Vesey Pushes Thunder Past Mavericks

Wichita, KS (Dec. 29th) - Nolan Vesey scored with under seven minutes to go in the third and Wichita held on late for a 3-2 victory over Kansas City on Saturday night at INTRUST Bank Arena.

Keoni Texeira and Ralph Cuddemi led the way with two points apiece and Stuart Skinner earned his 10th win of the season.

Texeira got the scoring started early in the first when his wrist shot from the slot hit the glass behind Nick Schneider, re-directed off his back and in the net to make it 1-0. At 6:59, Ralph Cuddemi made it 2-0 with a snap shot from the left circle on the power play for his 15th of the year.

In the second, Kansas City pulled even with a pair of goals in the frame. Jared VanWormer cut the lead to one at 4:19 when Eric Roy's stick snapped at the blade during a clearing attempt, allowing the Mavericks to keep the puck in the zone and VanWormer beat Skinner to make it 2-1. At 19:15, Mark Cooper found Greg Betzold with a nice backhand pass and he buried it over the blocker of Skinner to tie the game at two.

Vesey recorded the game winner at 13:19 of the third period, catching a feed from Jakob Stukel and beat Schneider for his third of the year. Schneider was pulled twice down the stretch, but Wichita held firm and won the game, 3-2.

Cuddemi has power play goals in back-to-back games and leads the league with 10 on the man advantage. Texeira recorded his first goal of the season and added his league-leading 17th power play helper. Skinner stopped 30 shots in his ninth-straight start.

Wichita closes the home portion of the 2018 schedule tomorrow afternoon against the Tulsa Oilers at 4:05 p.m. Sunday is Undie Sunday, presented by Salvation Army. Bring new underwear, socks, t-shirts or long johns and throw them on the ice after the second period.

Individual tickets for all games are on sale now. Season tickets are still available for purchase. Get your seats for just $15 per month. All it takes is a $1 deposit per seat to reserve yours today. To learn more, click here or contact a Thunder representative at the office today!

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