Comeback Falls Short in 4-3 SO Loss at Tulsa

Tulsa, OK (Nov. 18th) - Wichita (4-5-1-2) battled back from a three-goal deficit, but came up short on Tuesday night losing to Tulsa (6-4-1-0) by the final score of 4-3 in a shootout at the BOK Center. Ian Lowe, Kirill Tulupov and Kenton Miller provided the offense for the Thunder in the losing effort. Tulsa improves to 3-1-0-0 in the StoneWolf Casino Cup Series and have won all three meetings at home past regulation. The two teams will meet one more time later this week as the Thunder will travel to Tulsa on Sunday, November 23rd.

Tulsa raced out to a three-goal lead with a pair in the opening period. Steve Mele stole a loose puck at the Oilers blue line and beat Tim Boron with a shorthanded goal at 6:24 to make it 1-0. At the 17 minute mark, T.J. Caig fired a shot off a face-off and scored his eighth of the season to increase the lead to 2-0.

Wichita dominated the second period, outshooting the Oilers 26-5 and 11-0 in the first six minutes. The first shot on net came from Jeff Jubinville at 7:10 and he scored to increase the lead to 3-0. The Thunder finally broke through with two goals in 45 seconds to climb back into the game. On the Thunder's fourth power play, Tulupov let a wrist shot go from the deep slot that Kevin Carr initially stopped. The rebound squirted through his legs just over the line to get Wichita on the board and make it 3-1. At 13:56, Lowe recorded his second of the season from behind the goal line as he banked it off Carr to cut the lead to 3-2.

In the third, Wichita continued on its torrid pace in the shot department. The Thunder outshot Tulsa 14-4 and pulled even with just over three minutes remaining. Todd Hosmer found Kenton Miller at the right post as he was going behind the net and beat Carr in tight to tie the game at three. For the third-straight game at the BOK Center, Wichita and Tulsa headed into an overtime session.

Wichita continued to flex its muscle in the extra period. Mike Wilson and Kurtis Bartliff had great chances in front that Carr, but the rookie netminder kept it out of the net. The game headed into a shootout after both teams failed to find the game-winner.

Tulsa started out first and scored in the first two rounds as Adam Pleskach and T.J. Caig beat Boron to make it 2-0. The score would stand as all four of the Thunder shooters were unsuccessful against Carr and gave the Oilers their sixth win of the season.

Wichita keeps its streak alive, firing 49 shots on net and has eclipsed 30 or more for the sixth-straight game. The Thunder had a season-high 26 shots in a single period during tonight's contest, which was the second stanza. Miller finished with a goal and assist and recorded his first even strength tally of the year. Lowe has goals in back-to-back games while Bartliff recorded an assist, giving him helpers in two-straight contests. Boron suffers the shootout loss, stopping 18 of 21 shots. Carr took the win, stopping 46 of 49 shots he faced.

Wichita went 1-for-5 on the power play. Tulsa was 0-for-3 on the man advantage.

Wichita return homes on Saturday night to host the Missouri Mavericks at 7:05 p.m. The Thunder will travel back to the BOK Center for a rematch on Sunday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. against the Oilers.

Individual tickets are on sale now. Don't delay! Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com. Stay up-to-date on all the news during the season by visiting www.wichitathunder.com.

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-