Thunder at Alaska in Second Game of Three-In-Three

Published on November 15, 2014 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


The Thunder look for a better result tonight in their second-straight game against the Alaska Aces at Sullivan Arena.

Arena: Sullivan Arena

Date: Saturday, November 15

Time: 8:15 p.m. PST

Broadcast: ECHL.TV and Spreaker beginning at 8:00 p.m. PST

This Year's Record: Stockton is 1-2-0-0 vs. Alaska

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

Last Time Out

The Thunder got on the board first when Keith Seabrook put his third goal of the year past Niklas Lundstrom on the power play but nearly seven minutes later the Aces struck on a weird play where Philippe Trudeau made the initial save but didn't know where the puck was. As the goalie retreated into the net he uncovered the puck where Brad Richard deposited the loose puck to tie the game up at one. This goal sent teddy bears onto the ice as the Aces were hosting the first of two straight nights of Teddy Bear Toss.

After the intermission, the Aces came out and were able to use their fast paced transitions to garner a number of odd man rushes, eventually scoring four second period goals on odd man rush opportunities or backdoor taps. The Thunder were able to score one goal off a blast from defenseman Loic Leduc who registered his second career pro goal when he rifled a shot from the right circle that whizzed past Lundstrom to draw the Thunder within one, however the Aces tacked on two at the end to go into the dressing rooms after 40 minutes with the 5-2 lead and ended the game winning 6-2.

Tonight

The Thunder take to the big ice for the second-straight night in hopes of a repeat of their first series back in Stockton in October. During the Thunder's Military Appreciation Weekend, the Aces won the first night but the Thunder handled the team from Anchorage in the second game back at Stockton Arena.

Who to Watch

Tonight's game sees once again the man to watch as James Henry who had been previously held pointless in six straight games, but the centerman came out and registered two assists (not initially credited with the assist on the power-play goal).

One thing that helps Henry is having Peter Sivak back with the Thunder after a stint in the AHL with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. While paired together, Henry had a four-game point streak while Sivak had a five game point streak that ended in the first game back in Idaho.

Henry leads the team in points against the Aces as in his three games the forward put in a goal and added 5 assists.

A tough record

The Thunder have not faired well against the Aces in their 78 all-time meetings. The Thunder have mustered a 29-38-11 all-time record against the Aces for a winning percentage of .442 in 10 seasons of playing the Aces.

The only Western Conference teams the Thunder have ever had more trouble with was the Fresno Falcons. In 35 games against the Falcons the Thunder went 9-20-6 for a winning percentage of .343.

Looking back on a year-to-year basis, the Thunder have only ever twice had winning records against the Aces. In the previous nine seasons, the Thunder had a winning record in 2008-09 when the team went 6-0-1 against Alaska (.929 winning percentage) and again in 2009-10 posting a 5-1-4 record (.700 winning percentage) against the Aces.

The Thunder went .500 against Alaska in 2007-08 and in 2011-12 but in the other five seasons the Thunder have been unable to post winning records. The Central California side may be 1-2-0 against the Aces currently but including tonight's game, the Thunder and Aces meet up 11 more times (six games in Stockton, five in Alaska) in the 2014-15 season.

Peter Sivak Returns to the Thunder

Former Alaska Aces forward and 2013 Kelly Cup Champion Peter Sivak returns to the Thunder after a brief stint in the AHL with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Sivak has 2 goals and 5 assists in just 7 ECHL games, including a goal and 2 assists against his former team.

Sivak is an extremely intelligent player with years of pro experience overseas and in North America during the past three years. Sivak burst onto the scene when former San Francisco Bulls coach Pat Curcio signed the forward to a contract back in 2012-13. The Cheb, Czech Republic native played 64 games that season and had 33 goals and 23 assists while also registering 4 goals and an assist while with the Worcester Sharks of the AHL.

The following season saw Sivak sign with the Aces where he had 83 points in 67 games played and was the Plus Performer of the year after finishing +49. For the second straight season Peter also spent time in the AHL when he was loaned to the Abbotsford Heat but was held pointless in 3 games played.

Sivak played two games with the Sound Tigers this season back on November 1 and 2, scoring a goal in his first foray back to the AHL.

About Alaska

The Alaska Aces will be wearing special jerseys tonight for their Military Appreciation Weekend game. In addition the team will once again host a Teddy Bear Toss tonight after having a "toss" last night.

The team also looks slightly different as the team traded Ross Ring-Jarvi to the Missouri Mavericks in order to reunite former Thunder broadcaster Mike Benton with former Thunder defenseman Colten Hayes. He has 1 goal in 3 GP for the Aces.

Hayes played in parts of two seasons with the Thunder, skating 72 total regular season games and scored 5 goals and 24 assists while with the team.

By far and away the best player for the Aces has been Olivier Archambault with 8 goals and 6 assists this season. The former 4th round pick of the Montreal Canadiens back in 2011 was assigned to the Aces by the Minnesota Wild after he signed a contract with the team due to his impressive performance during the 2014 NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan while with the Wild as an invitee.

Another impressive player has been defenseman Brad Richard who added his fourth and fifth goals of the season last night. Richard now leads all ECHL defenseman with his 5 goals.

13 feet 4 inches

13 feet four inches is the difference between the width of the ice surface in Stockton and the rink here at Sullivan Arena.

The home rink for the Alaska Aces might sacrifice a foot and a half behind each net, but the width is what makes the home ice advantage so helpful for the Aces. With the added space of the international ice surface, it means more time and space for defenseman at the point to get shots off and of course more space for players to move laterally around the ice in attempts to evade would be defenseman.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from November 15, 2014


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