Moline, IL (Feb. 3rd) - Wichita battled back from a four-goal deficit, but fell short on Saturday night in a 5-3 loss against Quad City at TaxSlayer Center.
The Mallards scored three times in a matter of 43 seconds in the first five minutes of the contest. The Thunder cut the lead to two with a pair of goals in the third, but lost for the first time this season against Quad City.
Kevin Dufour recorded two goals and Ralph Cuddemi had a pair of assists.
Brayden Low, Alexander Kuqali and Tristan King gave the Mallards a quick 3-0 lead in the first period.
In the second, Matt Pohlkamp made it 4-0 at 2:37 with a power play goal. Dufour scored at 7:56 to get the Thunder on the board and make it 4-1. Two minutes later, Pohlkamp added his second of the frame to make it 5-1. Joel Rumpel was pulled and Shane Starrett came on in relief.
Dufour potted his second of the contest at 13:27 of the third. He caught a nice feed from Ralph Cuddemi and tapped it in. Jeremy Beaudry cut the lead to 5-3 at 15:53 as he put home a rebound off a shot from Shaquille Merasty. Starrett was lifted for an extra attacker with 1:55 left. The Mallards held off the Thunder rally and grabbed a 5-3 win.
Dufour netted his second two-goal outing in a Thunder uniform and has 10 goals in 16 games since coming over from Brampton. Cuddemi has four assists in his last three games. Kyle Platzer extended his point-streak to five games with an assist, six points over that stretch (3g, 3a).
Wichita went 0-for-5 on the power play. Quad City was 1-for-2 on the man advantage.
The Thunder continues their six-game road trip next Wednesday night against Fort Wayne at 6:30 p.m. central time.
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