Bates Selected To Participate In Fastest Skater Competition

WICHITA, Kan. (Jan. 12) – The Wichita Thunder, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's San Jose Sharks, AHL's San Jose Barracuda and powered by Toyota, are excited to announce that forward Peter Bates will represent the ECHL in the Fastest Skater Competition at the 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic, presented by Gulfstream, on Monday, January 15 at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia.

The game will air LIVE exclusively on NHL Network and be streamed via FloHockey. 

Bates, 27, will go up against Jacksonville's Brendan Harris and Reading's Matt Brown. Participating for Savannah are Ross Armour, Joe Fleming and Sebastian Vidmar. 

The St. Norbert College product is off to the best start of his pro career. Bates is third in the league with 41 points and seventh in goals with 18.

In this year’s All-Star event, the host Savannah Ghost Pirates will take on a team of ECHL All-Stars representing the other teams in the League, as well as feature several Skills events which will count as a goal towards the winning Player’s team score.

The 2024 ECHL All-Star Skills Competition will take place between periods of the game, with results counting towards the cumulative score. The first two periods of the game will be 5-on-5 while the final period will consist of 3-on-3.

The 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic Skills Competition will feature three events: Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot and Accuracy Shooting. The winning player in each even earns one goal for his team’s score in the All-Star Classic.

Wichita remains at home tonight at 7:05 p.m. to host Cincinnati.

Tonight is T-Dogs Birthday Bash, Affiliation Night and Teddy Bear Toss. When the Thunder scores their first goal of the game, toss your new and unused stuffed animals on the ice. Each stuffed animal will be donated to local charities and delivered by the players to local hospitals.

Get our Teddy Bear four-pack of tickets, that includes four goal zone tickets and two teddy bears for just $90. Click HERE to purchase today.

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.