Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Las Vegas Wranglers

Published on January 16, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


January 16, 2009 - Stockton Arena

FACEOFF: 7:30 p.m.

RADIO: 1420 KSTN

INTERNET: www.StocktonThunder.com (B2 Networks)

2008-09 HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

10/31/08 Stockton 1 at Las Vegas 5

1/16/09 Las Vegas 7:30 p.m.

2/25/09 Las Vegas 7:00 p.m.

3/29/09 Las Vegas 4:00 p.m.

4/3/09 @ Las Vegas 7:30 p.m.

4/4/09 @ Las Vegas 7:30 p.m.

MILESTONE TRACKER

o Kenny MacAulay is 4 games away from 100 in his professional career

o Ryan MacMurchy is 1 game away from 100 in his professional career

o Daryl Marcoux is 1 game away from 100 in his ECHL career

o Matt O'Dette is 14 points away from 100 and 16 PIM's away from 900 in his ECHL career

o Damian Surma is 7 assists away from 100 in his pro career

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Thunder begins a six-game home trip against the Las Vegas Wranglers, the first Stockton Arena rematch this season of last year's National Conference Quarterfinal round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Las Vegas won the best-of-seven series in six games, 4-2, and advanced to the Kelly Cup Finals for the first time in club history. It is the second of seven meetings between both teams and the Thunder has a lifetime record of 4-16-1 against Las Vegas. Las Vegas defeated the Thunder 5-1 at Orleans Arena the last time both clubs met on Oct. 31. Thunder head coach Matt Thomas will make his Stockton Arena debut along with new defensemen Kenny MacAulay, Daryl Marcoux and forwards Judd Blackwater and Igor Gongalsky. Defenseman Matt O'Dette will make his Thunder debut if activated off injured reserve before Friday.

LAST THREE THUNDER GAMES

1/8/09 - STK 8 at PHX 2: Veteran Cory Urquhart notched his first hat trick of the season and the fourth in Stockton Thunder (14-17-5, 31 points) history, helping throttle the Phoenix RoadRunners in an 8-2 victory before 2,244 at U.S. Airways Center on Thursday night. The Thunder, who won their season-high fourth game in a row and tied a club record for most goals in a game, finished their five-game road trip with a 4-0-1 record while rookie Judd Blackwater pitched in with a pair of goals. Goaltender Andrew Perugini made 29 saves for his first victory since Nov. 21, breaking a personal six-game winless skid.

1/6/09 - STK 5 at PHX 4: Veteran Cory Urquhart fired a backhanded shot through goaltender Craig Kowalski's five-hole with 3.8 seconds remaining in regulation to cap a dramatic come-from-behind victory for the Stockton Thunder (13-17-5, 31 points), who edged the Phoenix RoadRunners 5-4 in regulation before a crowd of 1,923 at U.S. Airways Center on Tuesday night. Urquhart scored twice, including the game-tying goal with 1:21 left in regulation to highlight a three-point (2g-1a) effort. Rookie forward James Bates notched a career-high four points (1g-3a) and fight for the first "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" of his career. All-Star selection Ryan Huddy pitched in with three points (2g-1a) while Thunder goaltender Glenn Fisher stopped 21 shots for the victory. The Thunder won its third straight game and went to 3-0-1 in the last four games.

1/3/09 - STK 2 at AK 1 (OT): National Conference All-Star selection Ryan Huddy scored two goals, including the game-winner at 1:19 of sudden death overtime to stave off a last-minute rally by the Alaska Aces and lift the Thunder to a 2-1 OT win before 4,490 at Sullivan Arena on Saturday. The Thunder, who took five of a possible six points in the three-game series in Anchorage, improved to 2-0-1 since Matt Thomas took over as new Head Coach and were aided in net by goaltender Bryan Pitton's 17 saves. Tomas Kana's extra attacker goal forced overtime with 13 seconds left in regulation.

PUTTING OUT THE WELCOME MAT(T)

The Thunder underwent a colossal shake-up of its roster and coaching staff on Dec. 29, naming Matt Thomas the second head coach in Thunder history, succeeding Chris Cichocki. Thomas, who previously coached the Fresno Falcons to a record of 18-10-2 in 30 games for 38 points this season before the club ceased operations on Dec. 22, made his debut behind the Thunder bench against Alaska last Wednesday. Thomas carries a record of 183-98-42 and a winning percentage of .632 in 319 career games at the helm for Stockton, Fresno and Atlantic City in the last four-plus years.

Joining Thomas as new additions to Stockton are veteran Matt O'Dette, Judd Blackwater, Igor Gongalsky, Kenny MacAulay and Daryl Marcoux. Blackwater, Gongalsky, MacAulay and Marcoux all registered their first points in a Thunder uniform against the Alaska Aces (12/31 and 1/2). O'Dette is scheduled to make his debut in a Thunder uniform tonight after being activated off injured reserve.

CROWDING OUT THE ECHL

The Thunder leads the ECHL in attendance with an average of 6,888 through 10 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 60 goals and ascended to the top perch as the Thunder all-time leading scorer with 124 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 60

2. Nathan Martz 29

Steve Slonina 29

3. Tim Verbeek 28

Ryan MacMurchy 28

POINTS

1. Mike Lalonde 125

2. Nathan Martz 122

3. Joel Irwin 68

4. Stephane Goulet 63

5. Ryan MacMurchy 55

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING "I think we came out in the second period with more of an attack-the-net mentality, and it paid off," Thomas said. "We got points in every game on this trip, and that was important for us."

- Head Coach Matt Thomas, The Record, 1/9/08

"Yeah, I have to go back to the snow again," Thomas said with a laugh. "It's a tremendous honor to be voted in by your peers, and I do see the irony of going back as coach of the Thunder. It's interesting."

- Head Coach Matt Thomas on being named to coach the National Conference at the 2009 ECHL All-Star Game (second in his career, Atlantic City was his first with the game in Reading in 2005), The Record, 1/7/08

SHOOTING FOR THE ALL-STARS

Rookie forward Ryan Huddy was named to represent the Thunder at the 2009 ECHL All-Star Game in Reading, PA after leading the Thunder with 31 points (16g-15a) in 31 games. Huddy has 4 multi-goal games, ranks fifth in ECHL rookie scoring (leading the Thunder and 10th overall in ECHL) and for his efforts in the week of Nov. 23, garnered runner-up honors for ECHL Player of the Week and ECHL Rookie of the Month (November).

Defenseman Kenny MacAulay, who was named alternate captain on Thursday, earned his second consecutive selection to the National Conference team, ranking tied for seventh in scoring among all ECHL defensemen with 19 points (3g-16a) in just 30 games at the time of his selection. MacAulay represented Fresno last season for the 2008 ECHL All-Star Game at the Thunder's home venue, Stockton Arena.

Thunder head coach Matt Thomas was selected to join the National Conference coaching staff at the All-Star Game, the second honor of his career. Ironically, his first All-Star trip was to Reading in 2005, when he was a coach that represented the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies.

A late selection and the fourth member of the Thunder to head to Reading, Cory Urquhart is second on the Thunder with 32 points (15g-17a) in 30 games, additionally posting 24 penalty minutes this season. Urquhart is currently on recall to Springfield of the AHL and was named In Glas Co ECHL Player of the Week on Jan. 14 after scoring five goals and six points (5g-1a) to help the Thunder post two road wins at Phoenix on Jan. 6 and Jan. 8.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS - PENALTY SHOTS

Entering the 2008-09 season, the Thunder has made 1 penalty shot and missed 7 penalty shots, while opponents had made 2 penalty shots and missed 7 penalty shots. Below is a look at Thunder and opposing penalty shots for this season:

PENALTY SHOTS BY THUNDER - REGULAR SEASON

1 MADE, 1 MISSED

1. MADE - Ryan Huddy vs. Jeff Zatkoff at Ontario 11/12/08

2. MISSED - Stephane Goulet vs. Joe Fallon at Fresno 11/14/08

PENALTY SHOTS VS. THUNDER - REGULAR SEASON

0 MADE, 1 MISSED

1. MISSED - Darryl Lloyd vs. Bryan Pitton at Victoria 10/26/08

OVERDUE IN OVERTIME

The Thunder has an all-time record of 15-18 in sudden-death overtime and is 12-16 in shootouts. Below is a look at this year's Thunder game-winning goals in overtime and summaries of shootout winners:

THE THUNDER OVERTIME WINNERS (THIS SEASON: 2-3)

DATE OPPONENT SCORE GAME-WINNING GOAL

11/15 @Ontario W, 3-2 Kinley (1:50)

1/3 @Alaska W, 2-1 Huddy (1:19)

THE THUNDER IN SHOOTOUTS, THIS SEASON: 2-2

DATE OPPONENT SCORE SHOOTOUT GOALS GOALTENDER

11/7 Victoria W, 3-2 (Lalonde, Huddy, Kyrzakos) Perugini

11/12 @Ontario L, 2-3 (Urquhart) Perugini

11/14 @Fresno L, 4-5 (None) Pitton

12/19 @Fresno W, 3-2 (Lalonde, Rohlfs) Pitton

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