STATELINE, NV (Dec. 17) – Wichita jumped out to a four-goal lead on Wednesday night and held off a late charge from Tahoe, winning 6-2 at Tahoe Blue Event Center. 

Six different players lit the lamp, led by Kyle Crnkovic who had two points. Matt Davis earned his fifth victory of the season, stopping 36 shots. 

Jake Wahlin put the Thunder on the board first just six minutes into the game. Noah Beck worked away from a forward at the left point and fired a shot towards the net. Wahlin got a piece of the shot and tallied his second of the year.

At 16:06, Matt Crasa made it 2-0 with his first in a Wichita uniform. He curled off a faceoff, came around the top of the circles and beat Cameron Whitehead from a sharp angle.

Kirby Proctor made it 3-0 just 1:05 into the second. He skated the puck up the left wing and had a step on the defender. Proctor unloaded it from near the goal line for his fourth of the campaign. 

Donavan Houle made it 4-0 at 4:13. Ryan Finnegan stole a loose puck near the left boards. He found a cutting Houle through the middle and beat Whitehead for his eighth of the season. 

The Knight Monsters picked up the pressure and got on the board at 16:51. Jake Durflinger snuck a loose puck underneath Davis at the left post to make it 4-1.

Early in the third, Jordan Gustafson cut the lead to two. After the Thunder failed to clear the zone, Gustafson found a loose puck near the right circle. He found his own rebound and beat Davis from near the blue paint for his second of the year.

Peter Bates re-gained a three-goal advantage at 5:05 on the power play. Michal Stinil found him in the bumper at the left hashmark and he put a one-timer past Whitehead. 

Adam Pitters made it 5-3 at 18:17. As he was skating behind the Thunder net, he banked a centering pass off Davis' from below the goal line for his fourth of the campaign. 

Tahoe pulled Whitehead after getting back into the offensive zone. Bates intercepted a pass near the left half wall and cleared it out to center. Crnkovic outmuscled Mike O'Leary up the ice for the loose puck and found an empty net to make it 6-3. 

Wichita moves one game above .500 on the road with the victory and also gains sole possession of fourth place. 

Crnkovic netted two points for the seventh time in his last nine games. Bates has goals in three of his last four outings. Beck extended his point streak to five with an assist. Houle has points in five of his last six. Finnegan has assists in four of his last six games. 

Wichita went 1-for-3 on the power play. Tahoe was 0-for-3 on the man advantage. 

The Thunder remains in Nevada on Friday night to face the Knight Monsters for the second of three meetings this week. Faceoff is set for 9 p.m. CST.

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