Wichita Continues Road Trip Tonight at Rapid City

RAPID CITY, SD (Mar. 22) – 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 tonight at 8:05 p.m. with the second of three this weekend against Rapid City. 

This is the eighth meeting of the season between the Thunder and the Rush. All-time, Wichita is 65-58-15 against Rapid City and 26-33-9 on the road against the Rush. 

Last night, Wichita held a two-goal lead twice throughout the contest. The Rush battled back to tie it in the third, but the Thunder earned a 4-3 victory. Wichita has won four in a row while snapping Rapid City's winning streak last night at four games. 

With the win, the Thunder remains in fourth place with 75 points and moved within one of Tulsa for third place. The Rush are in sixth place with 63 points. 

Trevor Gorsuch started his 13th-straight game last night. He earned his 14th 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 sixth game-winner of the season last night. He has game-winners in back-to-back outings. The fourth year forward also added an assist, giving him 67 points (22g, 45a). He extended his point streak to five games (6g, 4a). Bates has four goals over his last two games after recording his third-career hat trick last Friday.  

Michal Stinil extended his point streak to 11 games this past week, which is a new single season high for a Thunder player. Stinil has 16 points (3g, 16a) over that stretch. He is second in the league with 69 points and third in assists with 46. Stinil is averaging 1.33 points per game, which leads the league in that category for players who have played 50 or more games. He needs one more goal to reach 100 for his ECHL career.

THUNDERBOLTS...Ryan Finnegan has five assists in his last four games...Jay Dickman is tied for fifth with 27 goals, tied for third with 11 power play goals and tied for seventh with 23 power play points...Wichita is third to last in penalty minutes per game (9.95)...Wichita is 23-6-2 when scoring first...Wichita is 16-4-2 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 39 points (23g, 19a) in 26 games...Ryan Wagner has six points (1g, 5a) in his last four games...The Rush are 7-3-1 in their last 11 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 8-0-1-2 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.