Offense Comes Alive In Win Vs. Rush

WICHITA, Kan. (Feb. 9) - Wichita exploded for seven goals, including four in the third period, to beat Rapid City, 7-4, on Sunday afternoon at INTRUST Bank Arena.

With the win, the Thunder moves within four points of the fourth-place Rush and pulls into a fifth-place tie with 50 points.

Peter Crinella, Garrett Schmitz, and Patrik Parkkonen each scored twice in the victory while Dylan Wells claimed his second win of the season.

Wichita netted two goals in the opening frame. At 15:42, Stefan Fournier received a lead pass from Spencer Dorowicz and beat Merrick Madsen with a backhand up under the bar. Two minutes later, Crinella re-directed a shot from Ostap Safin to make it 2-0.

The Thunder began the second period shorthanded for just over three minutes as Chris Crane was sent off for a double minor for roughing. Wichita was able to kill off the opportunity. Rapid City got on the board at 6:34 when Tanner Karty found some space at the bottom of the right circle and beat Wells. The Thunder re-gained a two-goal advantage on the power play as Schmitz fired a shot from the top of the left circle to make it 3-1.

In the third, Crinella gave the Thunder a 4-1 lead just 42 seconds in as he found a rebound and buried it past Madsen. Stephane Legault cut the Thunder lead to 4-2, taking a cross-ice pass from Chris Leibinger and buried it at 4:55. Schmitz notched his second of the contest as he found a loose puck at the left post and beat a diving Madsen to make it 5-2. Parkkonen tallied the next two, scoring at 11:43 with a shorthanded marker and finding the net at 15:19 to make it a 7-2 advantage. Peter Quenneville and Keeghan Howdeshell scored late goals for the Rush, but the Thunder came out with the 7-4 win.

Wichita had a season-high three power play goals on five chances. Fournier has goals in three-straight. Schmitz has goals in back-to-back games and points in four of his last five. Eight different players finished with at least two points, led by Parkkonen who had two goals and an assist.

The Thunder returns to action on Tuesday night with a trip to Kansas City to face the Mavericks at 7:05 p.m.

Individual tickets for the rest of the season are on sale now. To learn more, click here or contact a Thunder representative at the office today!

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-Thunder-