Game Day Capsule: Allen at Wichita, February 15th

Wichita, KS (Feb. 15th) - Wichita returns home this afternoon to host the Allen Americans in the middle portion of a three-game set against Allen. Get ready for tonight's action with today's Game Day Capsule below:

TONIGHT'S MATCH-UPAllen Americans at Wichita Thunder - 5:05 p.m., INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, KS WICHITAHOME: 12-7-0-2AWAY: 11-11-2-2OVERALL: 23-18-2-4 LEADING SCORERSLowe, 42 pts (16g, 26a)Gauthier, 40 pts (18g, 22a)Miller, 36 pts (14g 22a) ALLENHOME: 19-3-2-0AWAY: 14-5-1-2OVERALL: 33-8-3-2 LEADING SCORERSCostello, 75 pts (22g, 53a)Steffes, 50 pts (31g, 19a)Schultz, 38 pts (19g, 19a) SEASON-SERIESOct. 25 INTRUST 5-3, LNov. 15 INTRUST 3-2, LNov. 28 INTRUST 3-1, WDec. 19 AEC 2-1, W (OT)Dec. 27 INTRUST 3-2, W (SO)Jan. 4 AEC 3-2, LJan. 16 AEC 8-2, LJan. 17 AEC 6-4, LFeb. 14 AEC 3-2, W (OT)Feb. 15 INTRUST 5:05 p.m.Feb. 18 AEC 7:05 p.m.

**Allen leads series 5-2-1-1 (Wichita is 4-5-0-0) HEAD TO HEAD - This is the 10th of 16 meetings this season between the Thunder and the Americans. All-time, Wichita is 14-21-3 against Allen and 6-14-1 on the road.

TODAY - Wichita and Allen play the middle portion of a three-game mini-series against each other. The Thunder won last night by the final score of 5-4 in overtime. Wichita improved to 3-2 in games decided in the overtime period while the Americans fell to 1-2. After tonight, Wichita will travel back to the Allen Event Center on Wednesday night to face the Americans before starting a five-game home-stand. Chad Costello leads the way against the Thunder with three goals and seven assists. Kyle Follmer has six goals against the Thunder in five games. Danick Gauthier (4g, 3a) and Ian Lowe (2g, 5a) lead the way for the Thunder with seven points against Allen.

BACK AND FORTH - Wichita and Allen went back and forth last night before the Thunder won the game in overtime. Danick Gauthier put a one-timer past Riley Gill with 56 left in the extra session to secure the win. The Thunder handed Allen their second OT loss at home with the first coming against Wichita on December 19th.

HAT TRICK - Justin Bernhardt recorded the first hat trick of his pro career last night. After scoring 34 seconds into the game, Bernhardt added two in the third period, including the game-tying goal at 5:43 of the third. The fifth-year pro has three points in each of the last two games and five goals over that span.

GO TIME - Danick Gauthier played his first game since being reassigned to the Thunder from Syracuse and picked up where he left off. He finished with three points (1g, 2a), recorded his seventh power play goal of the year and added his third game-winner. He is second on the team in points with 40 and first with 18 goals.

CAREER-HIGH - Erick Lizon recorded his seventh goal of the season last night, tying his career-high that he set back during the 2008-09 campaign with the Laredo Bucks of the CHL. He has 14 points (7g, 7a) this year and leads the team in penalty minutes with 149, which is good for 11th place in the ECHL.

82 - RG Flath scored his ninth of the season on Friday night and now has 82 career goals in Thunder blue. The Park City, Utah native currently sits in ninth place all-time in goals scored in a Thunder uniform and is just three shy of tying Jim McGeough for eighth place. He added two helpers last night and was a +3.

CLOSE CALL - For the second-straight game, Wichita won last night by the final of 5-4. Three of the last four for the Thunder have been decided by one goal and Wichita improved to 12-4-2-4 in one goal outcomes. Wichita improved to 3-2 in games decided in overtime and has won all three meetings against Allen that have gone past regulation.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Wichita recorded their fourth power play goal last night against Allen in the season-series. The Americans went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

THUNDERBOLTS… Ian Lowe is second in power play goals (8) while Gauthier is tied for third (7)...Jared Walker is tied for sixth in shorthanded goals (2)...Ian Lowe is 12th (150) while Kenton Miller is in 16th place for shots on net (146)…Todd Hosmer leads the league for longest road-game goal streak (5) from January 16th to January 28th...Tyler Bunz and Tim Boron are tied for fifth in shutouts (2)…Wichita is 14th in shots for per game (30.91) and fourth in shots against per game (27.36)…Wichita is 8-2-0-1 when leading after one...Wichita is 6-3-1-1 when tied after two periods…Wichita is 15-10-1-2 when outshooting the opponent…Wichita is 15-0-0-1 when leading after two periods...

ALLEN NOTES - Gary Steffes leads the league in power play goals (12) while Ian Schultz is in third with seven...Steffes leads the league with 31 goals while Chad Costello leads the league with 53 assists…Greger Hanson is tied for first in shorthanded goals (4)...Allen is second in shots on net (33.09) and 13th for shots allowed per game (29.78)...Allen leads the league in goals for per game (4.20)...Allen is first in the ECHL on the penalty kill (89.5%)...

AROUND THE ECHL - There are five other games tonight in the ECHL. Greenville takes on Gwinnett. Evansville heads to South Carolina. Toledo travels Cincinnati. Colorado plays at Stockton. Alaska travels to Bakersfield.

UP NEXT - Wichita travels back to the Dallas Metroplex to take on Allen this Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.

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-