Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Las Vegas Wranglers

February 13, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


FACEOFF: 7:00 p.m. PT

RADIO: 1420-AM KSTN

INTERNET: www.stocktonthunder.com (B2 Networks)

RECORDS:

Stockton Thunder (19-25-3, 41 points) - 3rd, Pacific

Utah Grizzlies (32-9-7, 71 points) - 1st, Pacific

2007-08 HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

10/21/07 Stockton 1at Las Vegas 4

10/23/07 Stockton 2 at Las Vegas 3

12/07/07 Las Vegas 2 at Stockton 3 (SO)

12/08/08 Las Vegas 2 at Stockton 1

01/01/08 Stockton 1 at Las Vegas 4

01/19/08 Las Vegas 4 at Stockton 1

01/20/08 Las Vegas 0 at Stockton 1

02/13/08 Las Vegas at Stockton

03/04/08 Stockton at Las Vegas

UPCOMING MILESTONES

o Spencer Carbery is 3 games away from 100 in his professional career

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

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

For the final time of the 2007-08 regular season, the Thunder hosts the Las Vegas Wranglers as the Thunder looks to break a four-game winless streak (0-3-1). It's the eighth of nine matchups between both teams this season. Both teams previously met on Jan. 20 at Stockton Arena with the Thunder winning 1-0 behind goaltender Tim Boron's 50-save shutout. The Thunder is 2-5-0 in the season series and is 4-13-1 lifetime against Las Vegas.

LAST GAME RECAP

John Morlang tallied four points (2g-2a) to spark a rally of four unanswered goals for the Fresno Falcons, who dealt the Thunder a 4-1 setback before an announced crowd of 12,590 at Save Mart Center last Saturday. Stockton finished 0-for-7 on the power-play, including a five-minute man-advantage in the first period, while Fresno went 2-for-6 on the man-advantage and added a shorthanded goal. Brian Lee scored the only goal for the Thunder in the first period.

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 6,513 fans in 23 dates (149,803 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.

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

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

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 WRANGLERS

The Las Vegas Wranglers are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Calgary Flames and the AHL's Quad City Flames and are in their fifth season of ECHL play. Glen Gulutzan is in his fourth season as general manager and head coach for the Wranglers. Las Vegas qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs last season with a Brabham Cup title for the league's best record, tallying a 46-12-14 regular season mark (106 points) followed by a second-round playoff exit against Idaho. Las Vegas sent Gulutzan as a coach and three players to last month's ECHL All-Star Game at Stockton Arena, which included right wing Peter Ferraro, goalie Daniel Manzato and defenseman Jason Dest.



ECHL Stories from February 13, 2008


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