Robinson Hits Century Mark; Not Enough in Loss to 'Dogs
January 3, 2014 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Wichita, KS - David Rutherford recorded the game-winner in the third period that broke open a tie game to help the visitors from Arizona (11-18-1) knock off Wichita (11-16-4) by the final score of 6-3 on Friday night at INTRUST Bank Arena. Tomas Klempa returned to the line-up for the first time in over a month to register a pair of goals for the Thunder while Matt Robinson added his 15th of the season in the losing effort. Wichita trails in the season-series 1-2-0, but leads the Sundogs by three points in eighth place.
It didn't take the Sundogs long to make their presence felt as Rutherford scored 27 seconds into the game with a shot from the right circle that beat Taylor Nelson to the blocker side. Wichita tied it at one when Matt Summers got to a clearing attempt in front of the penalty boxes, came up on a two-on-one, gave it to Klempa who buried it past Andrew Engelage at 14:28. Arizona came right back to re-gain the lead with a goal from Brandon Coccimiglio 40 seconds later to make it 2-1. The Thunder out-shot the Sundogs 14-8 in the opening 20 minutes and had two power plays, but headed to the locker room down by a goal.
Kevin Baker gave Arizona a two-goal lead seven minutes into the second period with a power play tally. Wichita cleared the puck out of its own zone, but Engelage sent a long outlet pass down the ice and Baker was the recipient of a centering feed scoring past Nelson to make it 3-1. Klempa potted his second of the night 31 seconds later after catching a nice pass from Summers and beat Engelage with a backhand to cut the lead to one. At 13:35, Robinson netted his 100th in a Thunder uniform with a backhand tally and tied the game. For the second-straight game, the Thunder entered the final period tied at three.
The Sundogs rattled off three goals in the third to pull out the victory. Rutherford's second of the night came at 2:59 as he caught a pass from Garrett Clarke, got behind one defender and beat Nelson with a stick-handling move on his forehand to make it 4-3. At 9:34, Bryan Cameron pounced on a loose puck and scored to extend the Sundogs lead to 5-3 with assists to Baker and Jordan Clendenning. Wichita pulled Nelson with two minutes left to make one last try to get back into the contest, but Coccimiglio stole the puck at the Thunder line and scored an empty-netter for his second of the night to close the scoring at 6-3 in favor of Arizona.
Wichita's brief winning streak at home is stopped at two. Robinson became just the fifth player in team history to reach the century mark in the goal scoring department in Thunder history. He also moves ahead of Daniel Tetrault into eighth place with 177 points all-time. Jon Booras has his point-scoring streak snapped at seven games as he was held off the score-sheet. Dudas added two helpers and is now alone in first place in the defensive scoring race with 26 points (8g, 18a), two points ahead of teammate Andrew Martens who has 24 points. Nelson suffers his fifth loss of the year, stopping 19 of 24 shots. Engelage earns the win, stopping 28 of 31 shots.
Wichita went 0-for-3 on the power play. Arizona was 1-for-2.
Wichita hosts Arizona tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m., which is also ThunderDog's birthday presented by Sonic, America's Drive-In. The team will be wearing special uniforms that will be auctioned off live after the game.
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 off-season by visiting www.wichitathunder.com.
Central Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2014
- Robinson Hits Century Mark; Not Enough in Loss to 'Dogs - Wichita Thunder
- Cutthroats Win First Colorado Tour Game - Denver Cutthroats
- Americans Hand Rush First Road Loss of the Season, 2-1 - Allen Americans
- Oilers Open Aspen Series with Loss to Cutthroats - Tulsa Oilers
- Mavericks Drop First Game against Brampton - Kansas City Mavericks
- Berard's Second Goal Completes Third Period Comeback for Chill - St. Charles Chill
- Streaks Snapped as Chill Rallies Past Mallards - Quad City Mallards
- Sundogs' Offense Comes Alive, Final Score 6-3 - Arizona Sundogs
- Mavericks Drop First Game against Brampton - Kansas City Mavericks
- Sundogs Host First Annual Kids Day Game - Arizona Sundogs
- Pepsi Family 4-Packs Available for Games this Weekend - St. Charles Chill
- Booras Selected as Easton Player of the Month for December - Wichita Thunder
- Wichita's Jon Booras Named Easton/CHL Player of the Month - CHL
- Americans Battle Top-Seeded Rapid City Tonight at the AEC - Allen Americans
- Missouri's Shane Owen Named Warrior/CHL Goaltender of the Month - CHL
- Moss Named Oakley's 2nd Star for December - St. Charles Chill
- Shots from the Point for January 3, 2014 - CHL
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