Wichita Closes 2023 With Loss At Kansas City

INDEPENDENCE, MO (Dec. 31) – Wichita closed the 2023 portion of the schedule on Sunday night, falling to Kansas City, 9-2, at Cable Dahmer Arena. 

Peter Bates and Jay Dickman found the back of the net in the losing effort. 

The Mavericks got off a fast start, scoring four times in the first period. Ryan Jones had a pair while Cade Borchardt and Jacob Hayhurst each beat Beck Warm to carry a 4-0 lead into the second period. Trevor Gorsuch came on in relief.

Hayhurst made it 5-0 at 1:42 of the second with an assist to Max Andreev. 

At 8:26, Bates broke the shutout bid with a one-timer from the slot that beat Dillon Kelley. 

The Mavericks added two more in the frame as David Cotton and Cole Coskey each scored to make it 7-1 after 40 minutes. 

Ryan Jones recorded the hat trick at 5:20 of the third period. He fired a shot through a screen on the power play to make it 8-1. 

Dickman made it 8-2 at 10:04 of the third. Nick Nardella fired a shot from the left circle. Kelley made the initial save, but Dickman tucked home the rebound with his backhand. 

Casey Carreau added a power play goal at 17:42 to make it 9-2. 

Wichita went 1-for-3 on the power play. Kansas City was 5-for-6 on the man advantage, which is a season-high for power play goals against this season. 

Bates tallied his 17th goal of the year. Dickman recorded his 13th of the season and first goal since December 3.

The Thunder returns home on Friday night to open a three-game set against Allen.

Single game tickets are on sale now. Buy tickets for any game this season and come watch the 32nd year of Thunder hockey. Click here to purchase today.

Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are still on sale. Save money by reserving your seats for all the fast-paced, hard-hitting action of every game. Click here to learn more.