Thunder, Reign set to open playoffs

STOCKTON, CA – The Stockton Thunder (32-33-5-2) have earned their 3^rd consecutive appearance in the Kelly Cup playoffs.   The Thunder placed 4^th in the Pacific Division and will take on the first seed Ontario Reign (38-29-4-2) commencing on Friday, April 10^th at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario.

 
It’s been a long season with several ups and downs.   The Thunder, an affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers began the season with 16 assigned affiliate players under the leadership of Chris Cichocki. Many believed the Thunder would finish much higher on the leader board than they did, but going through heavy roster movement up and down the affiliate chain throughout the season caused some problems. When the season ended, nearly 50 players donned the black and gold, some of them had over five separate call-ups to Springfield (AHL).   The multiple line changes created difficulties for the team with regards to continuity.
 
Line changes and player movement wasn’t the only change the Thunder endured.   Coach Cichocki, in his third year with the Thunder, was fired in late December following a series of losing games. Another unfortunate event was unfolding, by another team, in another town just south ofStockton in Fresno, California.   The Thunder’s rival Fresno Falcons were facing financial difficulties and in spite of a tremendous start to the season team management was forced to cease operations just after Christmas.  In a whirlwind week, Falcons’ Coach Matt Thomas was informed the team was shutting down and he was out of a job, as were each of his dedicated team-members.  
 
Within a matter of a few days, Cichocki was out and Thomas assumed the leadership of the Thunder.   Thomas brought along five former Falcons, causing yet more roster moves within the Thunders heavily-packed affiliated team line-up. He also brought with him a strong desire to win and a new philosophy for a young team.
 
Thomas signed three former Falcon defensemen and two forwards.   Thomas also brought along Falcons assistant coach Ryan Mougenel, to join the Thunder’s current assistant coach Tim O’Connell.   The unintended “merger” was complete, and the last place Stockton Thunder had a new chance at winning.
 
Now with playoff’s starting later this week, the rosters have been set. Thomas says “We’ve got a good group. When these guys are 100% committed, I don’t believe many teams can beat us.   We’ve got most of the right elements for the playoffs.”
 
Thomas says the defense has to work hard; much harder than they’ve ever worked all season.   “The guys need to play mistake-free hockey to win. He continued, “Two of our best games this year were against Ontario. Its going to be a war, that’s for sure.”
 
Goaltending
 
The roster begins with the net minders, Andrew Perugini and Bryan Pitton. 
 
·          Perugini (21-13) with at .908 save percentage says he’s ready. “Hopefully I’ve played well enough during the year, to play” in the playoffs. “It would be a great honor knowing that the coaches have enough confidence in me. Ontario is a good team, but so are we.”
 
·          Bryan Pitton hasn’t had the same success, with only 34 games this season; he has a 9-19 record, and a .886 save percentage.
 
Defense:
 
·          Thunder captain Matt O’Dette began the season with Fresno and joined the Thunder in mid-season.   After only appearing in a few games he was named captain of his new club. He’s played in a combined 51 games with five goals and six assists with 127 penalty minutes for the season. O’Dette has playoff experience and fully understands what the team must do to win. He was a member of the Calder Cup Championship team, the Saint Johns Flames in 2001 and was a member of the Montreal Canadians (NHL) team roster for the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs.
 
·          Kenny MacAulay, another former Fresno player, has played in a combined 38 games with three goals and 20 assists with 74 penalty minutes.   MacAulay was also named as an alternate captain of the ECHL All-Star National team earlier this year. MacAulay was loaned on a PTO and has since signed a player contract with the Portland Pirates (AHL) where he has played 32 games with one goal and 8 assists, with 31 penalty minutes. MacAulay is helping the Pirates earn a place in the AHL Calder Cup playoffs.   The Pirates are currently battling for the third and fourth playoff positions against two other teams in their division.   Dependent upon how they finish, MacAulay’s return to Stockton could be quite delayed.
 
·          Daryl Marcoux, also a former Falcon, has appeared in a combined 71 games with three goals and 16 assists with 44 penalty minutes.
 
·          Mark Adamek, 26 is in his third year with the Thunder, and has appeared in 55 games, with one goal and 11 assists and 41 penalty minutes.   He was named the team’s “Unsung Hero” for the second consecutive year. He’s had some playoff experience with 12 career Kelly Cup Playoff games, scoring one goal and tallying four penalty minutes.
 
·          Ryan Constant has appeared in 47 games with five goals and four assists with 71 penalty minutes. Constant, a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, has also appeared in nine Springfield Falcons (AHL) games with two assists.
 
·          Robbie Bina has split the season between the AHL Falcons and the Thunder, with similar success on each level.   He’s appeared in 37 AHL games, with one goal and seven assists with 30 penalty minutes and 28 games with the Thunder earning one goal and seven assists with 26 penalty minutes.
 
·          Sebastien Bisaillon has split the season between the AHL and ECHL. He played in 31 AHL games, earning 5 goals, 7 assists and 21 penalty minutes. With the Thunder, he appeared in 27 games, and scored 3 goals, 10 assists, with 14 penalty minutes.
 
·          Cleve Kinley has played in 45 games, earning 4 goals and 24 assists with 74 penalty minutes.   He also appeared in seven AHL games with the Falcons.
 
·          Recently signed Tyler Kindle has appeared in the last seven games netting two goals and one assist, 14 penalty minutes.   Formerly, Kindle played with Fresno, and helped the team land a playoff position for the 2007-08 season as the top defenseman in scoring for the team.
 
Forwards:
 
·          Ryan Huddy, in his rookie professional year, has appeared in 69 games an d has chalked up 35 goals and 38 assists with 36 penalty minutes. He’s ranked 6^th overall in the ECHL in goal scoring and third overall among all rookies.   Huddy also received the title of Most Valuable Player and Best Offensive Player by his team. He appeared in six games in AHL earning an assist as well. Huddy has surpassed the Thunders record of points scored in a single season with 72 points overall.
 
·          Cory Urquhart is second on the team for goals scored and has appeared in 57 games with 28 goals and 32 assists with 32 penalty minutes.   Urquhart has appeared in 14 AHL games, earning a single goal and assist.
 
·          Mike Lalonde has played in 62 games with 20 goals and 31 assists with 16 penalty minutes and is third on the team in goal scoring.
 
·          Garet Hunt was voted the “Co-Fan Favorite” for the season and has played in 63 games with five goals and 11 assists with 248 penalty minutes. Hunt is second among ECHL players in penalty minutes.
 
·      ;     Adam Huxley, also “Co-Fan Favorite” this season, has played in 61 games with eight goals and two assists with 224 penalty minutes. Huxley is ranked fourth in the ECHL in penalty minutes.
 
·          James Bates has appeared in 63 games with 16 goals and 32 assists with 48 penalty minutes.
 
·          Damian Surma has appeared in 41 games with 11 goals and 11 assists with 30 penalty minutes.
 
·          Igor Gongalsky split the season between Fresno and Stockton has played in a combined 52 games with 10 goals and 20 assists with 138 penalty minutes.
 
·          Craig Valette has appeared in 43 games with nine goals and 16 assists with 65 penalty minutes.
 
·          David Rohlfs has appeared in 55 games with seven goals and five assists with 31 penalty minutes.
 
·          Judd Blackwater, another addition from Fresno mid-year, has played in 49 games with seven goals and 15 assists with 48 penalty minutes.
 
·         The most recent addition to the Thunder roster is Brandon Naurato. Naurato signed as a free agent after completing the college season with the University of Michigan (NCAA). In 25 games at UM, he scored six goals and seven assists, and 32 penalty minutes.
 
What do we have to look forward to?   During this season, in the ten games head to head against the Reign over the season the Thunder won four games.   Of particular note, the Thunder is winless at home versus the Reign.
 
Huddy says they are going to be ready and the key will be “playing hard, smart and working hard to get some wins.”
 
Surma adds, “We have a hard week of practice ahead of us to prepare for Ontario. The coach is doing a great job getting us prepared so far. We’ve been looking forward to getting into the playoffs for the last two months. It’s an exciting time”   He adds, “Getting to the Cup, if you go all the way is a long road, a lot can happen, but you need to stay positive and   roll with the punches.”
 
When asked what they will do differently, Surma states, we’ve “had pretty good success against Ontario, so we’ll probably keep a similar game play, stay down low and keep puck in the zone as much as we can.”
 
Blackwater admits that the next week of preparation is going to be difficult, but “practice will be key. Not too much will change. We need to play every shift like it’s our last and do everything we can to win the game.”
 
Having this week to “re-focus and re-energize” is important, but we’re not “going to over analyze.   Our guys have to focus on what they need to do and be committed to get it done.” said Mougenel.
 
Thomas adds, this opportunity is what “we have asked for. We were on the outside looking in, now where on the inside. It’s our job to get the guys to do what it takes to win.”   He continues, fans will “see a tight-checking affair.   Ontario is the most detailed defensive team in our conference. They’ll take away our options; make it extremely tough on our skilled guys to use their skill. Fans will see a fast paced transition game. It will be exciting with good goal-tending at both ends, but very few chances to score.” He goes on to finish, “the team that finds the few chances will come away with wins those nights.”
 
Perugini is ready to play and especially for the home crowd. “We’re always excited to play at home. It’s going to be great with the Stockton fans.”
 
The Stockton fans really seem to love their Hockey too.   The end of this regular season marks their fourth consecutive year as an ECHL leader in fan attendance, drawing 223,854 fans and averaging 6,218 fans per game.   Despite economic downturns, the Thunder fans have remained loyal.
 
Reign and Thunder forecast for first round Ontario, CA – The Ontario Reign will face off against the Stockton Thunder in the opening round of the ECHL National Conference (Pacific Division) playoffs.  The series gets underway in Ontario on April 10.   In their inaugural season in Ontario, the Reign (formerl y the Texas Wildcatters) captured the Pacific Division title and with it home-ice advantage for the series. This could be particularly critical against the fourth-seed Thunder as both organizations boast great fan support and state-of-the-art facilities. Ontario was second in ECHL attendance to Stockton, who led the league for the fourth-straight season.   The head-to-head contests have been tight, with the Reign taking six of the 10 regular season games. Five of the games were decided by a single goal, including one overtime and one shootout.   Since clinching a playoff berth on March 22nd, the Reign have gone 2-3 with one shootout loss. Stockton had the opportunity to move into the third slot, ending the regular season with three games against the Las Vegas. Their fourth-place finish was sealed with consecutive losses to round out the schedule.   Offense:   Ontario has struggled offensively this year, scoring a league-fewest 197 goals. Though lacking a standout scorer, Reign forward lines turned in solid performances, led by RW Geoff Walker (21G/11PPG), captain C Jon Francisco (20G/8PPG) and  C Tim Krauss (19G/6PPG/2SHG), each posting 48 points on the year. These numbers were supplemented by RW Jon Rhealt’s 41 points and LW Todd Jackson’s 29 points; both scored 7 power-play goals. Ontario forwards have not performed well defensively–their top six scorers amassing a -72 plus/minus rating.   Defense:   Going into the first-round, Ontario’s defensive c orps is led by David Walker, whose 28 points, +3 rating and team-leading 136 penalty minutes provide skill and grit. He will be supported by stalwarts Darren McMillan and six-foot-seven Chad Starling, who each appeared in all 73 games for the Reign. Ontario will be without standout defenseman, Andrew Martens, who led Ontario blue-liners with 7 goals and 31 points in 48 games before being moved to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.   Goaltending:   To start the 2008-09 campaign, Ontario coach, Karl Taylor, had the enviable problem of having too many promising goaltenders. With the trade of John Murray to the Mississippi Sea Wolves and the signing of Kellen Briggs to the Portland Pirates of the AHL, the Reign enter the playoffs with National Conference All-Star, Jeff Zatkoff between the pipes (Murray was an injury replacement for Zatkoff  in the All-Star Game). Zatkoff, who also served a brief stint in the AHL this season, led Ontario with a 17-15-2-1 record and a .915 save percentage in 37 starts. He will be backed up by Linden Rowat, whose strong 47-save performance earned him a season-finale shootout victory in only his second start. In combination, Reign goaltenders allowed 218 goals on the season, helping to offset the lack of offensive output.   Specialty Teams:   Ontario’s power play ranked ninth in the ECHL at 17.4 percent with Stockton lagging at 15.8 percent success with the man-advantage. Both teams are in the middle of the pack league-wide killing penalti es–the Reign again ahead in the rankings at 82.7 percent to the 81.1 percent of the Thunder. Stockton rookie sensation, Ryan Huddy, tallied 3 goals short-handed on the year. The difference in this match-up could come in power play opportunities. Ontario’s disciplined play resulted in the league’s third-fewest penalty minutes with 1232, while Stockton racked up 1574 minutes resulting in 408 times short-handed.   Series Outlook:   Despite the finish in the standings, this series may prove to be a close one. The Reign are the more statistically balanced team and are riding a wave of confidence following their Pacific Division title. Stockton will depend on Ryan Huddy maintaining his scoring touch and will need to stay out of the box in order to have any chance of advancing. This series will be a loud one as both arenas have capacities at or near 10,000. Home-ice should give the Reign the ultimate edge.
Contact the Stockton author at: shellie.lima@prohockeynews.com
Contact the Ontario author at john.soltis@prohockeynews.com.
Contact the Photographer at jack.lima@prohockeynews.com