Thunder, Komets Play Deciding Game 5 Tonight in Fort Wayne

FORT WAYNE, IN (June 14) – Wichita and Fort Wayne will collide tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Game 5 of their first round playoff series with the winner moving on to the Western Conference Finals to face Allen. 

The Thunder evened up the series on Saturday night with a 4-2 win at Memorial Coliseum. Matteo Gennaro had two goals while Brayden Watts had two helpers. Evan Buitenhuis stopped 23 of 25 shots to claim his second win of the postseason. 

"Its that do or die situation. These guys want to keep playing," commented Head Coach Bruce Ramsay. "I'm looking forward to seeing a great game. No one is ready for this to end just yet."

Wichita improved to 69-65 all-time in the playoffs and 29-41 on the road. In a Game 5 situation, the Thunder are 5-12 all-time and 17-21 when facing elimination. Wichita is 36-32 all-time when following a win. 

The Komets are 191-94-1 at home during the postseason and 23-13 since joining the ECHL. Tonight will be the second game of the season on a Monday for Fort Wayne, finishing 0-1-0 in the regular season. Wichita will appear in its first Monday contest of the year. 

Gennaro leads the Thunder with three goals in the series while Anthony Beauregard (2g, 1a) and Noel Hoefenmayer (1g, 2a) each have three points. A.J. Jenks (3g, 1a) and Stephen Harper (1g, 3a) each have four points for the Komets.

The winner will travel to Allen for Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Saturday night at the Allen Event Center. 

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