Game Day Capsule: Wichita at Quad City, March 14th

Wichita, KS (March 14th) - Wichita continues its road trip tonight in Moline, IL against the Quad City Mallards in a crucial battle in the Central Division. Get ready for the game with this edition of Game Day Capsule below:

TONIGHT'S MATCH-UPWichita at Quad City - 7:05 p.m., i-Wireless Center, Moline, IL

WICHITAHOME: 14-10-0-3AWAY: 14-12-2-3OVERALL: 28-22-2-6

LEADING SCORERSGauthier, 54 pts (24g, 30a)Lowe, 52 pts (17g, 35a)Miller, 40 pts (15g, 25a)

QUAD CITYHOME: 14-13-2-1AWAY: 16-10-2-2OVERALL: 30-23-4-3

LEADING SCORERSLamoureux, 60 pts (17g, 43a)Fox, 50 pts (20g, 30a)Baker, 37 pts (13g, 24a)

SEASON-SERIESNov. 26 INTRUST 2-0, WDec. 12 INTRUST 3-1, LJan. 3 INTRUST 3-2, WJan. 7 i-Wireless 4-3, L (OT)Jan. 9 i-Wireless 4-1, WJan. 28 i-Wireless 4-2, WJan. 30 INTRUST 3-1, LFeb. 6 i-Wireless 2-1, WFeb. 7 i-Wireless 6-2, LMar. 14 i-Wireless 7:05 p.m.Mar. 25 INTRUST 7:05 p.m.Mar. 27 i-Wirless 7:05 p.m.

** Wichita is 5-3-1-0 against Quad City this season

HEAD-TO-HEAD - This is the 10th meeting against the Mallards this season. Wichita is 18-6-4 all-time against Quad City and 9-1-4 on the road.

TODAY - Wichita heads to the i-Wireless Center for the sixth time this season to face Quad City tonight. The Thunder are in the middle of a seven-game road trip while the Mallards are in the middle of an eight-game homestand. Wichita is coming off a 4-1 loss last night at Tulsa. Quad City was idle last night and won their last game on March 11th against Missouri by the final score of 3-2 in overtime. The Thunder are three points behind the Mallards for second place and one point back of Rapid City for third. Wichita has two games in hand on Quad City and that will move to three after tomorrow as the Mallards play Missouri at 4:05 p.m.

TIGHT RACE - Wichita and Tulsa were tied at one heading into the third period last night before the Oilers scored two quick goals to pull away. The win puts Tulsa two points behind the Thunder and allowed Rapid City to move into third place with a victory over Allen last night. From second to fifth place is separated by just five points as the season comes down the homestretch.

LIGHTNING STRIKES - Danick Gauthier found the back of the net for the 24th time this season last night. His tally tied the game in the second at the four minute mark. It was also his first goal since March 4th when he scored twice against Rapid City. The Tampa Bay Lightning product has points in his last three (1g, 2a).

POWER AND LIGHT - Wichita went 0-for-3 last night on the power play. The Thunder have found the back of the net on the man advantage in six of the last eight games and recorded two or more in four of those meetings. Wichita has gone 11-for-34, operating at 32.4%.

STYLIN MILAN - Dan Milan played a solid game last night and made a great play on Danick Gauthier's goal that gave him his 14th assist of the season. The Detroit, MI native has three points in the last three games including his first goal of the season last Sunday at Brampton.

THUNDERBOLTS… Danick Gauthier and Ian Lowe are tied for second in the league in power play goals (9)...Lowe is in 11th place for shots on goal (185) while Gauthier is in 14th (184)…Mike Wilson is tied for fourth for power play assists (15) while Gauthier is tied for ninth (14) …Tim Boron is fourth in the league in minutes played (2,227), 10th in saves (888), tied for sixth in wins (20)…Wichita is fourth in shots against per game (27.59)…Wichita is 10-2-0-1 when leading after one...Wichita is 15-5-2-6 in one-goal games…

QUAD CITY NOTES - Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel and Joe Perry were returned to the Mallards from the Iowa Wild while Nicholas Rioux was called up...Parker Milner is third in the goals against average (2.26) and fourth in save percentage (.920)...Mario Lamoureux has 11 points to lead the way against the Thunder (2g, 9a)...Joe Perry leads the Mallards with four goals against the Thunder...Quad City is fifth on the penalty kill, giving up just 35 goals on the man advantage...

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

UP NEXT - Wichita ends its seven-game road trip with a pair in Allen starting on Tuesday 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-