Second Period Subdues Thunder in Loss to Oilers

Wichita, KS (Feb. 21st) - Behind a hat trick from TJ Caig and some puck luck, Tulsa (25-23-1-3) skated past Wichita (24-20-2-5) on Saturday night by the final score of 7-4 at INTRUST Bank Arena. The Oilers scored three times in the second period on indirect bounces that got past Thunder netminder Tim Boron and added two empty-netters late to pull away in front of 6,851 fans. Wichita drops to 2-3-1-3 in the StoneWolf Casino Cup Series against Tulsa.

Mike Wilson and Nikita Kashirsky potted a goal and an assist and Justin Bernhardt added his seventh of the season in the losing effort.

Wichita got on the board early in the first period with a power play goal at 2:26. Bernhardt fired a rocket past Kevin Carr from the top of the left circle with assists to Wilson and Gauthier. The Oilers evened the contest at 5:27 with a power play tally of their own. TJ Caig was left wide open after Bernhardt was taken down by the leg of Drew Fisher and found the net for his 15th of the season. Just over a minute later, Tommy Mele re-directed a shot from Nathan Lutz that got past Tim Boron and gave the Oilers their first lead of the game.

In the second, the offenses were put on display as the two teams combined for five goals. Wichita tied the contest at two just 40 seconds in as Todd Hosmer ripped a shot past Carr's blocker for his 16th of the season. Kashirsky, who assisted on Hosmer's tally, found the back of the net at 3:28 after stealing it at the top of the left circle and beat Carr over the blocker-side shoulder. The Oilers scored the next three and got the bounces on their side. Adam Pleskach tied the game after Dave Pszenyczny's shot popped off of Boron and pinballed past him in the net. At 8:14, Caig recorded his second of the night after a loose puck squirted to the left post and found its way over the line off a defenseman's skate. Tulsa took a 5-3 lead at 12:42 when Scott Macaulay's centering feed re-directed off of Michael Trebish's foot and got past Boron. The score would remain the same heading into the intermission.

Wilson remained red-hot, getting the Thunder within one on the power play at 15:49 of the third. Kenton Miller found him cutting down from the left point with a pass across the crease and made it 5-4. With two minutes remaining, Boron headed to the bench for the extra attacker. The Thunder were kept to the outside and then Jon Booras lifted a long shot up in the air that had some English on it and the disc rolled into the empty net at 18:37. Caig added his third of the night with an empty-net marker from the red line after Boron was taken out again and ended the scoring at 7-4.

Wilson scored in his second-straight game and has points in his last seven (3g, 8a). He is also just four points shy of 200 for his career. Gauthier extended his point-streak to five games (3g, 5a) while Kashirsky has points in his last three (2g, 2a). Boron suffered his second-straight loss at home, stopping 28 of 33. Carr took the win, stopping 30 of 34 shots he faced.

Wichita went 2-for-5 on the man advantage. Tulsa went 1-for-5 on the power play.

Wichita has a few days off and will get back after it next Friday with the Brampton Beast coming to town for the first time this season. Friday night is the first-ever Adult Jersey give-a-way. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will get this special jersey, courtesy of the Kansas National Guard. Friday is also Wichita State University Night as we help the fans show their Shocker pride. Join the team at Chili's at Central and Maize road afterwards for a post-game party and meet your favorite players.

Individual tickets are on sale now. Don't delay! Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com. Stay up-to-date on all the news during the season by visiting www.wichitathunder.com.

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-