CHL Wichita Thunder

Rivalry Lives up to Billing in 4-3 Shootout Win over Allen

October 20, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release


Allen, TX (October 20th) - Jake Hendrickson scored in the back half of round seven to propel the Thunder to a 4-3 shootout win over the Allen Americans on Sunday afternoon at the Allen Event Center in a wild affair. The two teams combined for 20 power plays and at one point had 10 players in the penalty box at once. Wichita improves to 1-1-1 and wins its first road game of the season. Wichita and Allen will not see each other until New Year's Eve.

After a scoreless first period that saw Wichita kill off four power plays and out-shot by a 14-2 margin, Allen struck on its fifth chance that happened to be a four-on-three opportunity. At 6:35, Ross Rouleau put a one-timer through Taylor Nelson to break the tie with assists coming from Jarret Lukin and Darryl Bootland. Allen added to its lead a few minutes later when Alex Lavoie collected his own rebound and beat Nelson for the 2-0 advantage.

Wichita answered quickly in the third period as Tyler Hostetter found the back of the net at 1:48 to cut the lead to 2-1. At 3:26, Wichita converted on the power play as Matt Summers took a pass in the right circle and roofed a shot past Bryan Pitton's blocker to tie the game at two. The two teams would battle back and forth when their bad blood boiled over into a sequence with 16:50 remaining. Three fights ensued after a penalty was assessed to Kale Kerbashien, giving both teams several power plays for a six minute span. Mike Wilson put Wichita ahead at 12:23, carrying the puck up the ice, made a nice fake in the slot and beat Pitton under the blocker to give Wichita its first lead, 3-2.

Allen would take advantage with 3 minutes remaining after Jesse Dudas was called for a cross check and Andrew Martens for a trip. Right before Dudas was about to leave the penalty box, Tyler Ludwig tied the game with a shot from the left point. For the second-straight game, the two teams needed overtime with a time game at three goals apiece.

Early in overtime, Wichita benefited from an inference call on Spencer Asuchak but couldn't get the puck through the neutral zone. At 3:36 of the extra period, Daniel Tetrault leveled Matt Robinson in front of the Thunder bench, which prompted Hostetter to protect his teammate and gave the Americans a chance with the extra attacker. Neither team was able to do much and a shootout was necessary once again.

In round two, Jon Booras put the Thunder up 1-0 in the shootout with a nifty stick handling move to beat Pitton. Kerbashian even things up at the top of round three, beating Nelson under the leg. It went into sudden death shooters after neither team scored in rounds four and five. Hendrickson ended it in round seven with a wrist shot over Pitton's glove to give the Thunder a 4-3 win.

Summers extended his point-streak with a goal and assist. Hostetter tallied a goal in consecutive games. Nelson earned his first win of the season, stopping 38 of 41 shots. Tonight's game was the banner raising ceremony and home-opener for Allen.

Wichita was 1-for-10 on the power play and Allen went 2-for-10.

The Thunder heads to Denver to continue its three-game road swing on Friday, October 25th and Saturday October 26th. The next Thunder home game is Friday, November 1st against the Brampton Beast, which is Faith and Fellowship night, followed by a post-game concert with Abandon Kansas!

Individual game tickets are on sale now. Season tickets and mini plans are still available. 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.

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Central Hockey League Stories from October 20, 2013


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