Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Ontario Reign

Published on December 31, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


DATE: Saturday, December 31, 2011

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

SITE: Stockton Arena

RADIO: 1280 AM KWSX/StocktonThunder.com (AmericaOne)/92.5 FM (in-house feed)

NHL AFFILIATES

Stockton Thunder: Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks

Ontario Reign: Los Angeles Kings

HOME GAME PROMOTIONAL NOTES

Tonight's Promotion: NEW YEAR'S EVE EXTRAVAGANZA (presented by St. Joseph's Medical Center, KAT Country 103, In Shape Health Clubs, 104.1 The Hawk and News10)

National Anthem Singer: Abegail

Public Address Announcer: Mike McKnight

In-Arena Emcee: "Jungle Jim"

NEXT HOME GAME

Friday, Jan. 20, 2012 vs. Las Vegas, 7:30 p.m.

OLIVIER ROY BOBBLEHEAD GIVEAWAY (presented by MetroPCS and 97.7/98.3 KWIN)

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Stockton Thunder battles the Ontario Reign tonight at Stockton Arena to end a two game series in back-to-back days. The Thunder is 4-3-2 this season against the Reign and in the last meeting, Ontario defeated the Thunder in a shootout, 4-3 at Stockton Arena last night. Through 39 regular season games in the all-time series, the Thunder is 22-12-5 against Ontario. Following the game, a special fireworks extravaganza will be displayed by Fireworks & Stage FX America Inc.

SPARKS WILL FLY

Immediately following tonight's game, fans are invited to enjoy a spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks display inside Stockton Arena. The post game fireworks show will feature a captivating and high impact pyrotechnics display, designed specifically for indoor performance by Fireworks & Stage FX America Inc., who have served the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association's Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. Averaging up to 2,000 shows per year, Fireworks & Stage FX America Inc. have performed in the past at Super Bowl XXXVII, Sea World, games in the National Football League and arenafootball2 for the Stockton Lightning.

SEASON SERIES (Thunder: 4-3-2)

Sat. Oct. 15 Stockton 2 at Ontario 3 (SO)

Fri. Oct. 28 Stockton 2 at Ontario 4

Wed. Nov. 16 Stockton 2 at Ontario 4

Fri. Nov. 18 Stockton 3 at Ontario 2

Sat. Nov. 19 Stockton 3 at Ontario 1

Wed. Nov. 30 Stockton 4 at Ontario 3 (SO)

Fri. Dec. 2 Ontario 4 at Stockton 0

Sun. Dec. 4 Stockton 2 at Ontario 0

Fri. Dec. 30 Ontario 4 at Stockton 3 (SO)

Sat. Dec. 31 Ontario 7:30 p.m.

Wed. Feb. 15 Ontario 7:00 p.m.

Wed. Mar. 21 at Ontario 7:00 p.m.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Matt Thomas is 17 wins away from 300 in his professional coaching career

- Kevin Baker is 25 goals away from 200 in his professional career

- Matt Foy is 20 points away from 200 in his professional career

- Jordan Fulton is 3 games away from 100 in his professional career

- Milan Kytnar is 4 games away from 100 in his professional career

LAST THREE GAMES:

ONT 4 - STK 3 (SO) (12/30/11): Chris Carrozzi made 36 saves while Chris Huxley and Kevin Estrada rescued the Ontario Reign with back to back shootout goals, enough to send the Stockton Thunder (12-13-4, 28 points) to a 4-3 shootout defeat before a crowd of 6,096 at Stockton Arena on Friday. The Thunder settled for a point to snap a five game losing streak in regulation and posted three unanswered goals by Cameron Abney, Jesse Fratkin and Milan Kytnar. Goaltender Olivier Roy received a shootout loss with 38 saves.

LV 5 - STK 2 (12/27/11): Mitch O'Keefe made 31 saves while Michael Busto chipped in with two assists from the blueline, to help the Las Vegas Wranglers send the Stockton Thunder (12-13-3, 27 points) to a 5-2 defeat in the Wranglers' annual "Midnight Game," before 4,622 fans at Orleans Arena on late Tuesday night. The Thunder built a 2-1 lead in the first period on goals from Matt Foy and Ryan Martindale. Thunder goaltender Olivier Roy took the loss with 27 stops.

BAK 3 - STK 2 (12/26/11): Peter Boyd scored with 2:49 left in regulation to snap a 2-2 tie and lift the Bakersfield Condors to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Stockton Thunder (12-12-3, 27 points) before 4,195 fans at Rabobank Arena on Monday. The Thunder dropped their fourth straight loss and squandered a 2-1 lead that was built on back to back goals from Nathan Deck and Ian O'Connor. Matt Keetley picked up the win in net for Bakersfield with 28 stops.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT

This season, the Thunder has boasted a record of 7-3-2 when playing in the second game of a "back to back" or in a "three game in three day" scenario. The last Thunder win in that situation came on Dec. 10 when they defeated Bakersfield, 9-6 at Stockton Arena.

LET THE RECORD SPEAK

The Thunder broke numerous offensive records in a 9-6 win vs. Bakersfield on Dec. 10. Their nine goals set a new franchise mark and they combined with the Condors to score15 goals, breaking the previous mark of 13, tied on three separate occasions. The Thunder also posted five goals in the second period, coming one goal shy of the franchise mark of six (11/1/08 at Bakersfield).

FOY STORY

Thunder forward Matt Foy is tied for the Thunder scoring lead with 23 points (9g-14a) and paces the team with 14 assists. The 6-foot-3 and 225 pound right winger has scored 12 points (4g-8a) in his last 10 games and recently posted his seventh multi point game of the season on Dec. 17 vs. Idaho with a goal and an assist. Foy has 56 games of playing experience in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild and skated in 28 games with the Wild in 2007-08, scoring eight points (4g-4a) and totaling 28 penalty minutes.

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 163 goals. On Dec. 10 vs. Bakersfield, he collected his first hat trick of the season.

MOST GOALS, ECHL (SINCE 2006-07)

Rank Player Team GP PTS G A +/-

1 Wes Goldie AK 434 428 258 170 6

2 Mark Derlago IDH 281 340 174 166 41

3 Kevin Baker STK 295 330 163 167 14

4 Ryan Kinasewich UTA 205 292 131 161 -4

5 Marty Flichel IDH 382 358 131 227 -8

** Statistics include regular season and playoffs

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 is second in ECHL attendance this season with an average of 5,745 fans per game.

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. He played in his 200th career game with the Thunder on Dec. 16 vs. Idaho.

ALL-TIME THUNDER GAMES PLAYED

Player GP

1. Garet Hunt 200

2. Mark Adamek 186

3. Adam Huxley 183

4. Mike Lalonde 182

5. Daryl Marcoux 166

HATS OFF TO YOU

Kevin Baker's hat trick vs. Bakersfield on Dec. 10 was the 15th in Thunder history and the first in the 2011-12 season. Below is a complete list of hat tricks scored in Thunder history:

THUNDER ALL-TIME HAT TRICKS

YEAR PLAYER DATE/OPPONENT

2005-06 1. Lance Monych 3/11/06 at Bakersfield

2006-07 1. Tim Verbeek 1/13/07 vs. Bakersfield

2007-08 1. Ryan MacMurchy 1/6/08 vs. Bakersfield

2008-09 1. Cory Urquhart 1/8/09 at Phoenix

2009-10 1. Chris D'Alvise 11/1/10 at Victoria

2. James Bates 1/16/10 vs. Utah

3. Igor Gongalsky 1/29/10 vs. Victoria

4. Chris D'Alvise ** 2/5/10 at Ontario

5. Matt Robinson 3/28/10 vs. Las Vegas

2010-11 1. Chris D'Alvise 11/6/10 vs. Bakersfield

2. Chris D'Alvise 11/13/10 at Idaho

3. Jarrett Konkle ** 1/12/11 vs. Bakersfield

4. Chris Lawrence 2/19/11 vs. Victoria

5. Jordan Foreman 3/27/11 vs. Victoria

2011-12 1. Kevin Baker 12/10/11 vs. Bakersfield

** Denotes natural hat trick

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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