Rally Falls Short in OT Loss to Allen

Wichita, KS (Dec. 27th) - Eric Roy potted two goals for the visitors including the game-winner with just under two minutes left in overtime that helped Allen (17-12-1-0) slide past Wichita (7-18-0-3) by the final of 3-2 on Sunday night at INTRUST Bank Arena. Wichita rallied back from a two-goal deficit to force overtime, but dropped to 0-2-0-1 against the Americans in the season-series.

Mason Baptista and Eric Springer lit the lamp for the Thunder in the losing effort.

Allen got on the board first halfway through the first period when Gary Steffes collected

a nice pass on a three-on-two and beat Grant Rollheiser to make it 1-0.

In the second, Allen cashed in on a power play chance when Roy recorded his first of two at 15:59. Wichita answered 30 seconds later as Baptista picked up his own rebound after driving the net and scored his fifth of the season.

Eric Springer pulled the Thunder even with seven minutes left in the third period. He got to a loose puck on the left wing wall, fired a bad angle shot that got through Riley Gill and evened the score at two. Both teams were held in check and overtime was needed once again.

Wichita had most of the puck possession in the beginning of overtime and outshot Allen 3-2 in the frame. Roy scored the game-winner at 3:33, stepping up the ice from his own zone on a two-on-one and beat Rollheiser over the glove to the upper corner with a wrist shot.

Allen hands Wichita its first loss of the year that was decided in the overtime period. The Thunder have played past regulation in four out of the last five games. Springer recorded his first goal of the season while Baptista added his first since November 13th. Rollheiser was solid in net despite the loss, stopping 31 of 34 shots. Gill earned the win, stopping 32 of 34 shots he faced.

Wichita went 0-for-2 on the power play. Allen was 1-for-4 on the man advantage.

The two teams will face each other on Wednesday night, which is the final home game for the Thunder in 2015.

Individual tickets 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 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-