WICHITA, Kan. (Dec. 12) – Wichita began a three-game weekend series on Friday night against Idaho, falling in a shootout, 5-4, at INTRUST Bank Arena. 

The Thunder trailed with less than a minute to go in regulation but tied the game on a goal from Jack Bar that forced overtime. The Steelheads claimed the extra point, winning in a 10-round shootout in front of 8,790 in attendance. 

Noah Beck led the Thunder with three points while Kyle Crnkovic added two points. Matt Davis suffered the loss, stopping 24 shots. 

Crnkovic opened the scoring just 1:32 into the game. Beck fired a shot from the left point that was deflected in between the circles by Crnkovic and beat Ben Kraws to make it 1-0.

Less than two minutes later, Liam Malmquist tied the game on the power play. He found a seam on the left side of the zone, skated in and roofed a shot over the shoulder of Davis for his 11th of the year. 

Just 48 seconds into the second, Lucas Vanroboys re-gained the lead on a pretty passing play from Donavan Houle. Jake Wahlin found Houle cutting down the slot. He came in, fed a backhand to the backdoor and Vanroboys had a tap-in goal. 

At 4:37, Brendan Hoffman tied the game at two. Nolan Kneen tried to fire a saucer pass to the wing. Hoffman batted it out of mid-air and beat Davis. 

Less than a minute later, Peter Bates scored on a breakaway to make it 3-2. Beck threaded the needle to Bates in the middle of the ice and he hammered a shot past Kraws.

Hoffman connected on his second of the contest at 8:24. Chris Dodero intercepted a pass at the Idaho line and started a rush the other way. He fed the puck to Hoffman, and he beat Davis for his 11th of the campaign. 

In the third, Jaden Shields recorded his first of the season. He pounced on a rebound at 9:23 and gave the Steelheads their first lead of the contest. 

At 19:12, Bar fired a slapshot from the top of the circles that beat Kraws over the glove and the game headed past 60 minutes. 

Both goalies were tested with quality scoring chances in the extra frame. Davis made several key saves on odd-man chances. 

In the shootout, the Thunder got goals from Crnkovic, Bates and Spencer Blackwell. Ty Pelton-Bice, Francesco Arcuri, Nick Canade and Dodero found the net for Idaho. Ryan Finnegan was stopped in the bottom of round 10 and the Steelheads earned the win. 

Crnkovic has two points in three-straight games. Bar recorded his first goal as a pro and recorded the first shorthanded marker of the season for the Thunder. Beck tallied a season-high three helpers and was a +4. 

Wichita went 0-for-4 on the power play. Idaho went 1-for-6 on the man advantage.

The two teams play on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. for game two of the series. Tomorrow is Teddy Bear Toss Night. Bring a new stuffed animal to the arena and when the Thunder score their first goal of the game, fans can toss it on the ice. Every stuffed animal collected will be donated to local charities.

Season tickets are still on sale for the 2025-26 season. Lock in your seats and catch all the high paced, hard-hitting action at INTRUST Bank Arena. Click HERE now to learn how you can get your seats reserved and start paying now.