March To The Playoffs

March 4, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


THUNDER OVERALL RECORD: 23-31-3, 49 points LAST WEEK: 2-2-0

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: (all times PT)

at LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS (Tuesday - 9:00 p.m.) - 1420 KSTN, B2 Networks For the final time of the 2007-08 regular season, the Thunder faces the Las Vegas Wranglers in a special 9:00 p.m. PT start from Orleans Arena. It's last of nine matchups between both teams this season. Both teams previously met on Jan. 13 at Stockton Arena with the Wranglers winning 3-0 on a 25-save shutout by goaltender Kevin Lalande. The Thunder is 2-6-0 in the season series and is 4-14-1 lifetime against Las Vegas. A win would give the Thunder its first victory at Orleans Arena since Mar. 28, 2006, breaking a seven-game winless skid (0-6-1) in the Sin City.

vs. IDAHO STEELHEADS (Friday - 7:30 p.m.) - 1420 KSTN, B2 Networks The Thunder faces the Idaho Steelheads on Friday at Stockton Arena, continuing a long homestretch that has the Thunder playing seven of eight games on its own home ice. The Thunder is 9-4-1 in the last two seasons against the Steelheads and is 2-2-0 in the season series. Both teams face each other five times in March and are squaring off in the first contest at Stockton Arena since November 3, when the Thunder defeated Idaho 3-2.

1420 KSTN is the Thunder's flagship radio station and all Thunder games can be heard live on the Internet (free-of-charge) and are available for viewing at a $6 "pay-per-view" charge at www.stocktonthunder.com, courtesy of B2 Networks. Radio broadcaster Mike Benton provides play-by-play commentary, with the "Thunder Forecast" pre-game show starting 15 minutes before each broadcast.

In addition, Valley Brew Family Restaurant is in its second season as official host of the Thunder Watch Party (via B2 Networks' "Bar and Pub Network") for all road games, featuring prizes and broadcast-interactive contests for all fans in attendance.

Located at 157 W. Adams Street in Stockton, Valley Brew Family Restaurant is placed in the heart of Stockton's "Miracle Mile" district and features an array of acclaimed burgers, beverages, appetizers, specialties and more, offering customers free wi-fi internet access inside the restaurant.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Monday, February 25 (Stockton 4 - Phoenix 1)

Goaltender Glenn Fisher made 35 saves to help guide the Thunder to its third consecutive win in a 4-1 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners before a crowd of 3,985 at Stockton Arena on Monday night. The win gave the Thunder its first three-game winning streak since Jan. 6-9, taking the victory in wire-to-wire fashion and led by a balanced attack of goals from Adam Huxley, David Rohlfs, Brandon Schwartz and Lance Monych.

Thursday, February 28 - (Cincinnati 5 - Stockton 0)

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.

Friday, February 29 - (Utah 3 - Stockton 1)

Goaltender Nathan Lawson made 30 saves as the Utah Grizzlies sent the Thunder to a 3-1 loss before a crowd of 8,822 at the Stockton Arena Friday night. Keith Johnson, Ryan Kinasewich and James Sanford scored first period goals for the Grizzlies, while rookie David Rohlfs netted his 14th goal of the season in the third period to break Lawson's shutout bid.

Saturday, March 1 - (Stockton 3 - Cincinnati 1)

Goaltender Tim Boron made 42 saves and Brandon Schwartz had a goal and an assist to help lift the Thunder to a 3-1 victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones, ending Cincinnati's league-record 17-game winning streak in front of a crowd of 6,990 at Stockton Arena on Saturday. The Thunder gave the Cyclones its first loss since Jan. 13 at Reading and in the process ended all-star rookie David Desharnais' league-record 20-game assist streak, who scored the only goal for Cincinnati. Lance Monych, Schwartz and Tom Zanoski scored for the Thunder.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

FRIDAY, 3/7 vs. Idaho Steelheads

- Lunch Box Night (presented by KAT Country 103 and Valley MRI) * The first 2,000 kids (ages 12 and under) in attendance receive a commemorative Thunder lunch box!

- Be A Winner! Night (presented by Bank of Agriculture & Commerce)

* Students who earned honor roll status for a recent grading period will receive free tickets for today's game!

UPCOMING MILESTONES:

o Jason Beeman is 21 games away from 100 in his ECHL career

o Brian Lee is 10 games away from 200 in his professional career

o Lance Monych is 3 points away from 100 in his professional career

o Brandon Schwartz is 6 points away from 100 in his ECHL career

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

TEAM NOTES:

o Goaltender Glenn Fisher had a .933 save percentage in the month of February

o Rookie goaltender Tim Boron is tied for second in the ECHL with three shutouts

o Lance Monych is tied for 9th in the ECHL with 27 goals

o Stockton leads the ECHL in attendance with 193,973 fans (6,466 average)

o Stockton is 22-12-1 when scoring first

o Stockton is tied for 4th in the league with 7 shorthanded goals on the road

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

(courtesy of The Record)

"The Stockton Thunder ended the longest streak in the league, and I think it sent the message that if we play our game, we can beat anyone."

- Thunder left wing Tom Zanoski on last Saturday's 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones

"There's no guarantee which of those guys are coming, so there's a lot of guesswork," Cichocki said. "Some are filling in at Springfield and might for a while, some will come to us."

- Thunder head coach Chris Cichocki on possible re-assigned players from the Springfield Falcons of the AHL

"It was great to be back and to get that goal."

- Right wing Lance Monych on his first goal with the Thunder, last Monday against Phoenix, since being re-acquired in a February trade with Mississippi



ECHL Stories from March 4, 2008


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