Wichita and Rapid City Closes Season Series This Afternoon

RAPID CITY, SD (Mar. 23) – The Wichita Thunder, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's San Jose Sharks, AHL's San Jose Barracuda and powered by Toyota, continues its four-game road trip this afternoon at 5:05 p.m. against Rapid City.

This is the ninth and final meeting of the season between the Thunder and the Rush. All-time, Wichita is 66-58-15 against Rapid City and 27-33-9 on the road against the Rush. 

Last night, Wichita claimed a 5-3 win over Rapid City. Peter Bates scored a late goal and Jay Dickman tacked on an empty netter to push the Thunder’s winning streak to five games. 

With the victory last night, Wichita moved into third place with 77 points. The Rush are in sixth place with 63 points. With Tahoe, Tulsa and Idaho off today, the Thunder can move within two points of Tahoe for second. Rapid City closes a six-game homestand this afternoon. 

Trevor Gorsuch started his 14th-straight game last night. He earned his 15th win of the season, stopping 34 shots. Gorsuch has seen 40 or more shots in seven of his last 14 outings. The record for consecutive starts is 16, set by Evan Buitenhuis during the 2021-22 season.

Peter Bates recorded his seventh game-winner of the season last night. He has game-winners in three-straight games. The fourth year forward also added an assist, giving him 69 points (23g, 46a). He extended his point streak to six games (7g, 5a). Bates has five goals over his last three games and two or more points in four of his last five outings. 

Michal Stinil extended his point streak to 12 games this past week, which is a new single season high for a Thunder player. Stinil has 17 points (4g, 13a) over that stretch. He is second in the league with 69 points and third in assists with 46. Stinil is averaging 1.32 points per game, which leads the league in that category for players who have played 50 or more games. Last night, he recorded his 100th ECHL goal of his career.

THUNDERBOLTS...Will Zapernick scored his first goal and Spencer Blackwell collected his first pro assist last night...Jay Dickman is tied for fourth with 28 goals and tied for third with 11 power play goals...Wichita is fifth to last in penalty minutes per game (10.16)...Wichita is 24-6-2 when scoring first...Wichita is 17-4-2 when leading after one...Wichita is 24-2-2 when leading after two...Wichita is 16-6-0 in games decided by three or more goals...Wichita is 13-7-6-1 in one-goal games...

RUSH NOTES – Connor Murphy has two shutouts that have been both decided by a 1-0 score...Blake Bennett returned to the Rush on January 17 and has 41 points (23g, 18a) in 26 games...Ryan Wagner has eight points (3g, 5a) in his last five games...The Rush are 7-4-1 in their last 12 games...Rapid City is 16-7-3-1 when scoring first...Rapid City is 13-3-1-1 when leading after one...Rapid City is 20-1-0-1 when leading after two...Rapid City is 8-1-1-2 when tied after two...

Our next home game is on Friday, March 28 against Kansas City. Join us for QuikTrip Buy In and Affiliate Night, presented by Sharky's Island Bites. Head over to any Wichita-area QT location to get your complimentary upper-level ticket vouchers.

Fans can redeem by scanning the QR code, bringing the vouchers into the Thunder office or to the box office the night of the game. Fans can also redeem them digitally by clicking HERE.

Our final home game is coming soon. Join us on Sunday, April 6 as we host our arch-rival, Allen. Toyota FanFest will start at noon in front of Entrance A and B. More details will be released soon. Our End of Season Awards will be released before the opening faceoff.

April 6 is also Team Photo Day. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a team photo, courtesy of BG Products, Groundworks, Select PT and Rose Harvest Design.

Sunday, April 6 is also Autism Acceptance Night, presented by Wichita State University Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. The team will be wearing a special Autism-themed uniform. Buy Tickets HERE.

Fans can also save on tickets with our Winning Weeknight deal for Sunday, April 6. Get four tickets and a $20 gift card to Ollie's Bargain Outlet for just $80. Click HERE to buy tickets.