Jr. Thunder Reaches Thorne Cup Semi-Finals

Wichita, KS (April 15th) - The Wichita Junior Thunder have advanced to the semi-finals of the Western States Hockey League's Thorne Cup and will face the host team, Ogden Mustangs, tonight at 8:30 p.m. central time at the Ice Sheet.

The Junior Thunder opened the Thorne Cup Playoffs last Wednesday with a 6-3 victory over the number one-seeded Long Beach Bombers. Simon Sefcik (2g, 1a) and Oskar Gullstrom (3a) led the way with three points. Peter Cicmanec (2g), Jack McClelland (1g, 1a) were right behind them with two points each.

Wichita stayed hot and won their second game of the tournament with a 6-5 victory over the Colorado Junior Eagles on Thursday afternoon. The Junior Thunder led 5-2 late in the game and held off a charge from Colorado for the win. Gullstrom led all scorers with four assists and Cicmanec had a goal and an assist.

On Friday, Matt McClelland and Martin Trudman provided the offense and the Junior Thunder claimed a 2-1 win over the Idaho Junior Steelheads. The win pushed the team's record to 3-0 in round robin play.

The Junior Thunder finishes as the two seed and will play the three-seed, Ogden Mustangs, who also went 3-0 in round robin play. The Valencia Flyers will take on Idaho in the other semi-final match-up starting today at 4:30 p.m. central time. Teams are re-seeded after round robin play based on regular season record with the Division winners first.

The winners of each semi-final contest will face each other for the Thorne Cup Championship tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. central time.

Fans who are interested in watching the game tonight, click here.

-Thunder-