Game Day Capsule: Missouri at Wichita, December 30th

WICHITAHOME: 8-5-0-2AWAY: 5-5-1-2OVERALL: 13-10-1-4 LEADING SCORERSGauthier, 26 pts (13g, 13a)Lowe, 25 pts (9g, 16a)Miller, 24 pts (9g, 15a) MISSOURIHOME: 6-6-0-1AWAY: 7-6-0-1OVERALL: 13-12-0-2 LEADING SCORERSThinel, 24 pts (6g, 18a)Courtney, 18 pts (10g, 8a)Rutherford, 17 pts (5g, 12a) HEAD TO HEAD - This is the sixth of 10 meetings this season between the Thunder and the Mavericks. Wichita is 18-11-0 at home and 32-20-3 all-time. TODAY - Wichita plays its final home game of 2014 tonight against the Missouri Mavericks. Tonight is the start of a home-and-home series with the two teams playing tomorrow evening at the Indepedence Event Center at 7:05 p.m. on NYE. Wichita has won three-straight against the Mavericks with the last meeting taking place on November 28th at the IEC and the Thunder winning by the final score of 4-1. Both teams are coming off of shootout appearances, with the Mavericks losing at Rapid City and Wichita beating Allen. Missouri is led by Sebatien Thinel, who has 24 points. Wichita is led by Danick Gauthier, who has 26 points.

SLIM MARGIN - Each of the last four Thunder matchups have been decided by one goal. Wichita was able to collect points in all four, winning one in regulation, one in overtime, and splitting the last two shootout opportunities. Each of the last three games has gone into overtime or a shootout. The Thunder claimed their first win in a shootout on Saturday against the Americans.

MOVIN' ON UP - Tim Boron has started in five-straight games, going 4-0-0-1 over that stretch. The netminder has stopped 131 out of 139 shots (.942) and has a GAA of 1.55 over that stretch. He has dropped his overall goals against average to 2.62, which is good for 15th in the league. Saturday's win was also his ninth of the season.

STREAKING - Ian Lowe has goals in consecutive games against Allen and extends his point-streak to four (2g, 3a). Ian Duval also had an assist, extending his streak to three-straight games (1g, 3a). He has 11 points (1g, 10a) in 14 games this season.

MAVS RIDING THREE-GAME STREAK - The Mavericks have earned points in three straight games (1-0-0-2) and in five of their last six contests (3-1-0-2). Missouri is coming off a solid road trip to Rapid City after Christmas earning three of a possible four points with a 5-3 win on Friday and a 4-3 loss in a shootout on Saturday. The Mavs trailed 2-0 after one period on Saturday but battled back to take a 3-2 third period lead before ultimately having to settle for one point.

GAINING MOMENTUM WITH PP - Although the Mavs still sit 28th in the ECHL on the power play, they are showing signs of snapping out of their season-long slump scoring five times in their last 17 chances (29%). On the season, the Mavs are 12 for 111 (10.8%) but they have closed to within one percentage point of both Brampton and Greenville as they look to begin the climb up the man advantage leaders.

THUNDERBOLTS… Danick Gauthier is tied for 13th in goals (13), tied for third in power play goals (5) and tied for fourth in power play assists (8)...Kenton Miller is tied for 10th place in power play goals (4)…Tyler Bunz is 10th in the league in goals against average (2.39) while Tim Boron is in 15th place (2.62)…Tyler Bunz and Tim Boron are tied for second in shutouts (2)...Wichita is fifth in shots for per game (32.14) and second in shots against per game (26.61)…Wichita is 4-1-0-1 when leading after one...Wichita is 7-2-0-0 when tied after one…Wichita is 5-3-1-1 when tied after two periods…Wichita is 10-7-0-2 when outshooting the opponent…Wichita is 6-2-0-0 in two-goal games...

MISSOURI NOTES - Chris Crane, Sebastien Thinel and Andrew Courtney each have two points against Wichita…Mike Clemente is 0-3-0-0 against Wichita with a 4.12 GAA and SVPCT of .869…Missouri is last in the league on the power play (10.8%) and second to last on the penalty kill (78.7%)…Sebastien Thinel is only two points away from reaching 1,000 pro career points…

AROUND THE ECHL - There are five other games today in the league. South Carolina heads to Greenville. Toledo goes to Brampton. Florida travels to Gwinnett. Rapid City goes to Tulsa. Ontario plays at Stockton.

UP NEXT - Wichita heads to Missouri tomorrow night to close out 2014, starting 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-