LAST WEEK'S GAMES - Wednesday, November 26thQuad City at Wichita, 2-0 W- Tyler Bunz earned his second shutout of the season on the eve of Thanksgiving. The Thunder defense played terrific, only allowing 12 shots during the contest. Erick Lizon netted the game-winning goal during the third period, while Ian Lowe netted Wichita's first empty-net goal of the season. Friday, November 28thWichita at Missouri, 4-1 W- Tim Boron claimed his fourth win of the season, giving up only one goal on 22 Missouri shots. Lizon and Lowe scored goals once again, while Todd Hosmer and Nikita Kashirsky also found the back of the net. Wichita is now 4-1-0-0 on the season against the Mavericks. Saturday, November 29th Allen at Wichita, 3-1 W- Tyler Bunz earned the #1 Star of the Game, stopping 33 of 34 shots on net. Erick Lizon celebrated his 29th birthday with his third goal of the week, while Kenton Miller and Danick Gauthier both scored as well.
Sunday, November 30th Tulsa at Wichita, 3-2 L (SO)- The visiting Oilers jumped out to a two goal lead, but Nikita Kashirsky and Danick Gauthier answered with second period tallies to even things and force another overtime period against Tulsa. Ben Meisner stopped 29 out of 31 shots in his debut to force the game into a shootout. Wichita was unable to connect, falling for the third time in a shootout situation against the Oilers this season. THIS WEEK'S GAMES - Friday, December 5th Wichita at Brampton, 6:30 p.m., online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder Saturday, December 6th Wichita at Brampton, 1:00 p.m., online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder Sunday, December 7th Wichita at Elmira, 3:05 p.m., online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder (All times are central time zone) **Pre-game begins 20 minutes prior to start of all games. All games can be heard on www.wichitathunder.com or on your smart phone with the UStream App using the keyword, Wichita Thunder** THANKSGIVING FEAST - Wichita earned seven of a possible eight points over the holiday weekend and moved into third place ahead of the Quad City Mallards with 20 points. Wichita begins a four-game road swing next week across the border against the Brampton Beast. After a two-game set at the Powerade Centre, the Thunder travels to New York on Sunday afternoon take on the Elmira Jackals for the first time ever.
FINDING THE SWEET SPOT - Erick Lizon is finding his offensive touch after scoring three goals in four games. Lizon had one goal prior to last week and needs only three more to tie his season-high of seven during the 2008-09 season while playing with the Laredo Bucks of the CHL.
600 - Head Coach Kevin McClelland reached a milestone Friday night, coaching in his 600th game as a professional head coach. The Thunder jumped out to a 3-0 lead and earned a 4-1 win. Mac started back in 2005-06 with the Memphis RiverKings. He is in his fifth season behind the Thunder bench, going 152-100-30 over that span. BRICK WALL - Tyler Bunz continued his hot streak, stopping 45 of 46 shots on net in two starts this week. His second shutout of the season came Wednesday against Quad City. Bunz faced the Allen Americans, who average the second most goals per game in the ECHL at 4.13, and gave up only one goal on 34 shots. Bunz now owns a goals against average of 1.87, which is third-best in the league.
GONE STREAKING - All five players that tallied points on Sunday against the Oilers extended scoring streaks. Kashirsky (2g, 2a), Lowe (2g, 2a), and Gauthier (2g, 3a) extended their streaks to four games, while Duval (3a) and Miller (1g, 2a) extended their streaks to three games.
OLD FRIEND - Kenton Miller continues to be a thorn in the side of his former team. Miller recorded an assist on Friday night and now has seven points in five games against the Mavericks. MAKING AN IMPRESSION - Rookie forward Ian Duval has gotten off to a great start since signing with the Thunder, accumulating three assists in his first four games. Duval made his debut against Quad City on Wednesday, and has tallied an assist in each of the last three games. MIDDLE MEN - The Thunder continued to perform well during the second period last week. Wichita held a 52-29 SOG advantage during the week, including an 11-3 advantage against Missouri and 15-2 advantage against Quad City. Wichita scored 11 goals last week and five of those goals were netted during the second period.
THUNDERBOLTS… Kenton Miller and Danick Gauthier are tied for fifth place in power play goals (4)...Jared Walker needs four more to equal the amount of goals he scored in each of his first two seasons as a pro (9)...Wichita has been outshot in two straight games after outshooting their opponent 10 games in a row…Wichita is second in the league in shots against per game (24.22)...Wichita is 2-1-0-1 when leading after one...Wichita is 4-2-0-0 when tied after one…Wichita is 3-3-1-1 when tied after two periods…Wichita is 6-4-0-2 when outshooting the opponent…Wichita is 4-1-0-0 in two-goal games...Wichita is 6-2-0-1 when scoring first...
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.
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