Game Day Capsule: Wichita at Allen, January 17th

WICHITAHOME: 11-6-0-2AWAY: 7-7-2-2OVERALL: 18-13-2-4

LEADING SCORERSLowe, 36 pts (14g, 22a)Gauthier, 33 pts (15g, 18a)Miller, 28 pts (10g, 18a)

ALLENHOME: 16-2-1-0AWAY: 10-3-0-2OVERALL: 26-5-1-2

LEADING SCORERSCostello, 55 pts (17g, 38a)Steffes, 33 pts (21g, 12a)Schultz, 30 pts (14g, 16a)

HEAD TO HEAD - This is the eighth of 16 meetings this season between the Thunder and the Americans. All-time, Wichita is 13-20-3 against Allen and 5-13-1 on the road.

TODAY - Wichita and Allen close out a two-game weekend set tonight at the Allen Event Center. The Americans won last night's meeting by the final score of 8-2. After trading goals, Allen scored four in the second and the third period to run away with the victory. Kyle Follmer scored a hat trick, which is the first against the Thunder this season. Ian Duval and Todd Hosmer scored for the Thunder while six Allen players found the back of the net. The Americans are led by Chad Costello, who has 55 points along with Gary Steffes, who has 33. Wichita is led by Ian Lowe, who has 36 points and Danick Gauthier, who has 33.

RECOVERING - Wichita looks to recover from its worst defeat of the season last night. It was the most goals given up this season and the biggest margin in a losing effort as Allen won 8-2. Wichita's largest margin of victory came back on November 22nd against Missouri in a 6-0 win.

MARGINS - Wichita and Allen played three-straight one-goal games before last night. The two teams have played in four games decided by a goal, two decided by two goals and one decided by six.

EXTENSION CORD - One bright spot for the Thunder was Ian Duval extending his goal and point streak last night. He has goals in five-straight and points in his last 11 contests (6g, 6a).

BIG HOSS - Todd Hosmer recorded his 11th goal of the season last night with a beautiful break-a-way marker. He has goals in the last two games and 18 points so far this year. Last year, he played for the Mississippi RiverKings of the SPHL, racking up 55 points in 40 games and being named to the SPHL First All-Star Team. He also led the league in goals last season with 37.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME - Tonight is the third of four-straight games that will pit the Thunder and the Americans at the Allen Event Center. In fact, three of the next four meetings will be in the Dallas Metroplex with the only trip for Allen to Wichita coming on February 15th in a home-and-home series. The Thunder will host the Americans for the final three games of the season-series.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Special teams played a big role in last night's meeting. Allen scored twice on the power play and once shorthanded. The Thunder went 0-for-6 last night and have just one power play goal in their last 28 chances over the last six games.

THUNDERBOLTS… Danick Gauthier is tied for 16th in goals (15), tied for 10th in power play goals (5) and tied for 14th in power play assists (8)…Tim Boron is in 15th place (2.70)…Tyler Bunz and Tim Boron are tied for fourth in shutouts (2)…Wichita is ninth in shots for per game (31.49) and third in shots against per game (27.11)…Wichita is 5-2-0-1 when leading after one...Wichita is 11-4-0-0 when tied after one…Wichita is 6-3-1-1 when tied after two periods…Wichita is 13-8-1-2 when outshooting the opponent…

ALLEN NOTES - Gary Steffes collected his 100th career goal on Tuesday night and is one point away from 200 in his career...Chad Costello picked up his 400th career point on Tuesday...Brett Lyon leads the ECHL in penalty minutes with 196...Steve Martinson coached in his 1,300th game last Sunday...

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

UP NEXT - Wichita continues its five-game road swing next weekend with a pair of games in Rapid City beginning on Friday night.

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-