Wichita Finishes Regular Season Tonight In The Black Hills

RAPID CITY, SD (April 13) – The Wichita Thunder, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's San Jose Sharks, AHL's San Jose Barracuda and powered by Toyota, finishes the regular season this evening at 8:05 p.m. with one more meeting against Rapid City. 

This is the 10th and final meeting of the season between the Thunder and the Rush. All-time, Wichita is 59-56-15 against Rapid City and 23-31-9 on the road against the Rush.

Last night, the Thunder fell in overtime to the Rush, 5-4. Wichita had three separate two-goal leads, but Rapid City fought back into the contest and got the game-winner from Maurizio Colella. 

With the loss, the Thunder earn a point, but were eliminated from playoff contention. Wichita sits in sixth place with 64 points. Rapid City is in seventh place with 62 points. 

Mitchell Russell recorded a season-high three points last night. He scored a pair, which is his first multi-goal game of his career. Russell has four markers in his last three games and five points over that span. He also has seven points in his last five outings (4g, 3a).  

Jay Dickman tallied three assists last night, which is his third three-helper night of the season. Dickman is four goals shy of 100 for his ECHL career. He has five points (2g, 3a) in his last four contests.

Bradley Marek collected a goal and two assists last night. He extended his point-streak to five games (3g, 5a). He also has points in six of his last seven outings. The rookie forward from Ferris State has 31 points (13g, 18a) in 36 games. 

Nick Nardella recorded his fifth goal of the season last night. He has goals in three-straight games. Nardella has 16 points (5g, 11a) in 51 games this season. 

The magic number to predict a Thunder victory this year has been four. When Wichita scores four or more during the course of a game, the team is 23-4-3-1. When the Thunder scores three or less, the team is 4-30-6-0.

THUNDERBOLTS....Jay Dickman is tied for first in power play goals (15)...Brayden Watts is fifth in power play assists (21) and tied for fourth in power play points (28)...Michal Stinil is tied for fourth with 28 power play points...Trevor Gorsuch is third in saves (1218)...Ryan Finnegan leads all rookies in shooting percentage (22.2%)....Wichita is 14-7-7 when scoring first...Wichita is 15-3-5-1 when leading after one...Wichita is 19-2-5-1 when leading after two...

RUSH NOTES – Alex Aleardi is fourth in the league with 79 points and has 13 (6g, 7a) in his last seven games...Matt Radomsky leads the league with 22 losses, third in saves with 1168 and fifth in minutes played (2226)...Blake Bennett is fourth in rookie scoring with 63 points, first in goals by a rookie with 34 and first for shots by a rookie with 229...Tyson Helgesen is tied for second among blueliners with eight majors..

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