Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Utah Grizzlies

March 17, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


GAME PREVIEW: STOCKTON THUNDER vs. UTAH GRIZZLIES

DATE: Saturday, March 17, 2012

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

Utah Grizzlies: Calgary Flames

HOME GAME PROMOTIONAL NOTES

Tonight's Promotion: THUNDER'S 4th ANNUAL EASY BEING GREEN

(presented by Port of Stockton California and co-sponsored by The Surtec System, Amtrak California, California Water Service Company, Miracle Mile Realty, PG&E, Clark/McCarthy, A Joint Venture, KAT Country 103, KHOP 95.1, 99.3 KJOY, AM 970 ESPN Radio, 97.7/98.3 KWIN and 104.1 The Hawk)

National Anthem Singer: Pitman High School

Public Address Announcer: Mike McKnight

In-Arena Emcee: Jungle Jim

NEXT HOME GAME

Sunday, Mar. 18 vs. Utah Grizzlies, 4:00 p.m.

FAMILY DAY (presented by Sutter Gould Medical Foundation and 99.3 KJOY)

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Stockton Thunder hosts the Utah Grizzlies to continue three games in three days at Stockton Arena. The matchup is the fifth of this season between the teams. In the last meeting, the Thunder was defeated by Utah 4-3 at Maverik Center on Mar. 10. The Thunder is 1-2-1 against Utah this season and will host the Grizzlies for the first time at Stockton Arena since Nov. 5, which was a 3-2 Thunder win. They carry a lifetime record of 23-25-6 vs. Utah.

SEASON SERIES (Thunder: 1-2-1)

Fri. Nov. 4 Utah 1 at Stockton 0 (SO)

Sat. Nov. 5 Utah 2 at Stockton 3

Fri. Mar. 9 Stockton 1 at Utah 4

Sat. Mar. 10 Stockton 3 at Utah 4

Sat. Mar. 17 Utah 7:30 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 18 Utah 4:00 p.m.

LAST THREE GAMES:

STK 3 - LV 1 (3/16/12): Kevin Baker scored two goals to bookend a three goal rally in a span of 3:55 and Thomas Heemskerk made 24 saves to lead the Stockton Thunder (31-28-5, 67 points) to a 3-1 victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers before a crowd of 6,017 at Stockton Arena on Friday. The Thunder, who snapped a four game losing skid and kept pace at five points behind Colorado for fourth place in the Western Conference, broke a 1-1 tie on Gabriel Levesque's eventual game winner with 8:17 left in regulation. Heemskerk broke a personal three game losing streak and the Thunder improved to 12-4-1 in the last 17 home games.

IDH 3 - STK 2 (3/14/12): Jerry Kuhn made 33 saves to backstop a three goal rally by the Idaho Steelheads, who sent the Stockton Thunder (30-28-5, 65 points) to a 3-2 defeat at Stockton Arena on Wednesday night. The Thunder, who outshot Idaho 35-21, learned after the game that they clinched a Kelly Cup Playoff berth for the sixth consecutive season after Bakersfield lost to Utah, 3-2 at Rabobank Arena. The Thunder originally built a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Chris D'Alvise and Gabriel Levesque. Derek LeBlanc netted the game winner in the second period on a power play and Kuhn stopped all 14 shots he saw in the third period.

UTA 4 - STK 3 (3/10/12): Paul McIlveen scored two goals, added an assist and Andrew Engelage turned away 13 shots in the third period, part of a 31 save effort to help the Utah Grizzlies escape and defeat the Stockton Thunder (30-27-5, 65 points) 4-3 before 6,876 fans at Maverik Center on Saturday night. The Thunder, forced to wait one more game to clinch a playoff berth after Bakersfield defeated Idaho 6-5 in a shootout, outshot Utah 34-26, had two leads in the first period and were led by Jason Morgan and Max Campbell's one goal and one assist effort. Mike Little collected the other Thunder goal in the third period.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Kevin Baker is 11 goals away from 200 in his professional career

- Kevin Baker is 4 games away from 400 in his professional career

- Matt Foy is 14 goals away from 100 in his professional career

HOME COOKING

The Thunder has parlayed a record of 12-4-1 in the last 17 home games. Taking advantage of leads in the middle of the game, the Thunder has never lost at home when holding a lead after the second period (11-0-0). The Thunder has also outshot their opponents in 22 of 31 home games.

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 tied for second in ECHL all-time goal scoring (since 2006-07) with 177 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 467 451 274 177 8

2 Kevin Baker STK 330 362 177 185 16

3 Mark Derlago IDH 281 340 174 166 41

4 Olivier Labelle REA 303 250 133 117 -14

5 Marty Flichel IDH 390 363 132 231 -6

** Statistics include regular season and playoffs

LITTLE DETAILS

Since Jan. 1, Thunder defenseman Mike Little has soared to a +18 rating, which is second in the league behind Pierre-Luc O'Brien of South Carolina. Currently competing in his first full season, Little has also registered 23 points (6g-17a) in 34 games since New Year's Day.

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 236

2. Mark Adamek 186

3. Adam Huxley 183

4. Mike Lalonde 182

5. Daryl Marcoux 166

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. 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. This season, the Thunder has welcome 15 crowds of 6,000 or more to Stockton Arena and drew a season high 9,398 fans on Mar. 3 vs. Alaska. The Thunder is third in ECHL attendance with an average of 5,757 fans per game.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

The Thunder will sport special "St. Patrick's Day" jerseys for tonight's game vs. Utah. The black jerseys, featuring classic "tie down" laces on the front with green accented bolts, will be auctioned off immediately following Saturday's game. Proceeds will benefit the Stockton Thunder foundation.

PLAYOFF NOTES

ECHL WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF STANDINGS

(Top-7 in the conference qualify for Kelly Cup playoffs)

Rank Western Conference GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA STK P10 SO

1 x * - Alaska Aces 65 40 16 2 7 89 0.685 206 151 0-1-0-0 5-2-0-3 3-7

2 x * - Ontario Reign 64 38 18 5 3 84 0.656 220 176 1-0-0-0 5-2-2-1 5-3

3 x Las Vegas Wranglers 64 39 20 1 4 83 0.648 207 171 0-1-0-0 8-2-0-0 4-4

4 x Colorado Eagles 63 33 24 1 5 72 0.571 225 222 1-0-0-0 4-5-0-1 3-5

5 x Stockton Thunder 64 31 28 1 4 67 0.523 182 189 1-0-0-0 4-6-0-0 6-4

6 Utah Grizzlies 65 29 31 0 5 63 0.485 157 208 0-1-0-0 4-6-0-0 7-5

7 Idaho Steelheads 65 27 30 2 6 62 0.477 177 216 0-1-0-0 4-5-0-1 7-6

8 Bakersfield Condors 64 20 37 4 3 47 0.367 175 216 1-0-0-0 6-3-0-1 2-3

* Division leader

x Teams who have clinched a playoff spot.

y Teams who have clinched the division title

z Team who has clinched the conference title, 1st round bye

2011 Playoff March Notes -

- The Thunder has clinched a Kelly Cup Playoff berth for the sixth consecutive season.

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

- Utah (1)

- Idaho (3)

- Las Vegas (1)

- Ontario (1)

- Bakersfield (2)

- The top seven teams in the Western Conference will qualify for the 2011 Kelly Cup Playoffs and will be seeded by conference ranking in the first and second round of the playoffs. The #1 seed will receive a bye through the first round and the #2 seed will play #7, the #3 seed will play #6, and the #4 seed will play #5. Home ice advantage will be determined by points.

- If the Kelly Cup Playoffs began today, the Thunder would face the Colorado Eagles in the Western Conference Quarterfinal.

- The Thunder has surpassed the 30-win plateau for the fifth time in club history (2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11)

- TIE-BREAKER: The tiebreaker for the Western Conference if two teams tie will be: 1. Wins (regulation and OT only), regular season; 2. Points, head-to-head; 3. Wins, head-to-head; 4. Goal differential, head-to-head; 5. Winning percentage, division (if tied teams are from same division; if not, skip to 6); 6. Winning percentage, conference; 7. Goals for, regular season; 8. Goals against, regular season; 9. Coin toss

The tiebreaker for the Western Conference if three teams are tied will be: 1. Wins (regulation and OT only); 2. Winning percentage, games between the teams; 3. Goal differential, games between the teams; 4. Winning percentage, division; 5. Winning percentage, conference; 6. Goals for, regular season; 7. Goals against, regular season; 8. Coin toss. When two teams remain after the third or other teams are eliminated during any step above, the tiebreaker reverts to Step 1 of the two-team format.

- Last season, the Thunder clinched its fifth straight Kelly Cup Playoff berth with the 3rd seed in the Western Conference and a tied a club record in points for one season with a 37-23-12 record (86 points)



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