Thunder Silenced in 5-1 Loss to Tulsa

Wichita, KS (March 29th) - Beginning an important stretch of home games to finish the regular season, Wichita (30-29-2-6) fell on Sunday night to Tulsa (34-27-2-3) by the final of 5-1 at INTRUST Bank Arena. Five different Oilers scored while Todd Hosmer provided the lone marker for the Thunder in the losing effort. Wichita drops to 2-6-1-3 against Tulsa in the StoneWolf Casino Cup Series. The Thunder and Oilers have two more meetings down the stretch with Tulsa up five points for the final playoff spot in the Central Division.

Phil Brewer put Tulsa on the board with a shorthanded goal at 5:37. He caught a pass from Jon Booras at the front of the net and slid it past Tim Boron for his first goal as a pro. Wichita had the first four power plays of the game, but couldn't solve the Oilers penalty kill or Kevin Carr.

In the second, Brady Ramsay added to the lead with a breakaway goal at 10:17 with the only assist to Justin Mansfield. Tulsa outshot the Thunder 12-6 in the second, but led 2-0 heading into the third.

Adam Pleskach increased the lead to 3-0 with his 37th marker of the season at 5:05 of the third. Jeff Jubinville found him up the right wing on a two-on-one and beat Boron to the glove side. At 7:48, Hosmer stuffed home a rebound on the power play that got Wichita back within two. The comeback bid would be halted, however, as the Oilers scored a pair of goals in the final five minutes. Jon Booras potted his 23rd of the season at 15:07 that made it 4-1. Ricards Birzinsh scored his first of the season at 18:46 to finish the scoring and the final, 5-1.

Hosmer recorded his 22nd of the season and has goals in back-to-back games. Flath added an assist and now has 177 points all-time in a Thunder uniform, moving alone into ninth place ahead of Daniel Tetrault. Boron suffered the loss, stopping 25 of 30 shots on net. Carr takes the win, stopping 27 of 28 shots he faced.

Wichita was 1-for-8 on the man advantage. Tulsa went 0-for-3 on the power play.

Wichita has a couple of days off before returning to action on Wednesday night against Allen at 7:05 p.m.

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-