Flath Tallies Game-Winner in 5-4 Win vs. Tulsa
Published on March 15, 2014 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Wichita, KS - RG Flath scored the game-winner with just over two minutes left and Wichita (25-27-6) held off a late Tulsa (29-27-3) charge to grab a 5-4 victory on Saturday night at INTRUST Bank Arena. Four others recorded goals for the Thunder including Matt Summers who finished with three points while Tomas Klempa had a goal and an assist. Wichita evens the StoneWolf Casino Cup Series with the win at 5-5-1 against Tulsa with the weekend finale tomorrow afternoon at the BOK Center.
The Thunder offense came alive in the first period, scoring four times on 19 shots. Klempa got things started at 7:20 recording his 13th of the year from Summers and Flath. The Oilers tied it up at 14:24 as Blair Macaulay scored his first of three on the night off a rebound from a Kyle Bochek chance with the other assist to Michel Beausoleil. Just a minute later, Andrew Martens sent a laser from just inside the blue line past the glove of Brad Fogal for his 11th of the year and re-gained the lead at 2-1. Three minutes later, Fogal misplayed a bounce off the right corner wall and Summers took advantage as he tucked a wrist shot inside the left corner of the net to make it 3-1. The scoring barrage was closed out by Matt Robinson with three seconds left in the frame as he popped a rebound over Fogal and gave Wichita a 4-1 lead heading into the intermission.
Tulsa didn't waste any time getting back into the game as Macaulay scored his second of the night from the right face-off dot 23 seconds in to cut the lead to two. Shortly after, Flath was called for a five-minute major for boarding as he leveled Ben Gordon into the wall near the hash mark in the Oilers' zone on the penalty box side. Wichita did a terrific job for much of the power play, but the Oilers cashed in with eight seconds remaining on it as Macauley put home a rebound past David Brown at 5:51 and made it a 4-3 Thunder advantage. Wichita was held to one shot on net for much of the second, but finished with four after Adam Pleskach was sent off for slashing later in the period. The Thunder power play was close all night, but couldn't get one past Fogal.
In the third, Wichita had a terrific chance when Ryan Menei was sent off for a double minor as he got called for butt-ending on Martens. Jon Madden had two great looks from the deep slot, but one hit the post and the other flew wide to the blocker of Fogal. At 9:53, Gordon stole a puck at center, came up the left wing and fed a pass across to Nathan Lutz who one-timed it past Brown for a shorthanded goal to tie the game at four. With just over two minutes remaining, Dustin Donaghy fed a pass to the slot that Erick Lizon tipped over to Flath. His first shot was blocked by Fogal, but he stayed with it and slipped it just over the goal line to give the Thunder a 5-4 lead. The Oilers got a late power play call when Klempa was sent off for hooking at 18:21. Fogal was pulled for the extra attacker and a six-on-four situation. Tulsa had several shots miss the net and the Thunder penalty killing unit did a great job of clearing it out of the zone. The Oilers had one last chance, but Garrett Gruenke dove in front of a shot and the final buzzer rang with Wichita holding on for the 5-4 victory.
Wichita scored four markers in a period for the first time since December 29th and recorded five goals for the first time since January 31st against Allen. Wichita wins its second game at home in the regular season-series against Tulsa while the Oilers drop their fourth-straight contest. Flath moves into a three-way tie with Paul Jackson and Cory Dosdall for ninth place in all-time goals scored in a Thunder uniform with 71. Robinson records his third goal in two games and his 111th of his Thunder career. Martens tallies his 42nd marker in a Thunder uniform and is six shy of tying Daniel Tetrault for third place all-time in a Thunder jersey for goals scored by a blue liner. Brown claims his second-straight win, stopping 32 of 36 shots. Fogal takes the loss, stopping 27 of 32 shots he faced.
Wichita was 0-for-5 on the power play. Tulsa went 1-for-4 on the man advantage.
Wichita starts a three-game road swing tomorrow afternoon against the Tulsa Oilers at 4:05 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 15, 2014
- Denver Cutthroats Come Back to Sweep Quad City Mallards - Denver Cutthroats
- Americans Clinch Playoff Spot with 7-5 Win - Allen Americans
- Flath Tallies Game-Winner in 5-4 Win vs. Tulsa - Wichita Thunder
- Cutthroats Outlast Mallards in Shootout 6-5 - Quad City Mallards
- Flath Spoils Oilers Comeback Bid, Thunder Prevails 5-4 - Tulsa Oilers
- Tetrault's Three-Point Night Lifts Americans over Rush - Rapid City Rush
- Rush Players Represent Candidates for Each of CHL's Awards - Rapid City Rush
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