Thunder Weekly – December 9th

LAST WEEK'S GAMES - Friday, December 5thWichita at Brampton, 4-1 L- The Beast scored two quick first period goals and never looked back, pulling away from the Thunder by the final of 4-1 despite being outshot 46-28. Kyle Gibbons recorded the first pro goal of his career that pulled the Thunder within one, but Brampton added two in the third for the win. Saturday, December 6th Wichita at Brampton, 3-1 W - Brampton scored first early in the third period to break a scoreless tie. Danick Gauthier lifted the Thunder on his back and recorded a natural hat trick, the first of his pro career, that helped Wichita earn a 3-1 road victory. Sunday, December 7th Wichita at Elmira, 5-1 L- Elmira scored 59 seconds into the game when former Thunder forward Matt Tassone found the net. The Jackals added an early second period goal off a face-off to increase the lead to 2-0. Todd Hosmer recorded the only Thunder tally of the night, but it was not meant to be in a penalty-filled contest that Elmira won by the final of 5-1.

THIS WEEK'S GAMES - Wednesday, December 10th Wichita at Tulsa, 7:00 p.m., online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder Friday, December 12th Quad City at Wichita, 7:05 p.m., online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder Saturday, December 13th Rapid City at Wichita, 7:05 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** THREE'S A CROWD - Wichita played its second three-in-three of the season last weekend. After splitting in Brampton, the Thunder lost on Sunday afternoon to the Jackals in the team's first-ever meeting against each other. Wichita is 3-2-0-1 when having to play three games in three nights.

HATS OFF - Danick Gauthier recorded his first pro hat trick of his career, which was also a natural hat trick in the third period on Saturday afternoon. He tied the game just after Calin Wild broke a scoreless tie. His goal at 17:01 was the game-winner and then he found an open net with 22 seconds left. Gauthier's hat trick was the first recorded by a Thunder player since the 2012-13 season when Matt Robinson found the net three times on January 27th, 2013 against the Denver Cutthroats.

TIMMMMY - Tim Boron was solid between the pipes for the Thunder on Saturday, earning his fifth victory of the season. He stopped 32 of 33 shots and improved his goals against average to 2.74 along with his save percentage to .894. SMOTHERING - Wichita continues to limit teams in terms of shots on net and is back in first for shots against per game (25.57). That trend continued over the weekend, allowing just 22 shots on Sunday against Elmira. On the flip side, Wichita averaged 37.33 shots on net in their three-game eastern swing. The Thunder are currently 10th overall in shots for per game (31.38).

SIN BIN - Wichita finished Sunday's game with 102 penalty minutes and 18 infractions while the Jackals had 116 minutes and 21 infractions. Those totals are now new season-highs for the Thunder for most penalty minutes in a game and most combined penalty minutes between the two teams. 218 combined penalty minutes is the most in a game since Saturday, February 5th, 2011 at Fort Wayne when the two teams combined for 205 PIM.

MIDDLE MEN - Wichita's best offensive period has been the second. The Thunder have a scoring edge of 22-14 over their opponents so far this season. The first period is where the team has struggled, being outscored 20-12 and has given up the first goal in the last five games.

THUNDERBOLTS… Kenton Miller and Danick Gauthier are tied for fifth place in power play goals (4)...Since November 16th, the Thunder penalty kill has given up two power play goal, killing off 38 of 41 chances for the opponent...Wichita is 2-1-0-1 when leading after one...Wichita is 5-2-0-0 when tied after one…Wichita is 4-3-1-1 when tied after two periods…Wichita is 7-6-0-2 when outshooting the opponent…Wichita is 6-1-0-0 in two-goal games...

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-