Game Day: Cincy at Wichita, December 20th

Wichita, KS (Dec. 20th) - Wichita returns home for the first time in two weeks to host the Cincinnati Cyclones this afternoon for Star Wars Night. Get ready for the match-up with this Wichita Brewing Company Game Day Capsule:

TONIGHT'S MATCH-UPCincinnati at Wichita - 5:05 p.m., INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, KS

WICHITAHOME: 5-6-0-1AWAY: 2-11-0-1OVERALL: 7-17-0-2

TEAM LEADERSGoals: Huff, Gauthier, Miller, 6Assists: Sakaris, 9Points: Huff, Sakaris, 13+/-: Neal, -1PIM: Milan, 43

CINCINNATIHOME: 9-1-1-2AWAY: 3-7-1-0OVERALL: 12-8-2-2

TEAM LEADERSGoals: Downing, 12Assists: Huard, 15Points: Huard, 23+/-: Wilson, +11PIM: Ambroz, 33

SEASON-SERIESOct. 16 INTRUST 5:05 p.m.

Wichita is 0-0-0-0 vs. Cincinnati

HEAD-TO-HEAD - This is the first and only meeting of the season between the Thunder and the Cyclones. Cincinnati is making its first-ever trip to INTRUST Bank Arena.

TODAY - Wichita returns home today to host the Cincinnati Cyclones for the first time in franchise history. The Thunder are coming off a shootout loss at Tulsa, but earned three out of a possible four points against their longtime rivals. The Cyclones lost a pair of games against the Missouri Mavericks in Independence . Both teams are finishing a three-in-three this afternoon before the holiday break. Cincinnati is five points shy of Quad City for first place in the Midwest Division while the Thunder are nine points back of Tulsa for third place in the Central. Nick Huard leads the Cyclones with 23 points (8g, 15a) while Jack Downing has 20 points. Andy Huff and Peter Sakaris are tied for the team-lead with 13 points for the Thunder.

RALLY FALLS SHORT - Wichita appeared in its first shootout since November 14th, losing last night in Tulsa by the final of 3-2. Kenton Miller scored the game-tying goal with under two minutes remaining to force the game past regulation for the second night in a row against the Oilers. It was also the first road shootout loss of the year for Wichita.

OT WINNER - Danick Gauthier recorded his sixth goal of the season on Friday night and third in the last two games against the Oilers. His overtime winner helped Wichita to its first win that was decided in the extra session. Wichita is 3-2 in games decided past regulation.

BULLDOG BITES - Andy Huff scored a pair of goals on Friday, giving him his third multi-point outing of the season and his first game in which he found the back of the net twice. The Ferris State product pulled even with Peter Sakaris for the team-lead with 13 points (6g, 7a).

MILESTONE - Erick Lizon appeared in his 200th ECHL game on Friday night. The 10-year pro out of Kitchener, Ontario ranks fourth all-time in Thunder history in majors (46), seventh in games played (235) and ninth in PIMs (566).

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS - Wichita returns home today for the first time since November 28th. The Thunder went 1-5-0-1 on its seven-game road trip. After tonight, the Thunder will play the day after Christmas against Tulsa and won't leave town until New Year's Eve.

THUNDERBOLTS...Danick Gauthier leads the team in shots with 63...Landon Oslanski has five points (1g, 4a) in seven games since being acquired from Alaska...Wichita's penalty kill is ranked sixth at home (86%) and 12th overall (83.3%)... Wichita is 5-0-0-1 when leading after two...Wichita is 3-5-0-0 when outshooting its opponent...Wichita is 5-5-0-2 in one goal games...

CINCY NOTES - Cincinnati is second in the league on the power play (23.3%)...Andrew Yogan has four goals and five assists in seven games and four multi-point outings over that span...Nick Huard has points in six of his last eight games (4g, 6a)...Seth Ambroz recorded his first pro goal last week against Evansville...Cincinnati is in the midst of playing 11 of 18 games on the road and are 3-7-1 away from home...

AROUND THE ECHL - There are four other games tonight in the ECHL. Orlando goes to Greenville. Toledo travels to Indy. Quad City heads to Missouri. Rapid City finishes up its western swing in Alaska.

UP NEXT - Wichita has the week off and will resume after the Christmas break with another meeting against Tulsa at home on Saturday night at 5:05 p.m.Individual tickets for all games are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 855-755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com.

Follow along with us on our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter (@wichita_thunder), Snapchat (wichthunder), Instagram (Wichita_Thunder) and LinkedIn, presented by Wichita Brewing Company.

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-