Perugini Returns, Pitton Recalled to Edmonton

Published on December 12, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder, the proud ECHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League and Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League, announced today that goaltender Andrew Perugini (pair-uh-JEE-nee) has been reassigned to the Thunder from Springfield and goaltender Bryan Pitton (PITT-in) has been recalled from the Thunder to Edmonton.

Perugini, 21, returns from the first trip to the AHL of his career after appearing in four games with Springfield, going 0-3-1 with a 4.04 goals-against-average and .874 save percentage. This year, he ranked fourth in the ECHL with 306 saves and was 4-4-2 with a 2.79 goals-against-average and .913 save percentage for the Thunder before being recalled on Nov. 24.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound goaltender is under contract to Springfield and has participated in Oilers preseason training camp the last two seasons. He appeared in 37 games for the Thunder during his rookie season last year, going 21-13-3 with two shutouts, a .908 save percentage and 2.82 goals-against-average.

Last year, Perugini became the second goaltender in Thunder history to surpass the 20-win plateau (Dubnyk, 2006-07) and tied a Thunder record with nine consecutive wins (Dubnyk, 2006-07), ending Feb. 13 in a 2-1 shootout win against Utah.

Pitton, 21, is the first player in Thunder history to be recalled directly to the NHL and has appeared in 13 ECHL games this year, going 4-7-1 with a .907 save percentage and 3.28 goals-against-average.

The 6-foot-2, 176-pound goaltender was selected by the Oilers in the fifth round (133rd overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and has appeared in 47 career games in a Thunder uniform in two seasons (2008-10), compiling a 13-26-4 record, .893 save percentage and 3.36 goals-against-average.

Additionally, the Thunder announced center Craig Valette has been placed on the three-day injured reserve list and right wing Riley Emmerson has been activated off injured reserve.

For the fourth consecutive season, Stockton is serving as the AA minor-league affiliate for the Oilers. The Thunder has advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs three consecutive years since the affiliation began in the 2006-07 season. In total, seven Thunder players, including two who have been selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft (Ryan O'Marra and Devan Dubnyk), have been named to play in the ECHL All-Star Game in the last three years while in the Oilers farm system and seven players with experience in a Thunder uniform have advanced to make their NHL debut since 06-07.

The Thunder returns to play tonight in a rematch against the Alaska Aces at Sullivan Arena, beginning at 8:15 p.m. to continue a seven-game road trip. The game can be heard on radio at 1420 KSTN and viewed online at www.stocktonthunder.com, courtesy of B2 Networks (audio is free of charge).

The Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine, has led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and drew 223,854 fans to Stockton Arena in 2008-09. Season, Group, Mini Plan and Individual Tickets for 2009-10 are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit http://www.stocktonthunder.com/.

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