STOCKTON, Calif. – The Stockton Thunder are hoping to break out of a spiraling five game skid before the end of 2011. The Thunder has had a rough December, winning only three games in their last ten. Since the season began, Stockton is 12-13-1-2 (27 points) in 28 games, in third place in the Pacific Division, trailing Las Vegas (40 points) and Ontario (30 points).
The Thunder lacks consistency . They start out great, often scoring the first goal of the game, only to fall apart late in the game. In the third period overall season to date, Stockton has scored 27 goals, compared to 38 by their o pponents , w hile keeping fairly even in the first and second periods.
Perhaps some of the problem could be attributed to the lack of professional experience. This is a young team. Coach Matt Thomas noted early in the seaso n that there are eight players are less than 22 years of age on the roster. The team’s average age is less than 24, and that includes the two veterans, Kevin Baker (32) and Jason Morgan (35).
But the veterans contribute, not only by their leadership, but are the top two in points as well. Baker leads with 13 goals and 10 assists, while Morgan, who double-duties as assistant coach, has 9 goals and 13 assists.
In addition, Stockton is leading in penalty minutes served, with an average of nearly 25 minutes per game (698 currently). This can be a problem for a team that is in the lower half on the overall penalty kill, leading to goals by opponents on the man-advantage.
One area that Stockton has improved upon is their power play. They have posted a power play goal in five of their last six games, scoring on nine of 32 opportunities.
One last area that Stockton is well known for is their continued fan support. They remain number one among the ECHL for attendance with an average of 5,716 per game. This coming weekend, for two home games, that number should increase dramatically. The arena will host their first New Year’s Eve game with an indoor post-game fireworks show with high impact pyrotechnics.
The team has returned home following a short road trip mid-week to Bakersfield and Las Vegas. They were defeated by Bakersfield on Monday night in a heartbreaker, as the Condors Peter Boyd scored the tie breaker with less than three minutes remaining in the game to give them the come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Thunder.
The following night, the Wranglers hosted the Thunder for their ninth annual midnight game. This was the Thunder’s first ever midnight matchup, and Mitch O’Keefe’s 31 saves kept Stockton from scoring, resulting in the 5-2 Las Vegas win before a 4,622 crowd at the Orleans arena.
Coming up, the Thunder hosts the Ontario Reign for the last two games of 2011. They are 4-3-1 against the Reign this season. The fans are hoping to ring in the new year with wins. Contact the writer at shellie.lima@prohockeynews.com
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