Thunder Opens South Carolina Trip With Loss On Friday Night

CHARLESTON, SC (Jan. 26) – Wichita opened up a three-game road trip on Friday night against South Carolina, falling 7-1 at North Charleston Coliseum. 

Jake Wahlin recorded his fourth of the season in the losing effort. 

Ryan Leibold opened the scoring for the home team at 6:48 of the opening period. Bryce Montgomery fired a shot from the slot that went wide. The puck banked off the boards back to the right post and Leibold slipped a shot past Beck Warm to make it 1-0. 

In the second, Colin Swoyer extended the Stingrays lead to 2-0. During a two-on-one, he fired a shot past Warm underneath the right arm for his first of the season. 

Wahlin cut the lead to one just 42 seconds later. Jason Pineo stole a puck at the left circle, fed it to Wahlin and he beat Mitchell Gibson with a beautiful backhand to make it 2-1. 

The Stingrays scored the next five and pulled away. At 13:57, Jack Adams netted a wrap-around for his 11th of the year to make it 3-1. 

At 15:34, Jarid Lukosevicius tallied his first of two to make it 4-1. He found a rebound on the power play and beat Warm for his ninth of the season. 

Austin Magera, Lukosevicius and Jackson Leppard scored in the third period within a three-minute span to close the scoring. 

Gibson was brilliant down the stretch, making three quality saves in the final frame to preserve the win. 

Wichita went 0-for-2 on the power play, which came in the second period with a full five-on-three situation. South Carolina was 2-for-2 on the man advantage. 

Wahlin netted his first goal since December 23. Pineo added his seventh helper of the season. 

The Thunder remains in Charleston tomorrow night at 5:05 p.m. CST for a rematch against the Stingrays.

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