Special Teams Solid in 3-1 Victory over Rapid City
April 1, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Rapid City, SD - Landon Oslanski had two points and Sean Bonar made 21 saves to help preserve a 3-1 victory on Saturday night for Wichita (18-38-6-6) over Rapid City (28-33-3-4) at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.
Kenton Miller broke a 1-1 tie with his team-leading 15th goal of the season with under six minutes to go in the second on a breakaway. Christian Isackson tacked on an empty-netter late in the third for his 13th of the year.
The two teams played to a scoreless tie after one period. The lone fireworks came less than two minutes in as Paxton Leroux and Jimmy Bonneau dropped the gloves to set the tone.
In the second, the two teams combined for three goals in seven minutes. Wichita broke through on a power play as Oslanski unloaded a one-timer at 8:40 to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Rapid City tied the game when Ryan Walters came down on a breakaway and lost the puck as Donnie Harris got back. The Rush stayed with the play and Mark Miller put home a loose puck past Sean Bonar. At 14:14, Oslanski found Miller behind the Rush defense and he buried a breakaway to re-gain the lead, 2-1.
For the second-straight night, the Thunder penalty killing unit was stingy. Dan Milan and Donnie Harris were sent to the box six seconds apart with with less than four to go in the second and gave Rapid City a five-on-three power play. Wichita got through the sequence and finished a perfect 7-for-7 on the night.
Isackson put the final nail in the coffin with less than a minute to go. He fired a backhand from the red line into an empty-net and made it 3-1.
Oslanski records his 10th power play goal of the year and has markers in back-to-back games. Miller takes over the team-lead in goals while Kale Kerbashian added an assist. Miles Koules also added an assist to continue his solid play since coming over to the Air Capital. Bonar claims his sixth win of the year, stopping 21 of 22 shots. Sam Marotta suffers the loss, stopping 20 of 22 shots he faced.
Wichita went 1-for-3 on the power play. Rapid City went 0-for-7 on the man advantage.
Wichita plays its final regular season game against Rapid City tomorrow night at 8:05 p.m. CST.
Individual tickets for all games are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 855-755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com.
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