Thunder Upended 5-2 On Teddy Bear Toss Night

Wichita, KS (Nov. 21st) - The top line of Missouri (13-2-0-1) combined for six points to knock off Wichita (5-10-0-1) on Saturday night by the final of 5-2 at INTRUST Bank Arena. Jesse Root (2g, 1a), Tyler Barnes (1g, 1a) and Kellen Jones (1a) paced the visitors to a three-goal lead in the first 15 minutes of the contest before the Thunder scored back-to-back markers in a high-scoring first period. The loss puts the Thunder in a 0-6-0-1 hole in the Independence Cup Series.

Andy Huff and Danick Gauthier provided the Thunder offense in the losing effort.

Missouri jumped out to an early lead with a goal from Tyler Barnes at 1:17 of the first. Patrick Cullity put the Mavericks up 2-0 just a little over two minutes later with a long shot through traffic. Scott Allen made it 3-0 at 15:01, recording his second of the

season. Just 33 seconds later, Huff got the Thunder offense going off the rush and beat Parker Milner to make it 3-1. Gautheir scored at 16:37, punching home a rebound to make it 3-2. The two teams combined for five goals in the frame.

In the second, Missouri converted on the power play with a goal from Root at 14:44. It was his eighth of the year and first of two on the night.

Root scored his second on a shorthanded break-a-way, stealing the puck from Eric Springer at the blueline and out raced him down the ice for his ninth of the season. Wichita outshot the Mavericks 14-6 in the frame, but Milner didn't allow another and the visitors claimed a 5-2 victory.

Huff led the Thunder with seven shots on net and recorded his third of the season. Gauthier finished with four shots and his first tally of the year. Grant Rollheiser suffers the loss, stopping 38 of 43 shots. Milner earns his fifth victory of the year, stopping 24 of 26 shots he faced.

Wichita went 0-for-2 on the power play. Missouri was 1-for-3 on the man advantage.

The Thunder will host the Indy Fuel on Wednesday night to close out a six-game homestand at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday is $1 Beer and Country Night. Wear your best country attire and have a chance to win some great prizes including two tickets to the PBR event at INTRUST Bank Arena.

Individual tickets 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-