Game Day Capsule: Evansville at Wichita, January 10th

WICHITAHOME: 10-5-0-2AWAY: 7-6-2-2OVERALL: 17-11-2-4 LEADING SCORERSLowe, 32 pts (12g, 20a)Gauthier, 32 pts (15g, 17a)Miller, 27 pts (10g, 17a) EVANSVILLEHOME: 7-10-1-0AWAY: 3-8-1-2OVERALL: 10-18-2-2 LEADING SCORERSWong, 23 pts (11g, 12a)Kerbashian, 23 pts (9g, 14a)Lowry, 21 pts (5g, 16a) HEAD TO HEAD - This is the first of two meetings between the Thunder and the IceMen. Wichita is 0-2-0 at home against Evansville and 3-3-0 all-time.

TODAY - Wichita returns home after a three-game road swing to host the Evansville IceMen tonight. This will be the first meeting between the two franchises since 2012 when both were members of the Central Hockey League. Evansville is coming off a 4-1 win last night in Missouri while the Thunder won by the score at Quad City. After this weekend, Wichita will not see another opponent outside of the Central Division. Evansville is led by Brandon Wong and Kale Kerbashian, who each have 23 points. Wichita is led by Danick Gauthier and Ian Lowe, who each have 32 points and Kenton Miller, who has 27.

ALONE IN SECOND - Wichita grabbed a 4-1 road win last night and moved into second place with 40 points. The Thunder have a game in hand on Quad City, who has 39 points, and three in hand on Tulsa, who has 38 points after their shootout loss last night in Rapid City. Wichita improves to 7-6-1-2 on the road.

WELCOME BACK - Evansville will make its first appearance of the season this weekend to the Air Capital. Wichita hasn't faced the IceMen since March 24th, 2012. The Thunder are 3-3-0 all-time against Evansville, with all three of the team's wins coming at the Ford Center. Wichita is looking for its first win against the IceMen at home. After Sunday, the Thunder will not face another team outside the Central Division.

THIRD PERIOD SCORING - Wichita blew open a tight game last night with three unanswered goals in the third period and has outscored Quad City 8-1 in the final frame over the last three contests.

DUVIE DOES IT AGAIN - Rookie forward Ian Duval scored his fourth of the season to give the Thunder a two-goal cushion with less than seven minutes remaining. He has goals in three-straight games and is riding a nine-game point streak (4g, 6a), tying a team season-high with Ian Lowe.

33 - Tyler Bunz stopped 33 shots he faced last night and won for the first time since returning from his call-up to the Oklahoma City Barons. He earned his fifth win of the season and moves into fourth place in goals against average with a solid 2.33. He improved his save percentage to .910, which is 14th best.

MULTI-POINT - Danick Gauthier followed up his All-Star announcement with his 11th multi-point outing of the season, recording a goal and an assist. He pulls into a tie for the point-lead (15g, 17a=32) with Ian Lowe. The Tampa Bay Lightning product is tied for 15th in the league in goals scored.

ONE SHY - Head Coach Kevin McClelland pulled into a first place tie with Bryan Wells for most wins in franchise history (161). With one more victory, McClelland will take over the top spot in wins for a Thunder head coach.

THUNDERBOLTS… Danick Gauthier is tied for 15th in goals (14), tied for sixth in power play goals (5) and tied for 11th in power play assists (8)…Tyler Bunz is fourth in the league in goals against average (2.33) while Tim Boron is in 15th place (2.63)…Tyler Bunz and Tim Boron are tied for fourth in shutouts (2)...Boron is ninth in wins (12)…Wichita is eighth in shots for per game (31.41) and third in shots against per game (27.06)…Wichita is 5-1-0-1 when leading after one...Wichita is 10-3-0-0 when tied after one…Wichita is 5-3-1-1 when tied after two periods…Wichita is 12-7-1-2 when outshooting the opponent…Wichita is 6-2-0-0 in two-goal games...

EVANSVILLE NOTES - Al Sims made his head coaching debut for the IceMen last night…The IceMen stopped a five-game losing streak last night with a 4-1 win at Missouri…Three former Allen Americans will suit up for Evansville as Jarret Lukin, Jim McKenzie and Kale Kerbashian all played in Allen…Evansville has scored the first goal 14 times and are just 6-6-1-1 when scoring first…Evansville is 24th in goals for per game (2.82) and 23rd in goals against per game (3.41)…

AROUND THE ECHL - There are 12 other games tonight in the ECHL. Orlando visits Florida. Fort Wayne heads to Greenville. South Carolina travels to Gwinnett. Brampton plays at Reading. Indy goes to Toledo. Cincinnati plays at Kalamazoo. Elmira travels to Wheeling. Missouri plays at Allen. Stockton is at Utah. Tulsa stays in Rapid City. Alaska travels to Idaho. Colorado plays at Bakersfield.

UP NEXT - Wichita plays tomorrow afternoon at home against Evansville starting at 5:05 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-