Comeback Halted in SO Loss vs. Tulsa

Wichita, KS (Nov. 30th) - Wichita (8-6-1-3) and Tulsa (10-5-1-2) have had a knack of playing past regulation so far this season and Sunday night was no different. Trailing by two goals midway through the second period, the Thunder battled back to even the score and eventually fell in a shootout by the final of 3-2 at INTRUST Bank Arena. Four out of the six meetings between the two teams have gone into either overtime or a shootout. The Oilers claimed another win in the StoneWolf Casino Series, knocking off the Wichita for the third time in a shootout situation. Danick Gauthier and Nikita Kashirsky recorded goals for the Thunder in the losing effort. Wichita finishes the week taking seven of a possible eight points and move into third place one point ahead of the Quad City Mallards.

The Oilers didn't take long to get on the board when Steve Mele put home a rebound at 2:37 for his fourth of the season. Tulsa had two chances on the man advantage in the opening frame, but failed to find the back of the net. Each team put up seven shots on goal, but the contest headed to the second with the Oilers leading 1-0.

Jon Booras, who was named the ECHL Player of the Week on Monday, remained hot as he increased the Tulsa lead at 6:58 of the second period. He found a rebound at the side of the net and beat Ben Meisner to push the lead to 2-0 in favor of the visitors. Four minutes later, Ian Duval found Kashirsky at the top of the right circle and he snapped one past Kevin Carr to get the Thunder on the board. at 15:34, Mike Wilson put a pass through traffic that Gauthier got a piece of and slipped it past Carr on the power play to tie the game at two.

The game remained tied through the third and headed into overtime. Tulsa outshot the Thunder 3-0 in the extra session, but Meisner was up to the task and kept it even at two through 65 minutes. The eventual game-winner in the shootout came from T.J. Caig, beating Meisner over the glove at the top of round two. Kashirsky, Gauthier, Flath and Miller were all stopped by Carr through four shooters. Drew Fisher put an exclamation point on the Tulsa win with a terrific move to ice it at the top of round five for the win.

Wichita's three-game win streak and four-game streak at home are both stopped. Gauthier recorded his eighth of the season, fourth on the power play and extends his point-streak to four games (2g, 3a). Lowe picked up an assist to extend his point-streak to four games (2g, 2a). Kashirsky also extended his point-streak to four games with his fifth tally of the season and has four points over that stretch (2g, 2a). In just his fourth game, Ian Duval added an assist and has assists in three-straight. Kenton Miller has points in three-straight adding a helper tonight. Starting his first game in a Thunder uniform, Meisner took the shootout loss, stopping 29 of 31 shots. Carr claims the win, stopping 23 of 25 shots on net.

Wichita went 1-for-3 on the power play. Tulsa was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

Wichita begins a four-game road swing with a pair of games over the boarder against the Brampton Beast, starting Friday night at 6:30 p.m. central time.

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-