Finnegan Nets OT Winner in Allen
October 30, 2024 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Wichita Thunder forward Michal Stinil (right) vs. the Allen Americans
(Wichita Thunder)
ALLEN, TX - Ryan Finnegan scored with 12 seconds remaining in overtime to push Wichita past Allen on Wednesday night, 5-4, at Credit Union of Texas Event Center.
With the victory, the Thunder improved to 2-0 in games past regulation.
Michal Stinil, Jay Dickman and Finnegan each had two points while Kobe Walker collected three assists. Aaron Dell earned his first win against his former team, stopping 29 shots and made seven saves in the extra session.
Allen jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period. Brayden Watts made it 1-0 at 2:59 as he put home a rebound off a shot from Spencer Asuchak.
Easton Brodzinski made it 2-0 at 12:01, firing a shot from just inside the Thunder line that found its way through traffic past Dell.
The Thunder power play came to life and finally got on the board late in the frame. Austin Heidemann tallied his first of the season at 17:36. He caught a pass from Walker at the edge of the left circle and fired a shot past Anson Thornton to cut it to 2-1.
In the second, Will Gavin found the back of the net at 5:43 during a net-mouth scramble and made it 3-1.
Stinil scored his first of the game at 7:16 and cut the lead to 3-2. He took a drop pass from Walker at the right circle and zipped it past Thornton.
He recorded his second at 10:31 and tied the game. Peter Bates made a beautiful pass across the zone to Stinil at the left faceoff dot and he beat Thornton inside the near post for his seventh of the year.
Early in the third, Wichita took its first lead of the game. Dickman tried to center a pass to the slot, but it banked off a stick and went past Thornton on the power play to make it 4-3.
Brodzinski tallied his second of the contest and equaled the score at four. Watts fed it to him in the neutral zone, springing him for a breakaway and he beat Dell with a wrist shot to the glove side.
Allen was awarded a late power play when Jeremie Bucheler cleared a puck up the boards into the stands for a delay of game penalty. Dell made some tough saves in the final 53 seconds of regulation and the game headed to overtime.
In the extra session, Dell made some early stops on the carry-over man advantage. Wichita was able to kill off the power play and the game went back to three-on-three.
With time winding down, Finnegan tallied the game-winner to give the Thunder a 5-4 win. After a missed shot from Kyle Crnkovic banked hard off the glass, Wichita started a counter the other way. Dickman collected a pass on the right boards from Shane Kuzmeski and he centered a pass to the net. Finnegan got his stick on the feed and beat Thornton for the game-winner.
Stinil has goals in five-straight and back-to-back two-goal outings. Dickman tallied his first power play goal of the season and added an assist. Walker has three points in back-to-back games and eight points in his last three. Finnegan has four points in his last two games with all of his goals coming on the road. He also has scored game-winners in the last two contests. Bates has points in his last three. Austin Heidemann has points in his first two games in a Thunder uniform. Bucheler has four points in his last three games.
Wichita snapped a 0-for-16 scoreless drought on the power play, finishing 2-for-3 for the evening. Allen was 0-for-3 on the man advantage.
The Thunder returns home for the next six games, beginning on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. against Rapid City.
Images from this story
 Wichita Thunder forward Michal Stinil (right) vs. the Allen Americans |
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