Sports stats

Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Fresno Falcons (3-14-08)

March 14, 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 (24-32-3, 51 pts) - 3rd, Pacific/7th National

Fresno Falcons (35-16-8, 78 pts) - 2nd, Pacific/2nd National

2007-08 HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

11/12/07 Fresno 4 at Stockton 1

12/27/07 Fresno 0 at Stockton 2

01/16/08 Fresno 1 at Stockton 2

01/27/08 Stockton 2 at Fresno 5

02/09/08 Stockton 1 at Fresno 4

02/18/08 Stockton 2 at Fresno 3

02/22/08 Stockton 3 at Fresno 2

03/14/08 Fresno at Stockton

03/15/08 Fresno at Stockton

04/01/08 Stockton at Fresno

MILESTONE TRACKER

o Jason Beeman is 19 games away from 100 in his ECHL career

o Brian Lee is 8 games away from 200 in his professional career

o Lance Monych is 2 points away from 100 in his professional career

o Brandon Schwartz is 5 points away from 100 in his ECHL career

o Tim Verbeek is 15 games away from 400 in his professional career

TONIGHT¡¯S MATCHUP

Following a six-day layoff, the Thunder returns to action with a two-game series against the Fresno Falcons at Stockton Arena. The Thunder is 6-16-3 all-time against Fresno and 3-4-0 in the season series. Both teams previously met on Mar. 14 with the Thunder taking a 3-2 win, the club¡¯s first all-time win at Save Mart Center. Both Brandon Schwartz (2g-3a) and David Rohlfs (1g-4a) have five points each to lead the Thunder in scoring for the head-to-head series.

TONIGHT¡¯S GUEST

The Stockton Thunder welcomes staff from the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League to tonight¡¯s game, attended by Oilers Vice President of Hockey Operations Kevin Prendergast.

LAST GAME RECAP

Rookie Tom Zanoski¡¯s second goal of the game broke a 2-2 tie with 4:54 left in regulation and lifted the Thunder to a 3-2 comeback victory over the Idaho Steelheads before a crowd of 7,810 at Stockton Arena last Friday. Zanoski¡¯s game-winner, completing the first multi-goal effort of his career, capped the fourth successful come-from-behind effort for the Thunder this season when trailing after two periods. Tim Verbeek added a shorthanded goal in the second period and goaltender Glenn Fisher made 31 saves for the Thunder.

FIRST THING¡¯S FIRST

Of the 23 wins the Thunder has accumulated this season, 22 have come when the Thunder scores the first goal of the game. The Thunder is 23-12-1 when scoring the first goal of the game. Lance Monych leads the Thunder with seven ¡°first goals.¡±

HI, MY NAME IS ¡-

Three separate players ¨C forward Tyler Hirsch, center Les Reaney and defenseman David Robertson ¨C are scheduled to make their debut in a Thunder uniform this weekend. Hirsch, who has seven multi-point games this year, was acquired in a trade with the Johnstown Chiefs on March 5, has 30 points (11g-19a) in 31 games with 38 penalty minutes this season and led the Minnesota Golden Gophers (NCAA) with a career-high 44 points (11g-33a) and 33 assists in 40 games as a 2004-05 junior, helping guide the program to a college National Championship as a 2002-03 freshman. Reaney was assigned to the Thunder from Springfield (AHL) after scoring 99 points (34g-65a) with 191 penalty minutes in 97 career college games at Niagara University (NCAA). Robertson is making his professional debut Friday after a four-year career at Brown University (NCAA), appearing in 120 games while scoring 41 points (10g-31a) and amassing 72 penalty minutes.

CROWING OUT THE ECHL

The Thunder drew 7,810 in last Friday¡¯s game against the Idaho Steelheads to remain the league¡¯s leader in attendance with an average of 6,509 fans in 31 dates (201,783 total). The Thunder has three sellouts (9,737) this season, the most recent coming a Saturday, February 16 game against Alaska. The Thunder is vying to become 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). The Thunder 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

"He's a point-a-game guy; he's someone that can give us a boost," Cichocki said. "And he's good on the power play, which is certainly somewhere we need help."

- Head Coach Chris Cichocki, The Record, 3/6/08 on the addition of center Tyler Hirsch

SIR LANCE-A-LOT SETS THE PACE

Lance Monych¡¯s arrival to the Thunder roster already puts him atop the team¡¯s scoring lead with 44 points (27g-17a) and first in goal-scoring with 27 goals, entering today¡¯s game tied for 12th in the ECHL for goals. Monych has 11 points (6g-5a) in his last 12 games.

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.

IT AIN¡¯T OVER TILL IT¡¯S OVER ¡-

The Thunder has four wins this season when trailing after two periods, including three on home ice at Stockton Arena.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS ¨C 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.

ABOUT THE FALCONS

The Fresno Falcons are in their fifth season of ECHL play and independent of an NHL affiliate ¨C previously, they were affiliated with the San Jose Sharks, who departed their partnership after the 2006-07 season. Fresno has qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs in the last two consecutive seasons, led by head coach Matt Thomas who produced a 34-29-9 record (77 points), garnering a seventh seed in last year¡¯s playoffs. Star forward Luke Curtin, a five-time ECHL All-Star selection, returns to Fresno for his third consecutive season after leading the Falcons in scoring for the last two years.

PLAYOFF NOTES

2008 Playoff March Notes -

- The Thunder has 13 regular season games remaining.

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

¡ñ Idaho (4)

¡ñ Fresno (3)

¡ñ Bakersfield (1)

¡ñ Victoria (2)

¡ñ Utah (3)

- The top eight teams in the National Conference will qualify for the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs and will be seeded by conference ranking (exception ¨C division winners, who will be seeded #1 and #2) in the first round of the playoffs. The #1 seed will play #8, the #2 seed will play #7, the #3 seed will #6, and the #4 seed will play the #5 seed. First round winners will be reseeded again in the second round.

- If the Kelly Cup playoffs began today, the Thunder would face the Victoria Salmon Kings in the National Conference quarterfinal round.

- Currently, 70 points guarantees a playoff spot as the 9th place Bakersfield Condors can only amass 69 points this season.

- TIE-BREAKER: If two teams are tied at the end of the regular season, the following are the tie-breakers: wins, points (head-to-head), wins (head-to-head), goal differential (head-to-head), winning percentage within division (if in the same division), winning percentage within conference, goals for, goals against, and then coin toss.

- Last season, the Thunder clinched its first Kelly Cup Playoff berth in club history with the 5th seed and a 38-24-10 record (86 points)



ECHL Stories from March 14, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Stockton Thunder Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central