Game Day Capsule: Evansville at Wichita, January 11th

WICHITAHOME: 10-6-0-2AWAY: 7-6-2-2OVERALL: 17-12-2-4 LEADING SCORERSLowe, 33 pts (12g, 21a)Gauthier, 33 pts (15g, 18a)Miller, 27 pts (10g, 17a) EVANSVILLEHOME: 7-10-1-0AWAY: 4-8-1-2OVERALL: 11-18-2-2 LEADING SCORERSWong, 24 pts (11g, 13a)Kerbashian, 24 pts (9g, 15a)Lowry, 22 pts (6g, 16a) HEAD TO HEAD - This is the second of two meetings between the Thunder and the IceMen. Wichita is 0-3-0 at home against Evansville and 3-4-0 all-time.

TODAY - Wichita finishes out a busy week against Evansville this afternoon. This is the second-straight week the Thunder has played four games. Today's match-up is the final meeting between the two teams and the last against a team outside of the Central Division. Wichita is looking for its first home win against the IceMen, losing all three times at INTRUST Bank Arena against Evansville. Leading the way for the IceMen are Kale Kerbashian and Brandon Wong, who each have 24 points. Ian Lowe and Danick Gauthier pace the Thunder offense with 33 points each. Kenton Miller is right behind them with 27 points.

JUST SHORT - After giving up four unanswered goals last night, Wichita climbed back into the game with two goals in 38 seconds from Jared Walker and Ian Duval. Chris Driedger wouldn't allow another past him as he stopped all 10 shots he saw in the final period. Wichita remains winless at home against Evansville in three previous tries and has a chance to change that trend this afternoon.

THIRD PERIOD PUSH - The Thunder offense made a late push in the third period, but couldn't get the equalizer. Wichita outshot the IceMen 10-3 and at one point, 7-0 before a dump-in from center was the first shot on Boron. The third period has been the Thunder's best period over the last five games, outscoring their opponents 9-2.

DUVIE DOES IT AGAIN - Rookie forward Ian Duval scored his fifth of the season to get Wichita back into the game last night. He has goals in four-straight games and is riding a 10-game point streak (5g, 6a), which is a new season long streak.

STINGY - Wichita continues to be stingy at home on the penalty kill. The Thunder has not allowed a power play goal over the last two games after giving up one in three-straight. Wichita has killed off 13-straight penalties and is ranked #1 on home-ice on the kill (91.8%).

HELPING HAND - Danick Gauthier and Ian Lowe added assists last night and continue to battle for the team-lead in points. Both have 33 as Gauthier has 15 goals and 18 assist while Lowe has 12 goals and 21 assists.

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.

WELCOME BACK - Evansville will make its final appearance of the season this afternoon to the Air Capital. Yesterday's meeting was the first time the two teams have seen each other since 2012. The Thunder are 3-4-0 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.

THUNDERBOLTS… Danick Gauthier is tied for 17th in goals (14), tied for seventh in power play goals (5) and tied for 11th in power play assists (8)…Tyler Bunz is fifth in the league in goals against average (2.33) while Tim Boron is in 16th place (2.70)…Tyler Bunz and Tim Boron are tied for fourth in shutouts (2)...Boron is 10th in wins (12)…Wichita is 10th in shots for per game (31.34) and third in shots against per game (26.91)…Wichita has outshot the opponent 420-289 in the second…Wichita is 5-1-0-1 when leading after one...Wichita is 10-4-0-0 when tied after one…Wichita is 5-3-1-1 when tied after two periods…Wichita is 12-8-1-2 when outshooting the opponent…Wichita is 6-3-0-0 in two-goal games...

EVANSVILLE NOTES - Al Sims made his head coaching debut for the IceMen on Friday night…The IceMen have won back-to-back games for the first time since early November…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 (2.67) and 23rd in goals against per game (3.39)…Josh Beaulieu, the IceMen assistant, played for Evansville for three seasons before hanging up the skates…

AROUND THE ECHL - There are five other games tonight in the ECHL. Fort Wayne takes on Gwinnett. South Carolina heads to Greenville. Indy plays at Wheeling. Brampton travels to Reading. Missouri takes on Allen.

UP NEXT - Wichita begins a stretch of eight games out of the next nine on the road next weekend in Allen starting on Friday, January 16th.

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-