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Teddy Bear Toss Tonight vs. Colorado

January 24, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


Be sure to bring your stuffed animals as after the Thunder score their first goal of the game, fans are invited to toss their teddy bears onto the ice which will be collected and distributed to children in need on Tuesday.

Arena: Stockton Arena

Date: Saturday, January 24

Time: 7:30 p.m. (Doors at 6:30 p.m.)

Giveaway: Thunder Goes Pink Jersey Magnets to the first 500 fans

Broadcast: ECHL.TV and Spreaker beginning at 7:15 p.m. PST

This Season's Record: Stockton is 1-5-0-0 against Colorado

Follow the Thunder Facebook Page for occasional updates or follow @StocktonThunder on Twitter for the play-by-play tweeting!

Teddy Bear Toss Instructions

The Thunder invite fans to toss the teddy bears and stuffed animals that you brought to the game onto the ice after the Thunder score their first goal of the game.

The bears will be collected and then distributed to children in need this upcoming Tuesday, which will also be the day that we will also find out how many bears YOU tossed onto the ice. Last year a total of 5,243 bears were donated to children!

Important to note that this is one of the few exceptions to the rule of throwing things onto the ice. Please throw all your bears onto the ice after the first goal. The team can be penalized if you throw bears, or other items (which of course isn't allowed) at any other time during the game.

The game is getting closer and closer to that sellout mark so if you need tickets, be sure to call and speak with one of our helpful account executives who can help you find a plan that will work for you and your family or group. Call (209) 373-1500 now to secure your seats for this fun promotion!

Last Time vs. Colorado

The Stockton Thunder got out to a great start in the period but a turnover right in front of their blueline resulted in Kyle Kraemer stealing the puck, finding recently reassigned Taylor Vause and a backhander through the crease was tapped in by Trent Daavettila.

In the second J.T. Barnett found the puck deep in the offensive zone and fed back to the point for Adam Phillips who fired on net, off the pads of Clarke Saunders, and to the waiting stick of Tyler Maxwell who buried his team leading 13th goal of the season to knot it at one.

The team once again found themselves on the power play early in the third but Colorado came rushing back and a shot that was saved by Kent Simpson found the skate of Vinny Scarsella who was back checking hard into the zone and past the goalie.

The team would tie it up moments later off a great power-play wristshot by Austin Levi in his first game back from the AHL, however Colin Joe scored the go ahead goal off a lucky dish from Vitalijs Pavlovs and Kraemer sealed the 4-2 win for Colorado with the empty netter. The Thunder have now dropped nine in-a-row.

Tonight

The Thunder host their 10th ever Teddy Bear Toss, the only signature event that has occurred annually since 2005-06. The Thunder are in their second game of a four-game homestand looking to snap a nine-game losing skid.

A Teddy Bear Toss History Lesson

The Thunder have played a Teddy Bear Toss game every year since the team has been in existence making this the 10th toss in the history of the team.

One of the unfortunate things is that the number of bears in the early years that were collected has been lost over time, but one thing that hasn't been lost is who scored the goal and at what time.

1-28-06 | Nathan Martz 12:20 in 2nd

1-13-07 | Mike Lalonde 4:24 in 3rd

1-19-08 | Brandon Schwartz 2:05 in 3rd

1-17-09 | Igor Gongalsky 16:35 in 1st

1-30-10 | NONE (Tossed after shootout)

1-22-11 | Jim McKenzie 5:31 in 1st

1-21-12 | Jesse Fratkin 19:59 in 1st

1-26-13 | Harrison Reed 5:14 in 1st

1-18-14 | Alex MacLeod 2:48 in 1st

*bolded games are wins

The Thunder have posted a 5-1-3 record in these games having beaten Bako twice and Idaho, Ontario and Las Vegas once. Their only true loss came to Las Vegas in 2007-08.

Who to Watch

Call it a gut feeling but Peter Sivak is due for a big game.

The forward has been held relatively quiet (by his standards at least) in the last four games, with only two assists in that span. Sivak, who was on a team-best 10-game point streak, hasn't scored a goal since January 6th at Colorado. He had a three-game point streak January 4th through 7th but has been held in check for the most part in 2015.

This obviously won't last long as Sivak, who still remains at a point-per-game with 26 points in 26 games, is one of the most talented players in the entire league. For the first time all season, his plus minus is now below even, which again, won't last long, as Sivak is also one of the most defensively responsible forwards in the league as well.

All-Time Watch

We're monitoring the situation between Garet Hunt, Ryan Constant and Mike Lalonde as Lalonde's all-time lead in points could be in danger of falling to one of the Thunder's star players soon.

Lalonde's 156 career points is in jeopardy as Constant pulled ahead with 151 points with the Thunder while Hunt is right behind them both with 148.

That means Constant is just 5 points back of tying the record while Hunt is 8 points back of tying the record. Both players have missed time due to injuries this season as Hunt missed 11 games while Constant was placed on Injured Reserve on December 14.

Hunt is the only one close to Lalonde's all-time record of 72 goals with his 56 markers, putting the Thunder captain 16 shy of tying the record.

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