Thunder defenseman Ryan Constant is known as one of the hardest checkers in the ECHL, and in the second period of Stockton’s 4-3 win on Friday he nailed Sean Wiles with a savage hip check which sent the Las Vegas player spinning like a pin wheel.
Constant’s hit said a lot about the Thunder’s attitude on Friday. If Las Vegas or any other team wants to pass Stockton for the fourth playoff seed in the ECHL’s Western Conference and home ice in the first round, they are going to have to deal with a determined and ornery Stockton club.
Stockton hit a little harder and played a little better than the Wranglers, who are tied for the fifth seed with Colorado six points behind the Thunder. And Stockton is rolling, winning seven of its last 10 games and finally solving some of the offensive woes which have plagued it for weeks. The additions of Brandon Davidson and Max Boisclair have helped, and its defense has been consistently good.
As Vegas found out, this is a tough team to beat.
