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Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Las Vegas Wranglers

November 26, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


GAME: Stockton Thunder vs. Las Vegas Wranglers

DATE: Saturday, November 26, 2011

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

SITE: Stockton Arena

RADIO: 1280 AM KWSX/StocktonThunder.com (AmericaOne)

NHL AFFILIATES

Stockton Thunder: Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks

Las Vegas Wranglers: Independent

HOME GAME PROMOTIONAL NOTES

Tonight's Promotion: YOUTH T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY (presented by Aramark and AM 970 ESPN Radio)

National Anthem Singer: Paige Hawkins

Public Address Announcer: Mike McKnight

In-Arena Emcee: Jungle Jim

NEXT HOME GAME

Friday, Dec. 2 vs. Ontario Reign, 7:30 p.m.

JASON MORGAN BOBBLEHEAD GIVEAWAY (presented by MetroPCS and 97.7/98/3 KWIN)

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Stockton Thunder battles the Las Vegas Wranglers to finish a three game homestand tonight. Saturday's game at Stockton Arena is the fourth matchup out of ten this season and reunites Thunder head coach Matt Thomas with former assistant coach Ryan Mougenel (Las Vegas head coach). The two were behind the bench in coaching roles previously with Stockton and Fresno. The Thunder is 13-26-3 lifetime vs. Las Vegas and last faced the Wranglers last evening, defeated 3-2 at Stockton Arena.

TONIGHT'S GUEST

The Stockton Thunder welcomes management staff from the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League to tonight's game, attended by Oilers goaltending consultant Frederic Chabot.

SEASON SERIES (Thunder: 1-1-1)

Sat. Nov. 12 Stockton 3 at Las Vegas 4 (OT)

Sun. Nov. 13 Stockton 3 at Las Vegas 2 (SO)

Fri. Nov. 25 Las Vegas 3 at Stockton 2

Sat. Nov. 26 Las Vegas 7:30 p.m.

Tue. Dec. 6 at Las Vegas 7:05 p.m.

Tue. Dec. 27 at Las Vegas 7:05 p.m.

Fri. Jan. 20 Las Vegas 7:30 p.m.

Sat. Jan. 21 Las Vegas 7:30 p.m.

Sun. Jan. 22 Las Vegas 4:00 p.m.

Fri. Mar. 16 Las Vegas 7:30 p.m.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Matt Thomas is 22 wins away from 300 in his professional coaching career

- Matt Foy is 8 assists away from 100 in his professional career

- Jordan Foreman is 6 games away from 100 in his ECHL career

HUNTING DOWN A MILESTONE

Thunder left winger Garet Hunt has surpassed Mark Adamek as the club's career leader in games played. Hunt is in his fourth season as a member of the Thunder and last season, was named the team's "Unsung Hero" and "Fan Favorite." This season, he was named alternate captain on Oct. 13.

ALL-TIME THUNDER GAMES PLAYED

Player GP

1. Garet Hunt 191

2. Mark Adamek 186

3. Adam Huxley 183

4. Mike Lalonde 182

5. Daryl Marcoux 166

LAST THREE GAMES:

LV 3 - STK 2 (11/25/11): Joe Fallon came through with 37 saves and Eric Lampe scored the eventual game winning goal to help the Las Vegas Wranglers escape and send the Stockton Thunder (7-6-3, 17 points) to a 3-2 defeat before 5,193 fans at Stockton Arena on Friday. Garet Hunt and Nathan Deck recorded both Thunder goals, helping boost a late comeback rally that led to a goal mouth scramble in the final seconds - ultimately stopped by Fallon and the Las Vegas defense. Mike Hoffman and Rob Smith added the first two goals for the Wranglers.

AK 4 - STK 1 (11/23/11): Goaltender Adam Courchaine made 41 saves and Wes Goldie recorded a goal and an assist, helping the Alaska Aces defeat the Stockton Thunder (7-5-3, 17 points), 4-1 at Stockton Arena on Wednesday. The Thunder, returning from a six game road trip, lost their first game at home in regulation since Opening Night on October 14 and fired a season high 42 shots on goal. Kevin Baker had the only Thunder goal in the second period and goaltender Thomas Heemskerk made 30 stops.

STK 3 - ONT 1 (11/19/11): Rookie Jesse Fratkin buried two goals in his second pro game and goaltender Olivier Roy made 31 saves to boost the Stockton Thunder (7-4-3, 17 points) to a 3-1 victory over the Ontario Reign before 6,697 fans at Citizens Business Bank Arena on Saturday. Fratkin broke a 1-1 tie with back to back goals less than four minutes apart, while Matt Foy earned his fifth goal of the season. The Thunder finished 4-1-1 on their season long six game road trip and improved to 7-2-2 at Citizens Business Bank Arena since the 2009-10 season.

THIS DATE IN THUNDER (ALUMNI) HISTORY

NOVEMBER 26, 2008 - Center Tim Sestito, who played with the Stockton Thunder in 2006-07, made his National Hockey League debut with the Edmonton Oilers against the Los Angeles Kings at Rexall Place. The 6-foot, 195-pound forward played in 66 games for the Thunder in 2006-07, ranking second on the club with 132 penalty minutes while scoring 26 points (13g-13a). Sestito helped guide the Thunder to the first Kelly Cup Playoff berth in team history and scored three points (2g-1a) in six playoff games, ranking tied for second on the team in playoff scoring.

THUNDER CROWDS ROLL IN

An exclusive club, the Thunder averaged over 6,000 fans per game and drew over 200,000 fans for the sixth straight year in 2010-11, ranking second in ECHL in attendance with 6,382 fans per game. A whopping crowd of 9,482 piled into Stockton Arena on Jan. 22 for the "Teddy Bear Toss" game, the largest crowd at Stockton Arena for the season and the fourth crowd over 9,000 in the event's history. Stockton has 17 sellouts in the team's franchise history. They welcomed 12 crowds of 7,000 or more at Stockton Arena last season and had its highest attendance since 2007-08, a six percent increase from 2009-10.

The Thunder leads the ECHL attendance this season with an average of 6,353 fans per game.

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

Familiar faces spell the Las Vegas lineup for the weekend series. Las Vegas forwards Geoff Paukovich (2007-09), Judd Blackwater (2008-10) and Adam Huxley (2006-09) were former members of the Thunder and head coach Ryan Mougenel served as assistant coach for Matt Thomas with the Thunder during the 2008-09 season. Previously, Mougenel also coached under Thomas in Fresno (2005-08) and played for Thomas in Atlantic City (2002-03).

ROY(T) AN HONOR

Thunder goaltender Olivier Roy was named ECHL Goaltender of the Week on Tuesday, the first Thunder player to capture the honor this season and the ninth in franchise history. He was 2-0-0 with a goals against average of 1.50 and a save percentage of .959 in two victories over Ontario last week. The Thunder improved to 7-4-3 on the season and were 3-1-0 during the week to move into second place in the Pacific Division. Roy made a career high 40 saves in a 3-2 win at Citizens Business Bank Arena on Friday to earn his first ECHL win and followed that up with 30 saves in a 3-1 victory on Saturday.

THUNDER ALL-TIME ECHL GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS

Date Awarded

1. Jake Moreland January 31, 2006

2. Andrew Perugini March 3, 2009

3. Bryan Pitton December 29, 2009

4. Bryan Pitton February 2, 2010

5. Andrew Perugini February 16, 2010

6. Tyson Sexsmith October 26, 2010

7. Bryan Pitton November 9, 2010

8. Tyson Sexsmith March 22, 2011

9. Olivier Roy November 22, 2011

GOAL ORIENTED

Thunder right winger Kevin Baker was signed as a free agent on Aug. 24 and brings a wealth of offensive accomplishments to the Thunder roster. He was named ECHL Most Valuable Player in 2008-09 and his 57 goals that season were most in the league since 2000-01. He ranks third in ECHL all-time goal scoring (since 2006-07) with 156 goals.

MOST GOALS, ECHL (SINCE 2006-07)

Rank Player Team GP PTS G A +/-

1 Wes Goldie AK 420 407 247 160 1

2 Mark Derlago IDH 281 340 174 166 41

3 Kevin Baker STK 282 319 157 162 19

4 Ryan Kinasewich UTA 205 292 131 161 -4

5 Marty Flichel IDH 379 356 130 226 -6

** Statistics include regular season and playoffs

DID YOU KNOW?

There have been 18 penalty shots taken by the Thunder in their franchise history, dating back to 2005-06. The last to convert was Chris D'Alvise at Ontario on Feb. 13, 2010 against goaltender Curtis Darling.

PENALTY SHOTS BY THUNDER - REGULAR SEASON

(3 MADE, 15 MISSED)

1. MISSED - Nathan Martz vs. Yutaka Fukufuji vs. Reading 12/27/05

2. MISSED - Joel Irwin vs. Yutaka Fukufuji vs. Reading 12/28/05

3. MISSED - Nathan Martz vs. Chris Beckford-Tseu @ Alaska 1/20/06

4. MISSED - Joel Irwin vs. Ryan Munce vs. Bakersfield 4/7/06

5. MADE - Tim Sestito vs. Ryan MacDonald vs. Fresno 12/27/06

6. MISSED - Tim Sestito vs. Derek Gustafson @ Alaska 1/24/07

7. MISSED - Mike Lalonde vs. Jamie Hodson vs. Bakersfield 2/2/07

8. MISSED - Tom Zanoski vs. Michael Mole vs. Utah 2/6/08

9. MADE - Ryan Huddy vs. Jeff Zatkoff @ Ontario 11/12/08

10. MISSED - Stephane Goulet vs. Joe Fallon @ Fresno 11/14/08

11. MADE - Chris D'Alvise vs. Curtis Darling @ Ontario 2/13/10

12. MISSED - J.F. Caudron vs. Glenn Fisher vs. Victoria 3/5/10

13. MISSED - Kelly Czuy vs. Jimmy Spratt vs. Las Vegas 3/27/10

14. MISSED - Chris D'Alvise vs. Martin Jones vs. Ontario 10/16/10

15. MISSED - Mark Arcobello vs. Kellen Briggs vs. Ontario 10/23/10

16. MISSED - Chris D'Alvise vs. Peter Hirsch @ Bakersfield 10/29/10

17. MISSED - Garet Hunt vs. Joe Fallon vs. Las Vegas 12/29/10

18. MISSED - Garet Hunt vs. Andrew Engelage vs. Utah 11/4/11

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