Early Lead Erased in 4-3 Shootout Loss at Tulsa
March 16, 2014 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Tulsa, OK (March 16th) - Wichita (25-27-7) jumped out to a three-goal advantage on Sunday afternoon, but couldn't hold on as Tulsa (30-27-3) fought back and earned a 4-3 shootout victory at the BOK Center. Blair Macaulay tallied the game-winner in the bottom of round five to secure the extra point for the Oilers. Matt Summers scored his 13th of the season while Tomas Klempa added a pair of assists in the losing effort. Wichita drops to 5-5-2 in the StoneWolf Casino Cup Series. With Arizona idle, Tulsa moves back into seventh place with 63 points and the Thunder are five points shy of the Sundogs for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Wichita had the better of the scoring chances in the first period. Jesse Dudas sprung Matt Robinson on a break-a-way in the early going, but Shane Madolora was up to the task and made the save. The Thunder had several other odd-man chances that were close to getting past Madolora. At 10:43, Jon Madden fired a shot from the blue line that beat the Tulsa goaltender for his fifth of the season and a 1-0 Wichita advantage. Summers gave the Thunder a 2-0 lead three minutes later when he lined a shot past Madolora from the right circle for his 13th of the year.
In the second, the two teams combined for 28 penalty minutes that started at the 5:48 when Nick McParland and Chapen Leblond dropped the gloves. At 13:35, Jon Booras blocked a shot at the Thunder line, skated down on a shorthanded break-a-way and beat Madolora with a backhand to extend the Wichita lead to 3-0. The Oilers didn't waste any time cutting into the lead as Macaulay tipped in a shot from the blue line 24 seconds later to make it 3-1.
The Oilers added a pair in the third period to pull even for the second-straight game after trailing by a three-goal margin. Nathan Lutz stepped up into the play and put a one-timer past Taylor Nelson at 9:46 to make it a 3-2 Thunder lead. Less than three minutes later, Tulsa tied the game when Macaulay stole the puck behind the Thunder net, fed it to Michel Beausoleil and put it past Nelson from the top of the right circle. For the third time this season, the two teams headed to overtime.
Wichita was outshot in the extra period 4-2, but almost ended it with two minutes left. Ian Lowe stepped down the slot and was all alone on Madolora. His wrist shot was stopped by the Tulsa netminder and the two teams needed a shootout. Matt Robinson and Beausoleil led things off, but were stopped by the goalies. After Summers was denied, Ryan Menei beat Nelson over the glove and gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead through two rounds. Klempa was next, but his wrist shot hit the left post. Tulsa's Drew Fisher scored at the bottom of round three with a backhand past Nelson and gave Tulsa a 2-0 advantage. Lowe and RG Flath kept the Thunder alive as both players scored against Madolora while Ben Gordon was stopped at the bottom of round four. Macaulay scored the game-winner and his fifth goal in the last two games at the bottom of round five to give the Oilers a 4-3 victory.
Wichita has dropped its last three shootouts after winning six-straight. Summers has goals in three-straight games and extends his point-streak to four (3g, 3a). Booras has points in his last five contests and his first goal since February 25th against Arizona (1g, 5a). Klempa tallies his second-consecutive two-point outing with two helpers on the night. Madden recorded his second two-point contest of the year and his first of the one goal, one assist variety. Nelson suffers his first shootout loss of the season, stopping 31 of 34 shots. Madolora earns the win, stopping 25 of 28 shots he faced.
Wichita was 0-for-5 on the power play. Tulsa went 0-for-3 on the man advantage.
Wichita continues its road trip on Wednesday night against the Allen Americans at 7:05 p.m. The Thunder returns to INTRUST Bank Arena on March 22nd to host Tulsa for the final regular season meeting between the two teams at 7:05 p.m., which is also Youth Jersey Night and the annual Alumni Game. Stay tuned for the Alumni Roster, which will be announced next week.
2014-15 season tickets are on sale now! Don't delay, contact the Wichita Thunder Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at (316) 264-4625. Stay up-to-date on all the news this season by visiting www.wichitathunder.com.
Central Hockey League Stories from March 16, 2014
- Allen Americans Suffer Denver Cutthroats Ninth Consecutive Win - Denver Cutthroats
- Early Lead Erased in 4-3 Shootout Loss at Tulsa - Wichita Thunder
- Americans Wrap up Busy Weekend with a 4-3 Shootout Loss - Allen Americans
- Oilers Snap Skid with 4-3 Shootout Victory over Thunder - Tulsa Oilers
- Mavericks End Win Streak at Seven: Fall 4-3 to Beast - Kansas City Mavericks
- Despite Spirited Comeback, Rush Fall To Americans 7-5 - Rapid City Rush
- Sundogs Keep Chill on Ice with 5-1 Win - Arizona Sundogs
- Ouellette Scores But Limpright Hat Trick Carries Arizona - St. Charles Chill
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