Nelson Carries Thunder to 4-2 Win Over IceMen

Wichita, KS (Jan. 27th) - Logan Nelson recorded his first pro hat trick and Wichita (10-25-4-4) held off a late charge from Evansville (15-20-4-1) on Wednesday night in a 4-2 victory at INTRUST Bank Arena. The Thunder snaps their nine-game losing skid and improves to 2-0-0-0 against the IceMen this season.

Nelson led the way with four points (3g, 1a) while Kale Kerbashian added a pair of helpers.

Wichita took a quick lead as Nelson scored back-to-back goals just 14 seconds apart at the four-minute mark of the first. Miller added another to make it 3-0 at the 13 minute-mark with his 10th of the year. Danny Hobbs broke through for the IceMen with less than a minute to go in the opening frame with his sixth of the season.

Evansville cut the lead to one when Vincent Dunn scored his eighth of the year at 8:23 of the second. With seven minutes left in the period, Strandberg was awarded a penalty shot after getting caught from behind near the Thunder net. His attempt was unsuccessful and the lead stood at 3-2 heading to the third.

Nelson potted his third on the power play at 6:06 of the final period with a wrist shot from the left circle. The IceMen pulled Christoffer Bengtsberg with just under three minutes left, but the Thunder held on and claimed a 4-2 victory.

Nelson's hat trick is the first of the season for a Thunder player. His four-point outing is a new career-high in a single game for the second-year pro. Nelson's back-to-back goals is the fastest two goals scored by a Thunder player this year. Strandberg's penalty shot is the first against Wichita this season. Kerbashian has three assists in his last two games. Shantz claims the win, stopping 31 of 33 shots. Bengtsberg takes the loss, stopping 21 of 25 shots he faced.

Wichita is 1-for-5 on the power play. Evansville is 0-for-4 on the man advantage.

The Thunder heads to Independence on Friday to start a two-game swing against the Mavericks at 7:05 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.

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About the ECHLThe 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-