
We Paint the Ice Tonight vs. Ontario
December 30, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release
The Thunder will invite fans to paint the ice after the game tonight against the Ontario Reign. The two teams will square off on the ice tomorrow.
Arena: Stockton Arena
Date: Tuesday, December 30
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Giveaway: 2013-14 WE PAINT the Ice Night Magnet to the first 500 fans
Broadcast: ECHL.TV and Spreaker beginning at 7:15 p.m. PST
This Year's Record: Stockton is 0-2-0-0 against Ontario
Follow the Thunder Facebook Page for occasional updates or follow @StocktonThunder on Twitter for the play-by-play tweeting!
WE PAINT the Ice Night Tonight!
The Thunder will invite fans to paint the Stockton Arena ice surface after the game tonight. Get your tickets now and get to the Arena early to sign up to paint! We will allow one parent or guardian out on the ice with their children. Adults won't be allowed to paint the ice on their own so if you want to try and sign up to paint, find a niece, nephew, grandkid, neighbor, etc... and bring them to the game! Need tickets? Check out our holiday voucher plans, including a specific Paint the Ice plan featuring two Upper Premium tickets and a replica jersey or bobblehead for $39 !
Sign up for the Skate
If you and your family are interested in skating on the Painted ice after the game on New Year's Eve, you can call Jessica Schaffer now at (209) 373-1519 or email her atJSchaffer@StocktonThunder.com with your desired skate size (no half sizes), payment information and contact information. For those who have their own skates, skating will only cost $5 while those who need skates will need to pay an additional $5 rental fee ($10 total for those without skates).
The ice will be zammed post-game to better see all of the designs! Fans who will be skating are asked to move to Section 122 for the duration of the zamming.
Space is limited so call Jessica now or you can sign up at the Thunder Information Booth tonight. There will not be ANY opportunity to sign up tomorrow.
Last Time vs. Ontario
After seeing the Reign what seemed like every other game last season, the teams have only played twice and you have to go back to Veterans Day in Ontario for the last contest.
However it was a similar result as the first Ontario win as the SoCal side rattled off 5 straight goals before Lukas Sutter's first professional goal. Ontario added two more as they took down the Thunder 7-1.
Tonight
The Thunder host the Ontario Reign hoping to slow down Derek Couture and company and get their first win over their rival from Southern California. The Thunder have fallen in both previous meetings by a combined 14-3.
Painting Information
1. Sign up immediately on the Fan Deck - Space is limited so be sure to sign up sooner rather than later. You'll need all child participants and the parent/guardian who plans on going down on the ice with them at the table as you will need a waiver signed and you will all get wristbands. This event is for kids so if you are an adult that would like to paint, now is a great time to bring a niece, nephew, grandkid, neighbor, family friend, etc... who might like to paint with you!
2. After the game we paint - After the game the ice crew will go to work preparing our ice for paint. While they go to work you will need to sit in the designated section for your wristband. We will call colors up for painting when we are ready. Meanwhile, the ice crew will be scraping off a few layers of ice while also leaving the ice dry. This will make it LESS slippery when you walk out. It is still ice though so please watch your step.
3. Be mindful of the rules and regulations of painting the ice - We will have plenty of people wanting to paint the ice tonight so please keep your art to a 1 ft. x 1 ft. area. Please do not run on the ice. Sessions will be timed so please find a spot to paint, create your part of our masterpiece and vacate the ice so we can get new painters on. If you have paint left in your cup, let the good folks at the exit know so we can recycle it for another painter. Most importantly please have a lot of fun!!!!
Who to Watch
Mario Larocque is playing in his third game with the team and coming off a solid performance against the Bakersfield Condors on Saturday. The defenseman scored his first goal when he batted a puck out of mid air, hit the post, but the big man followed his shot up and put it past the goalie.
Afterwards a bit of a scrap ensued between Larocque and with Bakersfield goalie Frans Tuohimaa resulting in matching penalties. When Larocque emerged out of the box he joined the power play unit and slammed in a clapper from the point to score his second of the game.
His time on the ice has increased in each game, and with a gifted partner like Keith Seabrook on one side of him, it will be nice to see what his third game for the team has in store!
Back for the Thunder
The Thunder were returned goalie Kent Simpson from Bridgeport via the New York Islanders and forward Peter Sivak from the Sound Tigers. Simpson is coming off a 32-save win over the Idaho Steelheads last Saturday and did not see any additional time in Bridgeport. He was called up on Christmas Day after the Islanders retroactively placed Jaroslav Halak on the injured reserve while also calling up Kevin Poulin from the Sound Tigers.
Sivak was pointless in three games after being called up on December 8 before the Thunder went to Colorado. He is just two games shy of his 150th ECHL contest and returns on an eight-game point streak.
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 146.
That means Constant is just 5 points back of tying the record while Hunt is 10 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 55 markers, putting the Thunder captain 17 shy of tying the record.
Stopping Couture and Co.
The Thunder have allowed 14 goals to the Reign in two games. Yea...far too much.
Leading the way in production against the Thunder is Ontario captain Derek Couture who has 5 goals and 2 assists in the two games against the Thunder. Much of the reason for the success is Couture's play around the net. His big body prohibits the Thunder goaltenders from getting great looks at outside shots, however, the Thunder defense is bigger and has some experience under their belt, and will need to slow down Couture in order to beat the Reign tonight.
Right behind Couture is Matt White who has 6 points against the Thunder in two games.
Streaks on the Line tonight
Peter Sivak is on an eight game point streak (5G, 6A)
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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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