Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Victoria Salmon Kings

Published on January 27, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Thunder, on an 11-game homestand that has a record of 3-1-3 on the stretch and in second place for the Pacific Division, continues the record stretch at home with three games against the Victoria Salmon Kings, beginning Wednesday at Stockton Arena which is the sixth meeting of the year between both teams. The Thunder is 13-19-4 lifetime against Victoria and is 2-3-0 this year in the head-to-head series. Saturday's game features a special 8:00 p.m. game time, with a large crowd expected for the fifth annual "Teddy Bear Toss" promotion, presented by Jackson Rancheria, California Water Service Company, KAT Country and News10.

LAST 3 THUNDER GAMES

BAK 5 - STK 2 (1/24/10): Gino Guyer scored a pair of goals and Stephane Goulet (1g-1a) and Shawn Weller (1g-1a) had multi-point games, helping the Bakersfield Condors steer the Thunder to a 5-2 defeat before a crowd of 4,209 at Stockton Arena on Sunday. Colin Hemingway scored his first goal in a Thunder uniform, a shorthanded tally in the third period and James Bates scored one in the first period. The Thunder suffered their first loss in regulation at home since November, ending an unbeaten streak of nine games (6-0-3) at Stockton Arena.

STK 4 - AK 3 (1/23/10): Igor Gongalsky buried a pair of goals and newcomer Colin Hemingway collected his first point in a Stockton Thunder (17-16-6, 40 points) uniform, helping the Thunder to knock off the Alaska Aces in a 4-3 victory before a crowd of 6,508 at Stockton Arena on Saturday. The Thunder, who jumped over the.500 mark for the first time this season, moved into a fifth place tie in the National Conference with the Utah Grizzlies and were aided by a goal each from Chris D'Alvise and Matt O'Dette, who returned to the lineup after missing the last 18 games due to injury.

AK 2 - STK 1 (SO) (1/22/10): Goaltender Frank Doyle made 42 saves for his sixth straight win and made all four saves in a shootout, helping the Alaska Aces send the Thunder to a 2-1 shootout loss before 5,160 fans at Stockton Arena on Friday. The Thunder, who improved their run to 5-0-3 in the last eight home games, remain tied for sixth in the National Conference with the Las Vegas Wranglers and gained a point with the help of goaltender Andrew Perugini's 26 saves. Chris D'Alvise scored a power-play goal for the Thunder and Alaska received a first period marker from T.J. Fast.

THE COMFORTS OF HOME

Since Dec. 4, the Thunder have seized momentum with home-ice advantage, ripping off a record of 6-1-3 in a ten-game span which also included a nine-game unbeaten streak in regulation at Stockton Arena (6-0-3) that ended in a 5-2 defeat to Bakersfield on Jan. 24.

OH, BROTHER!

Even though all four players are not on the active roster, the recent acquisition of Colin Hemingway from Alaska on Jan. 22 is slated to mark the first time in Thunder history that two sets of brothers will play on the roster. Colin's brother, Brett is currently on injured reserve and goaltender Bryan Pitton's brother, Jason, is currently under contract to the Thunder and serving a professional tryout agreement (PTO) in the American Hockey League with the Springfield Falcons.

ALL-STAR IS SHINING

Rookie center Chris D'Alvise, who had an assist representing the Thunder at the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game, recently had a career-high eight-game scoring streak with eight points (4g-4a) in that span. D'Alvise leads the Thunder with 15 goals and leads Thunder rookies with 27 points in 36 games this season.

THUNDER CROWDS ROLLING IN

The Thunder ranks third in the ECHL in attendance with an average of 5,842 fans per game and is vying to tie a league record by leading the league in attendance for five straight seasons. The Thunder led the ECHL in attendance last year with an average of 6,218 fans through 36 home games. Stockton has 14 sellouts in the team's franchise history and drew a standing room only crowd of 9,392 on Nov. 8 vs. Alaska. Last year, the Thunder became the first team since 2004-05 to lead the ECHL in attendance for four straight seasons (Florida led the ECHL in attendance for five straight seasons - 2000-05).

WELCOME ABOARD

A series of roster moves paved the way for two new members of the Thunder to make last Friday night - former Alaska Aces forward Colin Hemingway and ex-Utah Grizzly Mark Pavli. Hemingway was obtained in a trade for left winger Judd Blackwater on Friday and left Alaska tied for third in scoring with 30 points (13g-17a) and tied for third with 13 goals this season. He guided the Aces to the Kelly Cup Finals last season. He collected his first point (assist) in a Thunder uniform last night vs. Alaska and first goal vs. Bakersfield on Sunday. Pavli, acquired for future considerations, had previously skated in 72 career ECHL games over the last two seasons (2008-10) with Utah and Cincinnati, totaling 21 points (10g-11a) and 115 penalty minutes.

HATS OFF TO YOU

On Jan. 16, James Bates became the sixth player in Thunder history to record a hat trick and set a new single-game club record with four goals against the Utah Grizzlies in a 6-4 win at Stockton Arena. Additionally, Bates' hat trick was another Thunder first - with multiple hat trick efforts in one season.

THUNDER ALL-TIME HAT TRICKS

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 2. Chris D'Alvise 11/1/09 at Victoria

James Bates 1/16/10 vs. Utah

PITTON' IT IN GEAR

Thunder goaltender Bryan Pitton, who returned this week from his third recall of the season to the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL, became the third goaltender in Thunder history to be named Reebok Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week (Jan. 21-27) on Dec. 29 and followed up last week by finishing runner-up for the weekly award. Pitton is 7-1-2 with two overtime wins in his last ten games. On Saturday, Jan. 2, Pitton suited up for Edmonton, who were in San Jose.

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

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