) parlayed a wire-to-wire lead for their fifth straight victory in a 3-2 triumph over the Alaska Aces before 5,646 fans at Stockton Arena on Sunday. On a day where he was honored with a t-shirt giveaway, Mike Lalonde notched a goal and an assist, including a helper on Cory Urquhart's shorthanded goal in the second period which was the eventual game-winner. Ryan Huddy also scored for the Thunder, who were aided by goaltender Andrew Perugini's eighth straight victory in net and 19 saves. Lance Galbraith and Erik Fabian scored for Alaska.

THUNDER'S WISH IS 'GINI'S COMMAND

Andrew Perugini is on a season-best nine game winning streak in net, lifting his record to 13-6-2 as of Feb. 7. The next win for Perugini breaks the Thunder all-time record for longest winning streak (goaltender), currently shared with Devan Dubnyk (9-0-0 from 3/9 - 4/4/07). The rookie goaltender, who was assigned to the Thunder from the Springfield Falcons, garnered the first shutout of his pro career on Jan. 28 at Victoria, stopping 38 shots. In his last nine games, Perugini has a 1.64 goals-against-average and a .943 save percentage. Perugini's efforts helped him finish runner-up for Reebok ECHL Goaltender of the Week (Jan. 26-Feb.1) and RBC Financial Group ECHL Saver of the Month for January.

CROWDING OUT THE ECHL

The Thunder leads the ECHL in attendance with an average of 6,270 through 21 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 68 goals and ascended to the top perch as the Thunder all-time leading scorer with 143 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 68

2. Nathan Martz 29

Steve Slonina 29

3. Tim Verbeek 28

Ryan MacMurchy 28

POINTS

1. Mike Lalonde 143

2. Nathan Martz 122

3. Joel Irwin 68

4. Stephane Goulet 63

5. Ryan MacMurchy 59

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

PARTY LIKE IT'S 2009

Ever since New Year's Eve, the Thunder have enjoyed scoring in bunches from All-Star Ryan Huddy and rookie forward James Bates.

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