Tonight's Game: Stockton Thunder Vs. Ontario Reign

Published on February 15, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


February 15, 2009 - Stockton Arena. Faceoff: 4:00 p.m.

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

The Thunder faces the Ontario Reign in the eighth matchup of the year between both clubs and the first time both teams meet at Stockton Arena since Dec. 6. The game finishes a stretch of three games in three nights for the Thunder at Stockton Arena. The Thunder is 3-3-1 vs. Ontario this year. The teams last met on Feb. 6 in Ontario when the Thunder defeated the Reign 5-1 with just 13 skaters in the lineup. Entering the game, the Thunder stands just three points behind Ontario for second place in the Pacific Division.

TONIGHT'S GUEST

The Stockton Thunder welcomes staff from the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League to tonight's game, attended by Oilers skating and skills coach Steve Serdachny.

HOCKEY AND VOWS

The Stockton Thunder, in partnership with KAT Country 103 successfully hosted "The Great American Wedding Rink" last night, an event which 103 couples tied the knot or renewed their vows on the ice tonight during the first intermission on the most romantic holiday of the year. Radio personality "D.J. Walker" of KAT Country 103, a licensed minister in the state of California, presided over the ceremonies.

LAST THREE THUNDER GAMES

2/14/09 - BAK 5 at STK 4: The Bakersfield Condors scored five unanswered goals, including four in the final period of play to erase a 3-0 deficit and defeat the Stockton Thunder (24-22-5, 53 points), 5-4 before a crowd of 7,522 at Stockton Arena on Saturday night. Veteran Cory Urquhart scored twice and added two assists on the same night that he was honored with a bobblehead doll giveaway. Mike Lalonde and Ryan MacMurchy added first period goals, as the trio combined for 10 points on the Condors defense. Bakersfield was led by a three-point game (1g-2a) from Mike Wirll while Dave Bonk scored the eventual game-winner in the third period.

2/13/09 - UTA 1 at STK 2 (SO): The Stockton Thunder won their seventh home in the last 10 attempts while rookie goaltender Andrew Perugini tied a club record with his ninth straight victory in a 2-1 shootout win over the Utah Grizzlies before a crowd of 5,461 at Stockton Arena on Friday. The Thunder, who began a stretch of playing three games in three nights at home, beat Utah on their own home ice for the first time since Dec. 2, 2006. Perugini's record tied Devan Dubnyk's mark, set in 2006-07. Captain Matt O'Dette scored the only Thunder goal in regulation while Utah's only goal came from Tom May.

2/9/09 - IDA 6 at STK 1: Battling through their fourth game in six nights with a shorthanded roster, the Stockton Thunder (23-21-5, 51 points) had its five-game winning streak snapped by giving up six straight goals in a 6-1 loss to the Idaho Steelheads before 4,245 fans at Stockton Arena on Monday night. Kris Sparre led Idaho's offense with the first hat trick of his pro career, while veteran Marty Flichel registered three assists. Mike Lalonde scored the only Thunder goal while Idaho goaltender Matt Climie registered 17 saves.

THUNDER'S WISH IS 'GINI'S COMMAND

Andrew Perugini is on a 9-1-0 run in his last 10 games, lifting his record to 13-7-2 as of Feb. 15. Perugini won nine games in a row from Jan. 7 - Feb. 13, a feat shared with Devan Dubnyk (9-0-0 from 3/9 - 4/4/07). The rookie goaltender, who was assigned to the Thunder from the Springfield Falcons, garnered the first shutout of his pro career on Jan. 28 at Victoria, stopping 38 shots. In the nine game winning streak, Perugini had a 1.64 goals-against-average and a .943 save percentage. Perugini's efforts helped him finish runner-up for Reebok ECHL Goaltender of the Week (Jan. 26-Feb.1) and RBC Financial Group ECHL Saver of the Month for January.

CROWDING OUT THE ECHL

The Thunder leads the ECHL in attendance with an average of 6,327 through 22 home games, has 13 sellouts in the team's franchise history and finished last year as the ECHL's attendance leader for the third consecutive season. It was the second straight year the Thunder surpassed the mark of 230,000 fans for one season. The Thunder's yearly attendance total finished at 239,337, an average of 6,648 fans per game. The Thunder became the first team since 2004-05 to lead the ECHL in attendance for three straight seasons (Florida led the ECHL in attendance for five straight seasons). Stockton's crowd of 9,737 on Nov. 8 against Victoria was the team's first sellout of the year.

STEP UP TO THE MIKE

Returning to the lineup this season is left wing Mike Lalonde, who is the Thunder all-time leading goal scorer with 69 goals and ascended to the top perch as the Thunder all-time leading scorer with 145 points, scoring the milestone point on a goal on Dec. 21 at Ontario. Selected as the first player in Thunder history to the ECHL All-Star Game (2006), Lalonde led the ECHL with 308 shots and paced the Thunder with 29 goals as a rookie in 2005-06. Lalonde spent last season with Tilburg of the Netherlands League, guiding his team to the Dutch Cup and scoring 92 points (43g-49a) in just 34 games.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"He does all the little things right; that's why so many teams looked at him and wanted him," Thomas said. "That's a stat (+13 rating since Dec. 31) that is pretty consistent with a players attention to detail defensively. And Daryl is a smart, hard-working player. He doesn't make many mistakes." - Head Coach Matt Thomas on defenseman Daryl Marcoux, The Record, 2/13/09

"It's nice for the guys and coaches to have confidence in me, and that was a great win for us," O'Dette said. "We need all the wins we can get." - Defenseman Matt O'Dette on a Thunder 2-1 shootout win vs. Utah, the same day he was named captain, The Record, 2/14/09

RADIO: 1420 KSTN

INTERNET: www.StocktonThunder.com (B2 Networks)

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ECHL Stories from February 15, 2009


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