Moline, IL (Feb. 26th) - Andrew Panzarella scored with six minutes left in the third to break a tie game and Wichita couldn't find the equalizer, falling on Sunday afternoon by the final of 6-4 at iWireless Center.
Louick Marcotte had a pair of assists while Maxime St-Cyr had two points in the losing effort.
Guillaume Gelinas got the scoring started just past the halfway point of the first as he caught a pass at the front of the net and put it past Drew Owsley. Justin Kovacs made it 2-0 with a power play goal at 18:01. He received a give-and-go from the boards and scored his 13th of the year.
The Mallards added another power play goal at the start of the second. Chris Francis shoveled home a rebound at 2:39 to make it 3-0. St-Cyr answered 31 seconds later as he tipped home a shot from Vincent Dunn and cut the lead to 3-1. James Melindy recorded his third of the season at 10:27 with a wrist shot from the blue line that made it 3-2. Darryl Lloyd tied the game at 18:14 as he found a rebound near C.J. Motte's crease and put home a backhand from his knees.
Quad City re-gained the lead at 4:44 of the third when Grant Arnold fired a rebound from the slot on his backhand past Owsley and made it 4-3. Blake Tatchell connected on a one-timer at 7:53 that tied it at four. Panzarella gave the Mallards the lead at 13:52 as his shot re-directed off a stick and over Owsley's shoulder. Adam Gilmour tacked on an empty-netter and the Mallards escaped with a 6-4 win.
Tatchell netted his ninth of the season while St-Cyr added his sixth. Lloyd, who was acquired in a trade yesterday, tallied his first in a Thunder uniform. Owsley suffers the loss, stopping 43 of 48 shots. Motte claims the win, stopping 31 of 35 shots he faced.
Wichita went 0-for-5 on the power play. Quad City was 2-for-6 on the man advantage.
The Thunder returns home for a pair of games against Tulsa starting next Friday at 7:05 p.m.
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 package opportunities!
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.
-Thunder-