Wichita, KS (April 6th) - Jussi Olkinuora stopped 27 shots and three different Tulsa players had two points to pace the Oilers (35-30-3-2) to a 5-1 victory over Wichita (18-40-6-6) on Tuesday night at INTRUST Bank Arena. Landon Oslanski scored the only Thunder goal of the night.
Christophe Lalancette got the Oilers going at the 11:22 mark of the first as he put home his own rebound past Sean Bonar. Tulsa had a 19-5 shot advantage heading into the second.
Ben Murphy made it 2-0 at 4:25 of the second with his third goal of the season. Wichita cut the lead to one just over two minutes later as Olkinuora re-directed a pass from the left boards through Olkinuora for his 13th of the season. The Oilers re-gained a two-goal advantage at 13:07 with a goal from Eric Drapluk. Tom Kroshus added a power play goal at 14:25 to close out the scoring in the second and a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Roberts Lipbergs tacked on his 11th of the season at 2:08 of the third and gave the visitors a 5-1 advantage. Olkinuora held the fort down the stretch, stopping all 10 shots he faced in the third.
It was the first meeting between the two teams since Valentine's Day. Oslanski extended his scoring streak to four games (3g, 3a). Kerbashian added his 29th assist of the year while Christian Isackson recorded his 15th helper of the year. Bonar takes the loss, stopping 20 of 25 shots. Olkinuora earns the win, stopping 27 of 28 shots he faced.
Wichita went 0-for-3 on the power play. Tulsa went 1-for-3 on the man advantage.
Wichita plays its final home game of the regular season on Friday against Tulsa starting at 7:05 p.m.
Friday night is Batman vs. Superman Night, presented by Kansas Honor Flight. The team will be wearing special themed uniforms with the proceeds benefiting the Kansas Honor Flight. Come meet Superman during the game as he will walking around the concourse taking pictures and signing autographs.
Individual tickets for all games 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.
Follow along with us on our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter (@wichita_thunder), Snapchat (wichthunder), Instagram (Wichita_Thunder) and LinkedIn, presented by Wichita Brewing Company.
About the ECHLThe 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-