Thunder Falls 5-3 In Season-Opener To Kansas City

WICHITA, Kan. (Oct. 18) – Wichita opened its 2024-25 campaign on Friday night against Kansas City, falling by a 5-3 final at INTRUST Bank Arena. 

Michal Stinil led the way for the Thunder with two points while Dominic Dockery and Peter Bates recorded their first of the season. 

The Thunder got off to a quick start after earning a power play early in the first. Wichita won a faceoff to the left of Victor Ostman. Jeremie Bucheler fired a shot that Bates got a piece of and broke the ice just 51 seconds into the game. 

Luke Loheit tied the game at 12:36 during a broken play behind the Wichita net. Aaron Dell attempted to play the puck, but his clearing attempt around the boards was stolen. Loheit got to it near the crease during a scramble and he buried it for his first of the season. 

Just nine seconds into the second, Cam Morrison created a turnover and gave the Mavericks a 2-1 advantage. 

At 2:22, Landon McCallum collected a long rebound off of a point shot from David Noel and he beat Dell to increase the lead to 3-1. 

Dockery made it 3-2 at 18:08. He drew a delayed penalty after taking a stick to the face at the left circle. Dockery drove around the net and wrapped it off of a diving defenseman with helpers to Stinil and Kobe Walker. 

In the third, Cade Borchardt drew a penalty shot after he was hauled down near the red line. He was able to fire a wrister over Dell's glove hand to make it a 4-2 contest.

At 16:22, Jackson Berezowski found a rebound on the power play and made it 5-2. 

Stinil scored at 19:08 to give the Thunder a little bit of life late in the game. He was serving a penalty for Ryan Finnegan, who was sent to the locker room for a double minor.

After he came out of the penalty box, Shane Kuzmeski found him behind the Mavericks defense. His initial shot was stopped by Ostman but Stinil stayed with the play and beat him for his first of the year. 

Bates is one goal away from 50 ECHL markers and just four shy of 100 ECHL points. Dockery recorded his third-career goal and first since the 2022-23 season. Jeremie Bucheler tallied his first ECHL point. 

Wichita was 1-for-6 on the power play. Kansas City went 1-for-3 on the man advantage. 

The Thunder concludes Opening Weekend tomorrow night at 6:05 with a trip to Independence to face Kansas City.

Wichita returns home on Friday, October 25 for QuikTrip Buy In Night. Head over to any Wichita-area QT location for your complimentary vouchers that are good for an upper-level ticket. Fans can redeem the vouchers at the Thunder office, online by scanning the QR code or bringing it to the box office the night of the game.

Check out the promotional schedule HERE. Purchase tickets for any game HERE.

The 2024-25 schedule is now available. Start planning now as we get ready for our 33rd year in the Air Capital. Click HERE to learn more about the schedule and who we play. 

Season tickets for the 2024-25 season are on sale. Save money by reserving your seats for all the fast-paced, hard-hitting action of every game. Click HERE to learn more.