Comeback Bid Falls Short in 3-2 Loss to Eagles

Loveland, CO (Dec. 11th) - Colorado (10-12-2-0) scored three unanswered goals in the second period and held off a late charge from Wichita (6-16-0-1) on Friday night, winning 3-2 at the Budweiser Events Center. The Eagles tallied three in a seven-minute span and had a two-goal lead heading into the final frame. The Thunder scored once in the third, but couldn't find the equalizer and fell for the second-straight time against Colorado.

Joey Sides and Landon Oslanski found the back of the net for the Thunder in the losing effort.

The Thunder got off to a much better start on Friday night, not allowing a shot on net for the first six minutes of the contest. Sides gave the Thunder a 1-0 lead at 12:16, cutting through the slot and beating Eric Levine with the only assist going to Ian Lowe. The two teams finished the period with nine shots apiece.

In the second, Trent Daavettila tied the game at 3:13 with a pass from Darryl Bootland at the right circle. Wichita was awarded a power play when Kyle Ostrow was sent off for a cross check at 5:36. Just over 20 seconds later, Everett Sheen got behind the Thunder defense and scored a shorthanded marker that gave the Eagles the lead for good. At 10:42, Joe Zarbo intercepted a clearing attempt that took a fortunate bounce to the slot and he beat David Shantz to make it 3-1.

Wichita came out strong in the third period, unloading 12 shots on Levine while only allowing four the other way. Oslanski cut the lead to one with a bomb from the blue line on the power play at 9:27. With just under seven minutes remaining, Sides was sent off for an attempt to spear double minor, forcing the Thunder to kill a four minute penalty. The Eagles were unable to capitalize and Shantz was lifted for the extra attacker with just over a minute remaining. During a corner battle for possession of the puck, Lowe was called for a hook with three seconds remaining and Wichita's comeback attempt stalled.

The Thunder outshot the Eagles for the first time in the season-series, firing 32 and allowing 26. Sides recorded his first goal of the season. Oslanski has points in consecutive games and tallied his first since being acquired from Alaska. Shantz took the loss, stopping 23 of 26 shots. Levine claims his second-straight win against Wichita, stopping 30 of 32 shots he faced.

Wichita went 1-for-4 on the man advantage. Colorado was 0-for-4 on the power play.

The two teams finish out their three-game set tomorrow night starting at 8:05 p.m. CST.

Individual tickets for all games are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 855-755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com.

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About the ECHL

The ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 28 teams in 20 states and one Canadian province for its 27th season in 2014-15. There have been 541 players who have started their career in the ECHL have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 29 who made their NHL debuts in the 2013-14 season. The ECHL had affiliations with 26 of the 30 NHL teams in 2013-14, marking the 17th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

-Thunder-