Thunder Slowed Down in 3-1 Loss at Quad City

Moline, IL (March 14th) - For the second-straight game, Wichita (28-23-2-6) entered the final period locked up in a tie game, but couldn't come out with the victory in a 3-1 loss on Saturday night to Quad City (31-23-4-3) at i-Wireless Center. The Mallards scored in the first while the Thunder answered in the second and sent the contest into the third tied at a goal apiece. Quad City got the go-ahead tally at the nine minute mark and added a late one to claim the 3-1 win. Wichita drops to 5-4-1-0 against the Mallards with two games left in the regular-season series.

Nikita Kashirsky provided the only offense for the Thunder, recording his 16th of the season.

The first period was back-and-forth with both teams getting some good scoring chances. The Mallards scored the only goal in the first 20 minutes when Kevin Baker found a loose puck in the slot and fired a shot past Tim Boron at 17:57.

Wichita answered early in the third period as Kashirsky came across the slot, held onto the puck and beat Parker Milner to the blocker side at 1:02. The Thunder continues to be a strong second-period team, outshooting the Mallards 11-5 and the contest headed into the third tied at one.

In the third, Quad City re-took the lead at 9:25 with a deflection from Mason Baptista. The puck came back to the blue line and Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel fired one on net. Baptista may have clipped Boron at the top of the crease, but there was no interference called and the goal would stand The Thunder had a late power play and almost tied it as RG Flath unloaded a shot that caught the iron and ended up in the corner. With time winding down, Boron was about to head to the bench for the extra attacker. Mario Lamoureux stole it in front of the Wichita bench and scored to make it 3-1. Immediately after the puck went in, a scrum ensued as Baker and Gauthier got tangled up. The score would stand with the Mallards taking the victory.

Kashirsky, who had his nine-game point-streak snapped last night, recorded his fourth goal of the month and has points in nine of the last 10 (7g, 6a). Eric Meland added an assist, giving him 30 points on the season. Boron suffered his 12th loss of the year, stopping 21 of 24 shots. Milner improved to 5-0-0-0 against the Thunder, stopping 25 of 26 shots he faced.

Wichita was 0-for-2 on the man advantage. Quad City went 0-for-3 on the power play.

Wichita ends its seven-game road trip with a pair of games against the Allen Americans starting on Tuesday night 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-