Thunder Begin Three-In-Three with Colorado

Published on December 12, 2014 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


The Thunder go for their third win in a row tonight when they take on the Eagles at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado.

Arena: Budweiser Events Center

Date: Friday, December 12

Time: 6:05 p.m. PST (With the ceremony expected drop will be 6:18 p.m. PST)

Broadcast: ECHL.TV and Spreaker beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST

*BROADCAST NOTE: Due to a lengthy pregame ceremony for Colorado's Riley Nelson, the broadcast will begin 5 minutes before the original scheduled puck drop of 6:05 p.m. PST. The actual puck drop is expected around 6:18 p.m. PST

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

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

Kids Take Over Applications

The application process for Kids Take Over year number two has begun, as is the pre-registration for painting the ice. You MUST be a member of the Thunder Kids Club which is FREE to join for kids 12-years-old and younger. If you aren't a member yet, take a moment to sign up by clicking here.

Jobs available range from helping drive the Zamboni, to flexing your play-by-play skills on the broadcast! The team will make our "hires" during the week of December 15! Not only will you be applying for a job but the first 100 kids that are signed up will have a guaranteed spot to paint the ice on December 30! Apply now as we'll begin to make our hires next week!

Watch Party

Don't forget that the official home away from home is the University Plaza Waterfront Hotel. The hotel will have the games this weekend for FREE. You can enjoy some delicious food and beverages while watching the Thunder among friends.

Last Time Out

The game began with a great play from Greg Gardner who just minutes into the game was able to pull Thunder goalie and former netminder for the Eagles, Kent Simpson, out of his crease. Gardner went around the net and found Brock Nixon on the side of the net who tapped in the first goal.

The Thunder would respond when Sebastian Collberg hit Jack MacLellan up the boards. The Brown University grad would take on a defender one-on-one but would initially miss his first attempted shot. With the puck in between their feet, both players whacked at the puck with the Thunder forward connecting and putting it past Eagles goalie Doug Carr to tie the game. Moments later Brad Stebner freed Garet Hunt and J.T. Barnett on a two-on-one but the captain elected to keep it and fire a blistering wrist shot past Carr to put the Thunder on top 2-1.

The teams traded goals in the second period with Ryan Hayes scoring to make the game 3-2 on another shot placed above the goalie's shoulder but Nixon scored his second of the night when he tipped a point shot past Simpson on the power play.

The Eagles came at the Thunder in the third but in the end they couldn't beat Simpson and Keith Seabrook would put the puck in the empty net to seal a 4-2 Thunder win.

Riley Nelson

Long time Colorado Eagles player Riley Nelson is set to have his number raised to the rafters tonight at the Budweiser Events Center.

Nelson, who retired back on September 16, will have his #12 retired tonight leading to an extended pregame ceremony for the man who's played 11 seasons for the Eagles, and up until this year, every year since the Colorado Eagles began in 2003-04 as a Central Hockey League team.

The former captain now serves as the Video Coach and Special Consultant for the team. He leaves the team as the leader in near every statistical category.

While the Thunder are honored to see the celebration of a great career, the team will have to come out focused as they'll have to battle a motivated Colorado team and what should be a very packed and loud house.

Tonight

The Thunder hope to get closer to a .500 record when they begin the three-in-three with the Eagles. Currently the Thunder have a 10-12-1 record for a win-percentage of .457. They currently sit one point ahead of Alaska and just one point behind Colorado (who currently occupies the fourth and final spot in the playoffs) and Utah (who are fifth). The Thunder have won two games in-a-row.

Who to Watch

We've done a lot of focus in this section recently on the recent loaned players but today it's about time we talked about Jack MacLellan and feature him as tonight's player to watch.

Certainly MacLellan has enjoyed some chemistry with players like Alex Mallet and Sebastian Collberg but he's been working hard out on the ice and he's been rewarded with some big points.

MacLellan is on a six-game point streak dating back to November 26 which has seen him pot 4 goals and add 4 assists.

Competitive Division

The Pacific Division has been extremely competitive this season and all seven teams in the division are separated by just 9 points.

With their win over Ontario last night, Bakersfield has jumped on the division lead but they also have played the most games in the Western Conference (25), meaning every team has a couple games in hand on the Condors.

If the playoffs were to start today, the Condors would take on the Eagles while the Reign would face the Idaho Steelheads, leaving Utah, Stockton, and Alaska out.

While it's way to early to be worrying about playoffs, there is no question that the Pacific Division has been the most competitive division, and arguably, the toughest in the ECHL.

In the East the North Division is separated by 18 points top to bottom, the East Division by 16 and the Central Division in the West is separated by 17 points.

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 150 points with the Thunder while Hunt is right behind them both with 144.

That means Constant is just 6 points back of tying the record while Hunt is 12 points back of tying the record.

Hunt is the only one close to Lalonde's all-time record of 72 goals with his 53 markers, putting the Thunder captain 19 shy of tying the record.

Streaks on the Line tonight

Jack MacLellan is on a six-game point streak (3G, 4A).

Ryan Constant is on a five-game point streak (1G, 6A).

Garet Hunt is on a three-game point streak (2G, 1A).

Sebastian Collberg is on a three-game point streak (1G, 3A).

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ECHL Stories from December 12, 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.

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