Mid-season review – Stockton Thunder

STOCKTON, Ca – Seasons greetings to all.   The Stockton Thunder probably welcomed this short break to rest and prepare for the rest of the season, as have many others.   Amidst their longest road trip of the season, the Thunder has a 3-3 record with one more road game this month.
 
Stockton had only three home games during this month, so the fans have had to resort to B2 and the radio to get their hockey fix.   Unfortunately, the last three games against the Victoria Salmon Kings were a bit of a downer following a great three-game sweep of the Alaska Aces in their home territory earlier in the month.
 
The Thunder has 10-14-1-2 record overall and 23 points, and is 5-5 in their last ten games. They are tied for last place in the National Conference and there is only one team behind them league wide, the Johnstown Chiefs.   Just when they fix a problem area, another area that was working, becomes deficient.  
 
Early in the season, Stockton had experienced some scoring difficulties, while their net minders were keeping them in the game. Andrew Perugini had a 4-4-2 record in late November, with 2.79 goals against average and a .913 save percentage, and was fourth in the ECHL.   He received his first call up to the Springfield Falcons (AHL) and appeared in four games, slipping to 4.04 goals against average and a .874 save percentage.  
 
Stockton ’s other goalie Bryan Pitton was 4-7-1 in his first thirteen games of the season, with 3.28 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.   Both assigned goaltenders are assigned by affiliate AHL or NHL contracts and split the net responsibilities.   But in many cases inconsistencies in both Pitton and Perugini remain a problem area.
 
In late November, Coach Matt Thomas made some aggressive moves, trading forwards Colin Power, Mike Bayrack, and Chris Davis and releasing Colton Yellow Horn in exchange to signing free-agent forwards Matt Robinson, J.F. Caudron, and Brett Hemingway and acquiring defenders Anthony Aiello and Justin Dacosta to shake things up.  
 
The change helped with scoring, and the first three road games in Alaska with the new members looked promising. Handing a sweeping defeat to the Aces is not an easy task, in Sullivan arena especially. This was only the second time a team swept them in the Aces ECHL history. The wins proved especially rewarding for Hemingway and Robinson since they had been released from the Aces earlier in the season, before being picked up by Stockton.
 
Robinson was named Sherwood-Hockey ECHL player of the week for December 7th, following the wins in Alaska.   He posted seven points (6 goals, 1 assist) in his last seven games.   Currently Robinson is four points from 100 in his ECHL career.
 
The next three games over three nights, in beautiful Victoria proved that more fine-tuning is necessary for the Thunder.   In the first game, the Salmon kings defeated Stockton 7-2.   Stockton.   The second game resulted in a shutout loss, 2-0 and the third game, Stockton fell short in a comeback, losing 4-3.
 
Left Winger Judd Blackwater (12 goals, 13 assists) and Center Orem Eizenman (7 goals, 18 assists) are tied for first on the Thunder with 25 points each.   Blackwater is among the top five power-play goal makers league wide, with seven.   Kenny MacAulay is the leading defenseman with 13 points (2 goals, 11 assists).   MacAuley is fourth among the ECHL in power-play assists with eleven.
 
Stockton is second in the league in power-play goals at just over 23 percent (31 for 134), and is also second in fan attendance averaging 5,874 fans in twelve home games to date. 
 
A look at current goaltending statistics for Perugini and Pitton further demonstrates the need for more consistency in the net. Perugini has appeared in 16 games with 2.79 goals against average and .915 save percentage and one shutout, while Pitton has 14 games to date with 3.66 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.
 
  The final road game of the series is on Saturday, December 26th at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, against the Condors.   Stockton has a 13-14-8 all-time record against the Condors, and is 3-3 for the current season. Then the Condors return to Stockton on the 29th and Stockton hits the road again for four more games.  
The Stockton fans have an action packed schedule after January 10th, with eleven home games before the end of the month.
 
The Thunder players spread out across the continent following their game in Victoria earlier in the week, for short visits with friends and family for the Holidays.   One special holiday will surely be celebrated by Coach Matt Thomas, with his wife and first born son Devlin.
 
Happy Holidays!   
 
Contact the writer at: shellie.lima@prohockeynews.com  
Contact the photographer at: jack.lima@prohockeynews.com