Mavericks Skate Past Wichita on New Year's Eve

Independence, MO (Dec. 31st) - Wichita (7-19-1-3) and Missouri (24-3-0-1) rang in the New Year for the second-straight season at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena on Thursday night and the Mavericks came out on top by the final of 7-1. The Thunder tallied the first goal before Missouri recorded the next seven for their ninth victory in the season-series.

Mason Baptista had the lone Thunder marker on the night.

Wichita got off to a good start as Baptista tipped in a shot from Neal at 1:42 of the first. After making two saves, Grant Rollheiser left the game with an apparent injury and David Shantz was forced into action.

Rocco Carzo tied the contest at 6:25 when he found a loose puck in the slot and fired it past Shantz. At 10:56, David de Kastrozza gave the Mavericks their first lead as he redirected a shot from the blue line for his fourth of the year. Andrew Courtney potted home a power play goal with 25 seconds left in the opening frame and a 3-1 advantage.

The Mavericks added three in the second, including two in a two-minute span. At 7:08, Tanner Fritz recorded a shorthanded goal, eight seconds after the Thunder went on a power play, to make it 4-1. Courtney found the net for the second time in the contest at 9:12 and Carter Verhaeghe added another to give Missouri a 6-1 lead after two.

Reed Seckel tacked on one more in the third frame with five minutes left and the scoring ended with the home team taking a 7-1 victory.

Baptista tallied his eighth of the year. Neal has points in his last four games (1g, 3a). Sides has five points in his last four contests (1g, 4a). Shantz suffered the loss in relief, stopping 26 of 33 shots. Robinson claimed the win, stopping 15 of 16 shots he faced.

Wichita was 0-for-3 on the power play. Missouri went 1-for-4 on the man advantage.

The Thunder makes its first trip of the season to Indy to take on the Fuel on Saturday, January 2nd at 6:35 p.m. CST.

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-