Thunder Lose See-Saw Affair in Allen

Allen, TX (Jan. 17th) - Wichita (18-14-2-4) couldn't recover from an early hole, losing a back-and-forth battle on Saturday night to Allen (27-5-1-2) by the final score of 6-4 at the Allen Event Center. The Thunder pulled out of an early hole to tie game in a wild first period, but gave up three unanswered that helped the Americans sweep the weekend set. Wichita trails in the season-series 5-3-0-0.

Four different Thunder players found the back of the net including Nikita Kashirsky and Erick Lizon. Jared Walker finished with two assists and Todd Hosmer had a goal and an assist.

Allen got off to a quick start, scoring three goals in a three-minute span in the first period. Kyle Follmer recorded his fourth marker in two games at 10:03 with a power play tally off a face-off. At 11:31, Gary Steffes added his first of two as he went back-to-back with a wrist shot past the glove of Tim Boron from the bottom of the left circle. His second came on the power play at 13:09 as he put home a loose puck that was near the crease. Wichita found some momentum, answering 27 seconds later with two goals. The first came from Kashirsky at 13:42 with a wrist shot off a rebound in front of Aaron Dell to get the Thunder on the board. Lizon scored 15 seconds later as he put home a rebound during a net-front scramble. Just before the final horn sounded to end the first, Mike MacIntyre scored his first in a Thunder uniform with a one-timer from the right point and the game headed into the locker room tied at three.

In the second, the Americans scored twice to claim their second two-goal lead of the evening. Ian Schultz put home a net-mouth pass from Rylan Schwartz and beat Boron as he was in the two-pad stack at the near post. At 18:05, Chad Costello scored his 18th of the year to make it 5-3.

Schultz increased the lead to 6-3 with eight minutes remaining in third, giving him two on the night. The run to the penalty box was constant throughout the final frame as the two teams combined for 70 penalty minutes. Wichita got a late goal from Hosmer with eight seconds remaining, but time would run out as Allen claimed a 6-4 victory.

Hosmer connected for his 12th of the season and has goals in three-straight. Duval picked up an assist and pushed his scoring streak to 12 games (6g, 7a). Kashirsky recorded his eighth of the year and has points in his last three (1g, 3a). Lizon recorded his sixth of the year, putting him one shy of his career-high when he scored seven with Laredo during the 2008-09 season. Boron suffered the loss, stopping 24 of 30 shots on net. Dell claimed his third win against the Thunder, stopping 26 of 30 shots he faced.

Wichita went 1-for-6 on the power play. Allen was 3-for-9 with the man advantage.

Wichita continues on its five-game road swing with two contests in the Black Hills next Friday and Saturday night against Rapid City.

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-