Game Preview: Thunder Vs. Grizzlies

Published on February 29, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


FACEOFF: 7:30 p.m. PT

RADIO: 1420-AM KSTN

INTERNET: www.stocktonthunder.com (B2 Networks)

RECORDS:

Stockton Thunder (22-30-3, 47 points) - 3rd, Pacific/7th National Conf.

Utah Grizzlies (29-22-5, 63 points) - T-3, West/T-5 National Conf.

2007-08 HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

11/24/07 Utah 8 at Stockton 3

11/28/07 Stockton 4 at Utah 3 (SO)

11/30/07 Stockton 2 at Utah 3 (SO)

12/01/07 Stockton 0 at Utah 4

02/06/08 Utah 6 at Stockton 4

02/29/08 Utah at Stockton

04/03/08 Stockton at Utah

04/04/08 Stockton at Utah

04/05/08 Stockton at Utah

MILESTONE TRACKER

o Jason Beeman is 23 games away from 100 in his ECHL career

o Brian Lee is 12 games away from 200 in his professional career

o Lance Monych is 4 points away from 100 in his professional career

o Brandon Schwartz is 10 points away from 100 in his ECHL career

o Tim Verbeek is 17 games away from 400 in his professional career

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

It is meeting number six of the year between the Thunder and Utah Grizzlies, as both teams meet for the final time this year at Stockton Arena. The Thunder is 1-3-1 this season against the Grizzlies and is 8-8-1 in the all-time series. Thunder rookie Geoff Paukovich leads the Thunder in scoring for the season series with five points (3g-2a) in five games against the Grizzlies.

LAST GAME RECAP

Goaltender Maxime Daigneault made 23 saves and forward Mathieu Aubin had the first hat trick of his career to help the Cincinnati Cyclones send the Thunder to a 5-0 loss before a crowd of 4,409 at Stockton Arena on Thursday night. The Thunder loss snapped a three-game win streak, while the Cyclones extended their win streak to an ECHL-record 16 consecutive games; becoming just the second team in the Thunder's three year history to register a shutout on Stockton Arena ice.

FIRST THING'S FIRST

Of the 22 wins the Thunder has accumulated this season, 21 have come when the Thunder scores the first goal of the game. The Thunder is 22-12-1 when scoring the first goal of the game. Lance Monych leads the Thunder with six "first goals."

GETTING WARMER...

Center Brandon Schwartz, tied for the team's assist lead with Jacob Micflikier (23 assists), leads the Thunder with 12 points (5g-7a) in 13 games for the month of February. Schwartz's output mirrors the offensive output he produced in February last season for the Long Beach Ice Dogs, the best month of his 06-07 rookie campaign.

CROWING OUT THE ECHL

The Thunder remains the league's leader in attendance with a league-high average of 6,363 fans in 28 dates (178,161 total) and has drawn three sellouts (9,737) this season, the most recent coming a Saturday, February 16 game against Alaska. The Thunder is vying to become 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). The Thunder drew 244,085 fans to Stockton Arena in 2006-07 and drew the fifth largest crowd in ECHL All-Star Game history on January 23 with a total of 7,455 fans.

WHEELING AND DEALING

The Thunder brought back a familiar face with the acquisition of right wing Lance Monych from the Mississippi Sea Wolves in exchange for left wing Andy Contois last Wednesday. Last Friday, veteran center Joel Stepp was acquired from the Pensacola Ice Pilots in exchange for future considerations. Monych, who scored 21 points (11g-10a) with the Thunder as an assigned prospect from the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes in 2005-06, returned to the Thunder tied for eighth in the ECHL with 25 goals this season, standing as a career-high. Stepp, who helped guide the Gwinnett Gladiators to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2006, had career-high tying 54-point seasons in 2006-07 with Gwinnett and in 2005-06 with Gwinnett and Augusta.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"If you are getting traded, it's far better to go somewhere where you know what is expected of you. I know it's a good situation there, and I know Chris (Cichocki). It should be fun."

- Thunder right wing Lance Monych, The Record, 2/16/08

SIR LANCE-A-LOT SETS THE PACE

Lance Monych's arrival to the Thunder roster already puts him atop the team's scoring lead with 42 points (26g-16a) and first in goal-scoring with 26 goals, entering today's game tied for ninth in the ECHL for goals. Monych points in seven of his last eight games, scoring nine points (5g-4a) in that span.

IN THE NICK OF TIM

Goaltender Tim Boron has provided some of the most prolific goaltending in the Thunder's three-year history, recently breaking the single-season club record with three shutouts and made a career-high 50 saves against Las Vegas in a 1-0 win at Stockton Arena on January 20. Boron is tied for second in the ECHL with three shutouts.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS - PENALTY SHOTS

Entering the 2007-08 season, the Thunder has made 1 penalty shot and missed 6 penalty shots, while opponents had made 0 penalty shots and missed 4 penalty shots.

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES

The Utah Grizzlies are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's New York Islanders and the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers and are in their third season of ECHL play. Jason Christie is in his third season as head coach for the Grizzlies and has been with the team since their inception into ECHL. Prior to joining the Grizzlies, Christie played ten years professionally and coached Peoria Rivermen to the Kelly Cup Championship in the 1999-2000 campaign. Christie is the all time franchise leader for wins with Peoria. Utah did not qualify for the Kelly Cup Playoffs last season, tallying a 22-42-8 record (52 points).

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