Thunder Weekly - October 27th

LAST WEEK'S GAMES - Saturday, October 25th Allen at Wichita, 5-3 L - Stephen Schultz, Erick Lizon and Jared Walker each tallied goals, but it wasn't enough as the Americans defeated Wichita on Opening Night by the final of 5-3. Gary Steffes recorded two including the game-winner early in the third period that broke a 3-3 tie. 7,004 fans took in the action, which is the largest Opening Night crowd in three seasons. During the 2011-12 season, the Thunder drew 8,734 on Opening Night. Sunday, October 26th Wichita at Tulsa, 6-5 L (OT)-Wichita fought back from two separate three-goal deficits to force overtime. Jared Walker tied the game with five minutes remaining with a wrist shot from the left circle. The Oilers walked out with the overtime win as T.J. Caig scored with just over a minute remaining in the extra session.

THIS WEEK'S GAMES - Wednesday, October 29th Tulsa at Wichita, 7:05 p.m., Online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder

Saturday, November 1st Missouri at Wichita, 7:05 p.m., Online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder Sunday, November 2nd Wichita at Tulsa, 4:05 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** BACK TO BACK - Stephen Schultz and Jared Walker went back-to-back this weekend, scoring on Saturday and Sunday. Schultz is tied for the team lead with 3 points on the season (2G, 1A). Walker's shorthanded goal tied the game at three heading in to the third period on Friday night and forced overtime when he pulled the Thunder even with Tulsa on Sunday.

FAMILIAR FOES - Wichita and Tulsa have played 251 total times throughout the history of the franchises. Wichita is 129-103-19 overall against the Oilers. Wichita will play Allen and Tulsa a combined 31 times out of the 72 games on the schedule this season. Saturday was the first game of 16 against Allen, while Sunday's game was the first of 15 games this year against Tulsa. The Thunder will face Tulsa twice this week, including this coming Wednesday night at INTRUST Bank Arena.

RESILIENCY - Although the Thunder are just two games into the season, they showed resiliency in both contests. On Friday night, Wichita gave up a first period lead and trailed 3-2 before Walker's shorthanded goal tied the game heading into the third. Wichita was down three goals on two separate occasions on Sunday afternoon, but stormed back to force overtime after Walker put a wrist shot past Kevin Carr with just five minutes left in regulation.

PUMPIN' OIL - Tyler Bunz was reassigned to the Oklahoma City Barons by the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. He did not appear in either of the Barons' games over the weekend. With Bunz called up, local product Mike Ozowski was signed as the team's back-up. Ozowski played junior hockey in Dallas and currently plays men's league at the Wichita Ice Center.

MOVIN' ON UP - Former Thunder goaltender Scott Darling became the first player in franchise history to reach the pinnacle. Last night, he started for the Chicago Blackhawks and earned his first NHL win over the Ottawa Senators by the final of 2-1. He stopped 32 shots and was named the number one star in the contest. Darling played one game with the Thunder during the 2011-12 season while also joining the team as the emergency back-up during the 2012 CHL Finals. The Chicago native has been with 13 different teams in his professional career.

THUNDERBOLTS…Wichita's road power play went 2-for-6 last night, which is 3rd overall on the road (33.3%)…Wichita is tied for fourth in shorthanded goals (1) and one of just six teams to score with a man down at home…The Thunder offense is fifth overall in goals for per game (4.00)…

The Thunder return home on Wednesday to face the Oilers at 7:05 p.m. Wichita hosts the Missouri Mavericks on Saturday, November 1st at 7:05 p.m. followed by a visit to Tulsa on Sunday, November 2nd at 4:05 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-