Thunder Slides Past Evansville 3-2 in a Shootout

Evansville, IN (Jan. 3rd) - Ian Lowe scored a goal in regulation and had the game-winner in the shootout on Sunday afternoon to help Wichita (9-20-1-3) defeat Evansville (12-15-3-1) at the Ford Center. Both teams traded goals before the Thunder outscored the IceMen 2-1 in the shootout round.

Kenton Miller and Lowe had the Thunder tallies while David Shantz won his second game in a row.

Wichita played a solid first period, outshooting the IceMen 9-3. Miller gave the Thunder a 1-0 lead with a power play goal from the right circle at 18:46. Dalton Reum was sent off with nine seconds to go in the frame and that would carry over into the second.

The IceMen started the second with a two-man advantage when Lowe was called for tripping. Evansville was held at bay and the Thunder killed off the five-on-three. Nathan Moon tied the game at 7:52 on a two-on-one for his first of two on the night. Lowe answered at 15:23, scoring on an odd-man chance from the left circle just inside the post of Christoffer Bengtsberg and made it 2-1.

Moon tied it with his second of the contest at 6:42 of the third. He won a battle in the corner, skated across the crease and beat Shantz. The game remained tied and headed into overtime.

Both teams had plenty of chances to end it in the five minute extra session. Andy Huff was denied on a breakaway. Tyson Fawcett came down all alone, but was stopped by Shantz. The frantic overtime ended and a shootout was needed.

Huff and Lowe scored in the penalty shot round for the Thunder while Fawcett had the only shootout goal for the IceMen. Shantz shut down Moon in the bottom of round three that gave Wichita a 3-2 victory.

Wichita scored its first power play goal since December 18th. Miller has three points in the last two games. Lowe recorded his first goal since early December. Shantz earns the win, stopping 21 of 23 shots. Bengtsberg suffers his first shootout loss of the season, stopping 23 of 25 shots he faced.

Wichita was 1-for-2 on the power play. Evansville went 0-for-6 on the man advantage.

The Thunder returns home on Friday to start a home-and-home series against Tulsa starting at 7:05 p.m.

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 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-