Third Period Helps Thunder Skate Past Grizzlies

Wichita, KS (Nov. 4th) - Wichita scored three times in the third period and skated away with a 6-2 win over the Utah Grizzlies on Friday night at INTRUST Bank Arena.

Six different players scored to help pace a balanced offense and rookie netminder Drew Owsley grabbed his second win of the season.

Both sides exchanged opportunities and penalties in the first frame. Wichita got on the board first with a power play goal as Alexis Loiseau jumped on a loose puck and beat Grizzlies goaltender Kevin Boyle with 39 seconds remaining.

Utah tied things early in the second period as Tim Daly fired a shot through Owsley with traffic in front of the net. Wichita re-took the lead when Louick Marcotte skated up the ice and beat Boyle to the blocker side. Jack Rodewald extended the Thunder advantage to 3-1 after receiving a beautiful pass from Loiseau from the side of the net to the slot and he buried his third of the season. 14 seconds later, the Grizzlies cut it to one as Austen Brassard drove to the net up the wing and tallied his third of the season.

In the third, Gerrad Grant recorded his first of his career just 14 seconds into the frame when a bouncing puck redirected off his body and went into the net. At 6:09, Mitch Holmberg tallied his first of the season with a beautiful tip on a pass from Blake Tatchell for a 5-2 advantage. Alexis Vanier closed the scoring with a power play marker at 12:05 to make it 6-2 as he unloaded a blast from the right circle to the upper portion of the net.

Wichita has outscored its opponents 12-1 in the third period. Loiseau finished with two points and has goals in three-straight. Rodewald (1g, 1a), Tatchell (2a) and Marcotte (1g, 1a) all had two points. Grant and Vanier each recorded their first professional goals. Krushelnyski added an assist to extend his point-streak to five games.

Owsley got the win, stopping 32 of 34 shots. Boyle took the loss, stopping 26 of 32 shots he faced.

Wichita went 2-for-4 on the power play and killed off all three Utah opportunities, extending the team's streak to 18-for-18 on the penalty kill.

The Thunder and the Grizzlies will meet again tomorrow night starting at 7:05 p.m. The first 1,000 kids 12 and under will receive a Thunderdog Gnome Bank, presented by BNC National Bank.

Individual tickets for all Thunder home games are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 855-755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com.

Contact a Thunder representative at the office today to learn more about our great season, group and other ticket packet opportunities!

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-Thunder-