Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Victoria Salmon Kings

Published on March 24, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


March 24, 2009 - Stockton Arena

FACEOFF: 7:00 p.m.

RADIO: 1420 KSTN

INTERNET: www.StocktonThunder.com (B2 Networks)

2008-09 HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

10/24/08 Thunder 5 at Victoria 2

10/25/08 Thunder 2 at Victoria 5

10/26/08 Thunder 3 at Victoria 1

11/7/08 Victoria 2 at Thunder 3 (SO)

11/8/08 Victoria 3 at Thunder 1

12/27/08 Victoria 4 at Thunder 1

12/28/08 Victoria 5 at Thunder 2

1/27/09 Thunder 3 at Victoria 7

1/28/09 Thunder 2 at Victoria 0

3/24/09 Victoria 7:00 p.m.

3/28/09 Victoria 7:30 p.m.

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Thunder, who holds the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division entering the second-to-last week of the regular season, starts a stretch of four games in six nights, all at home, beginning Tuesday at Stockton Arena against the Victoria Salmon Kings. The Thunder is 11-15-3 lifetime against the Salmon Kings and is 4-5-0 against the Salmon Kings this season. The last time both teams met was on Jan. 28 when the Thunder defeated Victoria 2-0. Thunder goaltender Andrew Perugini notched the first shutout of his pro career in the game. Veteran Cory Urquhart leads the Thunder with seven points (1g-6a) in eight games.

LAST THREE THUNDER GAMES

3/21/09 - BAK 4 at STK 3 (OT): Donny Grover's goal just 24 seconds into sudden-death overtime thwarted a rally by the Stockton Thunder (30-30-6, 66 points), who lost 4-3 in OT to the Bakersfield Condors before 7,399 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday night. The Thunder forced overtime with a two-goal rally by Sebastien Bisaillon and Ryan Huddy in the third period to stay at the .500 mark, while James Bates also scored in the second period. Both teams combined for five power-play goals in the game and Bakersfield capitalized at a 3-for-7 clip on goals by Mark Derlago, Bruce Graham and Ryan Mahrle.

3/19/09 - UTA 5 at STK 1: Rookie and 2009 ECHL All-Star Tom May scored a career-high four goals, including a natural hat trick in the first period to help the Utah Grizzlies defeat the Stockton Thunder (30-30-5, 65 points), 5-1, before 4,164 fans at Stockton Arena on Thursday night. May scored the first three goals of the game in a span of 7:32, including one just seven seconds in which was a Thunder record for quickest goal scored by an opponent to begin a game. Veteran Damian Surma scored the only Thunder goal and Andy Sertich also scored for Utah in the third period.

3/18/09 - STK 3 at ONT 0: Goaltender Andrew Perugini turned aside all 34 shots he faced for the second shutout of his career, helping the Stockton Thunder (30-29-5, 65 points) blank the Ontario Reign in a 2-0 victory before 8,115 fans at Citizens Business Bank Arena on Wednesday. The Thunder, who scored twice on the power-play, received goal-scoring support from Craig Valette, Cleve Kinley and James Bates, who moved closer to clinching their third straight Kelly Cup Playoff berth. Ryan Huddy notched a career-high tying three assists.

HUDDY'S BROKEN RECORD

Ryan Huddy's 31 goals is a Thunder record - currently ranking tied for third among ECHL rookies - and he needs one more point to break the Thunder single-season scoring record. Joel Irwin set the standard with 68 points (25g-43a) in 68 games in 2005-06.

CROWDING OUT THE ECHL

Vying to lead the league in attendance for the fourth straight year, The Thunder leads the ECHL in attendance with an average of 6,193 through 32 home 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. The 2007-08 season 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.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"It was tough to get down like that on those calls, but we worked hard and that was a big play by Ryan," Thunder forward David Rohlfs said. nbsp;

- Rohlfs on the Thunder forcing overtime in a 4-3 overtime defeat vs. Bakersfield, The Record, 3/23/09

"I think the break helped a bit. It was definitely good for my legs," Perugini said. "I think it helped everybody. We were very focused. We really had them stymied."

- Goaltender Andrew Perugini after a 3-0 shutout win at Ontario, following a 9-day layoff, The Record, 3/19/09

PLAYOFF NOTES

ECHL NATIONAL CONFERENCE PLAYOFF STANDINGS

(Top-4 in each division qualify for Kelly Cup playoffs)**

2009 Playoff March Notes -

- The Thunder has 6 regular season games remaining.

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

Victoria (2)

Utah (1)

Las Vegas (3)

- The top eight teams in the National Conference will qualify for the 2009 Kelly Cup Playoffs and will be seeded by division ranking in the first and second round of the playoffs. In the Pacific and West Divisions, the #1 seed will play #4, and the #2 seed will play #3. Home ice advantage will be determined by winning percentage.

- If the Kelly Cup Playoffs began today, the Thunder would face the Ontario Reign in the Pacific Division Semifinal round.

- Currently, 75 points (.520 win percentage) guarantees a playoff spot as the 5th place Phoenix RoadRunners (West Division) can only amass 75 points this season. The Thunder wins the tie-breaker with Phoenix for the final playoff spot.

- The Thunder has surpassed the 30-win plateau for the second time in club history (38-24-10 in 2006-07)

- The Thunder has surpassed last season's total of 59 points (27-40-5)

- TIE-BREAKER: The tiebreaker for the National Conference if two teams tie will be: 1. Points, head-to-head; 2. Wins, head-to-head; 3. Goal Differential, head-to-head; 4. Coin Toss.

The tiebreaker for the National Conference if three teams are tied will be: 1. Winning percentage, games between the teams; 2. Goal differential, games between the teams; 3. Winning percentage, division; 4. Winning percentage, conference; 5. 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 second straight Kelly Cup Playoff berth with the 8th seed in the National Conference and a 27-40-5 record (59 points)

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from March 24, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central