Thunder Weekly
March 23, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
LAST WEEK'S GAMES -
Tuesday, March 17th
Wichita at Allen, 5-4 W (OT)
- Kirill Tulupov scored with 19 seconds left in overtime to help Wichita come from behind to claim 5-4 win against Allen. Danick Gauthier scored a pair of second-period goals while Mike Wilson had a goal and an assist.
Wednesday, March 18th
Wichita at Allen, 4-0 W
- Justin Bernhardt and Danick Gauthier each had three points and Grant Rollheiser stopped all 34 shots he faced in a 4-0 victory on Wednesday night in Allen.
Friday, March 20th
Allen at Wichita, 4-3 L
- Jamie Schaafsma scored with seven minutes left to break a tie game at three and the Americans held off a Thunder comeback for the victory on Friday night.
Saturday, March 21st
Tulsa at Wichita, 4-1 L
- Playing their fourth game in five nights, Wichita fell behind 4-0 to Tulsa before RG Flath scored in the third. The Oilers wouldn't allow another and skated away with their sixth-straight win.
THIS WEEK'S GAMES -
Wednesday, March 25th
Quad City at Wichita, 7:05 p.m., online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder.
Friday, March 27th
Wichita at Quad City, 7:05 p.m., online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder. Watch the game at Puck's Sports Bar, located at the Wichita Ice Center.
Saturday, March 28th
Wichita at Missouri, 7:05 p.m., online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder. Watch the game at Puck's Sports Bar, located at the Wichita Ice Center.
Sunday, March 29th
Tulsa at Wichita, 5:05 p.m., online stream only at ustream.com. Search Wichita Thunder.
**Pre-game begins 15 minutes prior to start of all games. All games can be heard on www.wichitathunder.com or on your smart phone with the UStream App using the keyword Wichita Thunder**
TEAM CAPSULE
Overall: 30-25-2-6
Home: 14-12-0-3
Road: 16-13-2-3
Last 10: 5-4-0-1
Streak: 0-2-0-0
Rank: 5th place Central Division, 68 points
TEAM LEADERS
Goals: Gauthier, 28
Assists: Lowe, 37
Points: Gauthier, 63
+/-: Meland, +7
PIM: Lizon, Milan, 172
PLAYOFF PUSH - The push for the playoffs continued last week with Wichita taking four points on the road early in the week and followed that up with a pair of losses at home. Three of the four playoff spots are still up for grabs with Allen clinching the division on Sunday afternoon. From second to fifth is separated by just three points. The Thunder go head-to-head with Quad City for the last two meetings of the regular-season series starting on Wednesday night. The two teams will finish the series on Friday night at the i-Wireless Center. Wichita will not play Rapid City down the stretch as the two teams played their final game against each other on March 4th.
END OF THE ROAD - Wichita has just two road games remaining with nine games left in the regular season. Wichita plays in Moline on Friday and will travel to the Independence Events Center to play the Missouri Mavericks on Saturday night. The Thunder close the season with six games in a row at home starting on Sunday afternoon against the Tulsa Oilers. Wichita is 16-13-2-3 on the road and 14-12-0-3 at home. The Thunder also finished a seven-game road trip in Allen on Tuesday and Wednesday, going 4-2-0-1 over that span.
TAMPA TWO - Danick Gauthier continued to fill the score sheet this week. The Tampa Bay Lightning product had three points in back-to-back games and finished with two more on Friday night against the Americans at home. Overall, he had nine points (4g, 5a) in four games. He is third in the league with 24 points on the power play.
FREE WILLY - Mike Wilson is nearing a new career-high in points. He had five points (3g, 2a) this past week, recording a goal and an assist on Tuesday night in Allen and added a pair on Friday night at home against the Americans. He equaled last year's high in goals with 12 and can duplicate his high in assists with three more helpers as he currently has 31.
86 - RG Flath recorded his 86th goal in a Thunder uniform on Saturday night, moving him alone into eighth place ahead of Jim McGeough. He also pulled into a 10th place tie with Matt Summers in points (175) and a seventh place tie with Andrew Martens in games played (227).
BURN NOTICE - Justin Bernhardt had a terrific week that started with a three-point performance on Wednesday night. He had a pair of goals, assisted on another and completed the Gordie Howe hat trick with a fight at the end of the game. On Friday night, he added two helpers in the team's loss to Allen. The Yorkton, SK native has 22 points in 21 games this season.
SINGLE SEASON HIGH - Grant Rollheiser collected his third shutout of the season on Wednesday night and his first since being acquired from Brampton. His streak of scoreless hockey was stopped on Friday night in the second period, going 113:42 without allowing a goal. Rollheiser helped the Thunder set a new season-high in shutouts in a single season (5).
THUNDERBOLTS... Danick Gauthier is in 12th place in goals (28)...Danick Gauthier is tied for third in power play goals (10) while Ian Lowe is tied for sixth (9)...Lowe is in 12th place for shots on goal (202) while Gauthier is in sixth (212)...Mike Wilson is fourth in scoring by a d-man (43) and tied for sixth in power play assists (16) while Gauthier is tied for 13th (14) ...Tim Boron is fifth in the league in minutes played (2,386), 12th in saves (948), tied for 10th in wins (20)...Grant Rollheiser is tied for eighth in shutouts (3) and ninth in saves (961)...Wichita is 11-2-0-1 when leading after one...Wichita is 16-6-2-6 in one-goal games...
Individual tickets are on sale now. Don't delay! Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com. Stay up-to-date on all the news during the season by visiting www.wichitathunder.com.
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