Quick Strike Offense Leads Thunder Past Mavs

WICHITA, Kan. (Dec. 30) - Wichita closed its home portion of 2019 in style, skating past Kansas City by the final of 5-2 on Monday night at INTRUST Bank Arena.

Peter Crinella scored twice while three others found the back of the net. Evan Weninger earned his 5th win of the season, stopping 35 shots.

Crinella got things started at 7:34 when he put a wrap-around past Tyler Parsons to make it 1-0. Kansas City tied it up less than three minutes later as Rocco Carzo popped a rebound over Weninger for his 13th of the year.

Early in the second, Chris Crane scored his 11th of the year to make it 2-1. He found a loose puck off a shot that went wide off the back wall just 46 seconds in and potted the go-ahead goal.

The Thunder tacked on three in the third period to pull away. Crinella scored his second of the night just nine seconds into the frame when he stole the puck off the boards and beat Parsons over the shoulder to make it 3-1. Three minutes later, Fabrizio Ricci increased the lead to 4-1. He caught a long-lead pass from Riley Weselowski, skated past the defenseman and scored while he was getting hauled to the ice. Jason Salvaggio found the back of the net at 9:37 to make it 5-1. Kansas City added a late goal from Jack Walker, but the Thunder won going away.

Crinella finished with two goals for the second time in the last six games. Crane and Ricci each had a goal and an assist and Desharnais recorded two assists.

Wichita heads to Kansas City tomorrow night to close out the decade with another meeting in the Independence Cup Series at 7:05 p.m.

The Thunder are excited to be the host of the 2020 Warrior Hockey/ECHL All-Star Classic, presented by Toyota, on Wednesday January 22, 2020. Get your tickets now for the league's annual showcase that features some of the best young talent across the ECHL by clicking here.

Season tickets for the 2019-20 season are on sale now. Get your seats for just $34 per month. All it takes is a $1 deposit per seat to reserve yours today. To learn more, click here or contact a Thunder representative at the office today!

Follow along with us on our social media platforms on Facebook (@wichitathunder1), Twitter (@wichita_thunder), Snapchat (wichthunder), Instagram (Wichita_Thunder) and LinkedIn.

-Thunder-