Russo, Thunder Cruise Past Mavericks 5-0
December 27, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Wichita, KS- Adam Russo earned his second-consecutive shutout and his sixth of his professional career on home ice as Wichita (18-8-1) blew past Missouri (12-11-3) 5-0 on Tuesday night in front of 6,114 fans at INTRUST Bank Arena. With the win, Wichita moves into a first-place tie with Allen atop the Berry Conference standings with 37 points.
Matt Robinson (12) broke a scoreless tie at the 9:12 mark of the second period as he stayed with a loose puck in front of the net and flopped it over Maverick netminder Charlie Effinger to give Wichita a 1-0 lead. Just over four minutes later, Brett Hemingway (10) made it 2-0 when Aaron Davis sent a saucer pass towards the back post and Hemingway picked it out of the air and into the net. Wichita now has five players with 10 or more goals.
In the third period, the Mavericks had a goal disallowed when it hit the referee's skate in the neutral zone and Wichita capitalized. Alex Bourret (13) extended a couple of scoring streaks as he caught a Thomas Beauregard pass at the red line, went down on a two-on-one and sniped it past Effinger to make it 3-0. Bourret, who added an assist in the game, now has a nine-game point streak and a four-game goal scoring streak. Matt Summers (7) made it 4-0 at 10:59 as he followed up the play and banged home a rebound. Chris Chappell got into the act when he scored his first of the season to make it 5-0 at 16:14. Russo shut the door in the final four minutes and shutout his opponent for the second straight game on home ice. Russo earned his first shutout of the season against Rio Grande Valley on December 17th, 4-0. Russo has been in net for 11 of the Thunder's 13 wins at home and sits in third place in the CHL with 13 wins.
Wichita improved to 4-1 against Missouri this season and handed the Mavericks their first shutout of the year. The last time Missouri had been kept off the scoreboard dates back to last season when Wichita beat Missouri 4-0 on January 22, 2011.
Wichita will have a couple of days off before returning to action on Friday night when they host the Texas Brahmas and then head to Evansville the following night to face the IceMen on New Year's Eve. For tickets to Friday's game against the Brahmas, call 755-SEAT, visit the INTRUST Bank Arena box office or online at www.selectaseat.com.
• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...
Central Hockey League Stories from December 27, 2011
- Russo, Thunder Cruise Past Mavericks 5-0 - Wichita Thunder
- Clarke's Hat-Trick Lifts Oilers Past Americans - Tulsa Oilers
- Three Powerplay Goals Bury Rush in 3-2 Loss to Flock - Rapid City Rush
- Marino, Mallards Edge Rapid City 3-2 - Quad City Mallards
- Mavericks Shut out by Wichita, 5-0 - Kansas City Mavericks
- Gems Fall With Seconds Left In Overtime 6-5 To Evansville Tuesday Night - Dayton Gems
- Early Komets Barrage Enough to Defeat Blaze - Bloomington Blaze
- Blaze's Kalemba Named CHL Oakley Goalie of the Week - Bloomington Blaze
- Bloomington's Zane Kalemba Named Oakley CHL Goaltender of the Week - CHL
- Sundogs Acquire Carriveau from Missouri - Arizona Sundogs
- Mavericks Sign Defenseman, Trade Goalie and Defenseman - Kansas City Mavericks
- Game Tonight at 7:05pm - Oilers Vs Allen Americans - Tulsa Oilers
- Americans Broadcaster Tommy Daniels Named CHL All Star Broadcaster - Allen Americans
- Broadcast Teams for 2012 CHL All-Star Game Announced - CHL
- Dayton Gems Gameday - Gems Travel to Evansville to Battle IceMen Tonight - Dayton Gems
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
