Thunder Stymied by Mavericks, Clemente
January 4, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Independence, MO - Wichita (20-11-3) fell behind early and couldn't overcome a 49-save performance from Mike Clemente as the Mavericks (17-11-4) won 4-2 Friday night at the Independence Events Center. Matt Summers had two points and RG Flath added a power play goal in the losing effort. Wichita leads the Independence Cup series 5-1-0 and will not see Missouri until the end of February.
The Mavericks tried to grab the early momentum, scoring two goals in the first 20 minutes. Ryan Jardine intercepted a dump attempt in front of the Thunder bench and found Colt King who beat Kevin Regan to make it 1-0 at 2:52. John-Scott Dickson scored his 12th of the season off a rebound at 16:12 to make it 2-0 Missouri. Todd Griffith had two great chances in the opening period, but was unable to solve Mike Clemente.
Wichita unloaded a season-high 25 shots in one period in the second and were able to get on the scoreboard. Jarred Mohr let a shot go from the deep slot and Flath put a backhand past Clemente on the power play at 11:29 to cut the lead to 2-1. Wichita was then awarded a five-minute power play as Andrew Courtney was called for boarding and given a game misconduct. The Thunder spent much of that time in the offensive zone, but couldn't tally the equalizer and trailed 2-1 after the first 40 minutes.
In the third period, Missouri added two goals in the first four minutes and pulled away. Sebastien Thinel scored at 2:03 to increase the lead to 3-1. Just over two minutes later, Kenton Miller scored on a backhand from the slot to make it 4-1. Summers gave the Thunder some life three minutes later as he put home a rebound at 7:17 to cut the lead to 4-2. Wichita was held scoreless the rest of the way and dropped its first game in seven contests at the IEC.
Flath moved closer to 100 career-goals, needing four more after tonight. Wichita hit the 50-shot barrier for the first time this season. Wichita loses for the first time this season against Missouri and also has its seven-game win streak over the Mavericks stopped.
Wichita went 1-for-3 on the power play and held Missouri scoreless, killing off all four Mavericks chances.
Wichita remains on the road for the next three games, heading to Rapid City starting on Tuesday night. The Thunder will not return home until January 18th when they host Tulsa. For tickets, call 755-SEAT, visit the INTRUST Bank Arena box office or online at www.selectaseat.com.
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