Thunder Open up 10th Anniversary Season on the Road

Published on October 17, 2014 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


Arena: Rabobank Arena

Date: Friday, October 19

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Broadcast: ECHL.TV and Spreaker beginning at 6:45 p.m.

Last Year's Record: Stockton went 5-4-2 in 11 games against the Condors

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

Tonight

The Thunder are back at Rabobank Arena for the first official time since Game 2 of the 2014 Western Conference Semifinals. Bakersfield would not only win the games at home but also took the series when it shifted back to Stockton.

Thunder Open 10th Anniversary Season

The Thunder open up their 10th season on the road for the fifth time in their history. Stockton has only ever won two Opening Night games, one at home and one on the road. The Opening Night game on the road was a 6-1 win against Bakersfield on 10/20/06 while the Opening Night win at home came last season against Colorado when the Thunder won 5-0 on 10/19/13.

Preseason Summary

The Thunder went winless in the preseason as they fell to the Bakersfield Condors on October 10 and then to the Ontario Reign on October 12. The Thunder were doomed by the penalty kill in the preseason as they allowed six goals off 14 shorthanded opportunities.

Know the Enemy

The team may not have Brossoit, but Bakersfield has two solid netminders in Ty Rimmer and Frans Tuohimaa between the pipes. We could see some familiar faces tonight in players like Joe Marciano, Nick Pageau, Mitch Holmberg, Colin Joe, Nick MacNeil, and Chase Schaber.

The biggest change besides the netminder for the Condors? Former Head Coach Troy Mann headed to back to Hershey (AHL) to take the head coaching job. Jean-Francois Houle takes the reigns in his first season coaching pro hockey. Previously, Houle coached the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Lewiston MAINEiacs in the QMJHL. Houle was drafted himself by the Montreal Canadiens in the fourth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Houle played 216 ECHL games with the New Orleans Brass and Tallahassee Tiger Sharks.

Who to Watch

Peter Sivak is one of many players making their official debut in a Thunder sweater tonight, but for Sivak, tonights game comes against the team he's had the second most success against in his ECHL career.

In 18 games against the Condors while with the San Francisco Bulls and Alaska Aces, the man from Cheb, Czech Republic has 12 goals and 14 assists (26 points) against Bako. His tremendous performances against Bakersfield can only be bested by his performances against the Thunder (18 games, 13 goals, 15 assists, 28 points).

Philly the Defender

Adam Phillips has seen time both as a defenseman and as a forward during training camp, but the 6'6", 207lb. rookie will begin the regular season playing on the back end.

"Very intelligent player, he has a lot of range and reach," Kromm said. "He's played a lot of defense so his defensive mindset is very good, but he's got some offensive skill as well." Phillips follows in his brother Brad's footsteps as Brad Phillips tended the Thunder net in 3 games last season.

A Modern Day Reggie Dunlop

Garet Hunt begins his first season as a player and assistant coach with the team. Garet has played on the Thunder since 2008-09, serving as the team captain since 2012-13. The veteran forward has played a franchise record 383 games for the Thunder and is coming off his best offensive season with 14 goals, 22 assists and 36 points. Two of Hunt's 14 goals came against the Condors while the Thunder captain chipped in 4 of his 22 helpers against the CA-99 rival.

Coaches Quotes

"Both teams will have their full roster with everyone in the lineup, [Ryan Constant ] wasn't playing, we didn't have [Keith] Seabrook in the lineup, so it was a younger lineup and I'm sure it was the same for them. It's all for real today and both teams will dress their best 18 players and see how it goes." - Coach on difference between preseason game vs. Bakersfield and regular season game

"Adam Phillips has been playing center for most of the camp here, with the exception of the first few scrimmages, but now he's going to be playing defense on a more permanent basis for us. Seabrook hasn't played so it's the first opportunity we have to see him in action." - Coach on defensive changes

"Obviously for [Landon Oslanski], it's a chance to play in a situation where he's getting lots of minutes in Rapid City. He'll get a chance to play a lot and we get a chance to put Adam [Phillips] back [to defense]." - Coach on the Oslanski deal

"We have a three-in-three so both guys are going to be playing. It's not a situation where a guy will play and then have to sit for a week before another game. Both guys get action and we'll make a decision on Sunday on what we'll do on Sunday, but most likely we'll see both guys in the first two games." -Coach on the starting goaltender for the season opener

"It's going to be a grueling weekend for the guys, throwing them right into the fire with three games in just two-and-a-half days so we just have to be prepared and make sure we have healthy bodies and healthy legs ready to go for that Sunday [home] opener and put on a good performance for our fans." - Coach on the three-in-three and the key to a successful weekend

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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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