Wichita, KS (Nov. 25th) - Wichita battled back from a two-goal deficit, but fell on Friday night to the Tulsa Oilers by the final of 4-2 at INTRUST Bank Arena.
James Melindy and Alexis Loiseau scored for the Thunder in the losing effort.
After a scoreless first, Phil Brewer got the Oilers on the board just one minute into the second. He found a loose puck at the left circle, skated to the slot and beat Scott Greenham to the blocker side. Tulsa scored just 50 seconds later as Jessey Astles got behind the defense and put one through Greenham to make it 2-0. Loiseau recorded his 12th of the season on the power play as he slipped a wrist shot from along the goal line just inside the far post to make it 2-1.
Melindy tied the game with a power play goal at 12:01 of the third frame. He caught a beautiful pass from Macoy Erkamps at the right circle and blasted it past Colin Stevens for his first goal of the season. The Oilers re-took the lead with under three minutes to go in regulation when Brewer got to a blocked shot, skated down on a two-on-one and fed it across to Ben Murphy for the game-winner. Adam Pleskach added an empty-netter to seal it for the Oilers, winning 4-2.
For the second game in a row, Wichita scored two power play goals in a game against the Oilers and are 6-for-18 on the man advantage against Tulsa this season. Loiseau netted his team-leading 12th of the year and is just two goals shy of his totals from last season in Norfolk. Greenham takes the loss, stopping 36 of 39 shots. Stevens grabs the win, stopping 25 of 27 shots he faced.
Wichita went 2-for-5 on the man advantage. Tulsa was 0-for-4 on the power play.
The Thunder closes the weekend with a road trip to Tulsa tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m.
Individual tickets for all Thunder home games are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 855-755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com.
Contact a Thunder representative at the office today to learn more about our great season, group and other ticket packet opportunities!
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