Stockton Thunder Prepare For Sunday Meeting With Bakersfield

Published on January 24, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


The Thunder faces the Bakersfield Condors in the ninth meeting of the season between both teams at Stockton Arena on Sunday, continuing a Thunder record 11-game homestand. Both teams face each other 12 times for the 2009-10 season and in the last meeting, the Condors defeated the Thunder in overtime, 5-4 at Stockton Arena on Jan. 10. Stockton carries at lifetime record of 15-15-9 against Bakersfield and leads the season series, 4-2-1. Entering the week, Stockton is 12 points behind the Condors for first place in the division.

LAST 3 THUNDER GAMES

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.

STK 4 - ONT 2 (1/17/10): Defenseman Justin DaCosta's third period power-play goal snapped a 2-2 tie with 12:12 remaining, helping lift the Thunder to a 4-2 victory over the Pacific Division rival Ontario Reign before a crowd of 4,932 at Stockton Arena on Sunday. The Thunder, who reached the.500 mark for the first time since Nov. 7 and have ripped off a 5-0-2 run in the last seven home games, moved ahead of the idle Las Vegas Wranglers into sixth place in the National Conference and second in the Pacific Division heading into the All-Star break. Garet Hunt, Jason Pitton and Igor Gongalsky (empty net goal) added to the Thunder scoring, while goaltender Andrew Perugini made 30 saves to earn the win.

WELCOME ABOARD

A series of roster moves paved the way for two new members of the Thunder to make 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. 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.

THUNDER CROWDS ROLLING IN

The Thunder leads the ECHL in attendance with an average of 5,928 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).

AS GOOD AS GOLD

The Thunder are scheduled to sport their third jersey in today's game, the first of its kind added to the team's uniform scheme. Based in the Thunder's gold color, the jersey features white bolts with a black trim on the front and back of the shoulders and extending to the arms along with a dominant black colored trim on the shoulders and arms. The jersey additionally pays tribute to a classic hockey look by featuring tie-down laces at the base of the collar.

UPCOMING THUNDER THIRD JERSEY SCHEDULE

Sun. Jan. 24 vs. Bakersfield 4:00 p.m.

Sun. Jan. 31 vs. Alaska 4:00 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 21 vs. Utah 4:00 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 28 vs. Las Vegas 4:00 p.m.

ALL-STAR IS SHINING

Rookie center Chris D'Alvise, who had an assist representing the Thunder at the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game, is on an 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.

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.

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