Thunder Pulls Off Comeback vs. Rapid City

WICHITA, Kan. (Mar. 2) - Down 4-0 early in the second period, Wichita mounted a comeback and won in overtime on Tuesday night, 5-4, over Rapid City at INTRUST Bank Arena. 

Wichita rattled off five unanswered goals, three in the third period in just under a seven-minute span for the win.

Dean Stewart and Jay Dickman scored with the Thunder goaltender pulled to tie the game and force overtime. Patrik Parkkonen recorded his second overtime winner in the last seven days to help the Thunder to the victory. Alex Sakellaropoulos was terrific in relief, stopping all 25 shots he faced. 

Rapid City built an early lead, scoring twice in the first period. Peter Quenneville put the Rush up 1-0 just two minutes into the game for his seventh of the year. At 13:19, Stephen Baylis caught a pass from Hunter Garlent at the edge of the right circle and made it 2-0. 

The Rush added to their lead with a goal from Garlent at 1:26 of the second to make it 3-0. He found a rebound in front of Evan Weninger and recorded his sixth of the season. Garrett Klotz increased the lead to 4-0 at 4:33 as he skated around a falling defenseman and beat Weninger for his first of the year. Weninger's night would be over and Sakellaropoulos entered the game. 

At 9:08, Spencer Dorowicz found the net for his first of the year that got the comeback started. He found a loose puck near the right circle and slid it just inside the left post to make it 4-1. 

Anthony Beauregard cut the lead to 4-2 at 13:09 of the third. He tipped in a shot from Dickman for his 10th of the season. Wichita pulled Sakellaropoulos with two minutes left and connected twice to tie the game. At 18:39, Stewart fired a shot from the deep slot that was redirected in by Dickman to cut the lead to 4-3. Stewart let another one fly at 19:22 from almost the same spot and beat Gordon Defiel to tie the game. 

Rapid City outshot the Thunder in the extra session, 6-4, but Wichita had the last laugh. Stewart fed a pass to Parkkonen during an odd-man rush and he beat Defiel with a backhand for the game-winner. 

Wichita had a season-high 48 shots on net. Stewart (1g, 2a), Beauregard (1g, 2a) and Matteo Gennaro (3a) led the way with three points each. Dickman and Parkkonen both had a goal and an assist.  

The Thunder have a few days off before welcoming the Utah Grizzlies for the first time this season on Friday night.

Single game tickets are on sale now. Click here to purchase tickets or call the Thunder office at 316-264-4625.

ECHL TV has a new provider for the 2020-21 season. We are proud to partner with FloHockey, which provides subscribers with plenty of content. Watch live events across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast. To become a subscriber, click here.

Follow along with us on our social media platforms on Facebook (@wichitathunder1), Twitter (@wichita_thunder), Snapchat (wichthunder), Instagram (Wichita_Thunder) and LinkedIn.