Early Hole Dooms Thunder In Loss To Grizzlies

WICHITA, Kan. (Mar. 5) – Wichita fell into an early hole on Sunday afternoon and couldn't recover as Utah skated away with a 5-2 win at INTRUST Bank Arena. 

Gavin Gould and Cole MacDonald found the back of the net for the Thunder. Roman Basran stopped 45 shots in his first professional start.

The Grizzlies scored three times in less than three minutes in the first to take a 3-0 lead. Jordan Martel made it 1-0 on the power play at 8:23. He came up the right wing and beat Basran from a sharp angle for his eighth of the season.

Kyle Pouncey increased the lead to 2-0 at 10:24. James Shearer found him at the right circle and he beat Basran for his second of the year. 

At 11:16, Tyler Penner tallied his 10th of the year to make it 3-0. Martel fired a shot near the goal line that took a weird bounce to the front of the net and Penner batted it out of the year.

In the second, MacDonald gave the Thunder some life at 4:08 with his sixth of the season. Peter Bates slipped a loose puck to him at the left dot. MacDonald toe-dragged around a man and beat Trent Miner under the blocker to make it 3-1. 

Gould tallied his second of the year at 8:10 to make it 3-2. He trailed the play near the right circle, caught a pass at the hashmark and beat Miner.

Shearer tallied his fourth of the season at 14 minutes to make it 4-2. 

In the third, Dylan Fitze found an empty-net to close the scoring at 5-2. 

Wichita went 0-for-5 on the power play. Utah was 1-for-5 with the man advantage. 

The Thunder winless skid hits seven with the loss.

Gould tallied his first in a Thunder uniform. Brett Van Os and Cameron Hough each collected helpers. 

Wichita heads on the road for the next four starting on Thursday night in South Dakota to face Rapid City.

Single game tickets are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets online HERE, at the Select-A-Seat Box Office at INTRUST Bank Arena or by calling the Thunder office at 316-264-4625.

Several outstanding promotions remain on our schedule for the season. Click HERE to learn more.