Thunder Complete Come-Back to Skate Past Oilers
Published on March 9, 2013 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Wichita, KS - Trailing 3-1 towards the end of the second period, Wichita (34-17-8) rolled off four unanswered goals and completed the come-back on Saturday night to defeat the Tulsa Oilers (21-35-4) at INTRUST Bank Arena. Matt Robinson scored the game-winner with just over three minutes remaining to send the 7,000-plus fans into a frenzy. Neil Trimm led the way for the Thunder with four points (2g, 2a) while Jon Madden recorded his first professional goal that tied the game in the third. Wichita leads the season-series 6-2-2 with one more meeting taking place on the final Saturday of the regular season.
Neil Trimm got things going for the Thunder at the tail end of the first period. Nathan Lutz let a blast go from the blue line and Trimm was able to tuck home the rebound off the end boards at 18:11 to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead on the power play. The Oilers answered with 20 seconds remaining in the period when Drew Fisher snuck away from a defender and found Ryan Menei to tie the game at one.
The Oilers continued to clog up the neutral zone in the second period. Ryan Menei gave the Oilers their first lead of the game at 10:44 with his second goal of the contest as he came down on a three-on-one and put a wrist shot to the upper corner past Grant Rollheiser. Less than a minute later, Patrick Schafer added to the Tulsa lead with a goal from the slot to make it 3-1. Trimm scored his second of the game with less than a minute to go to in the second as he got to a rebound off of Shane Madolora and cut the Oilers lead to 3-2 entering the third.
The Thunder pressed the issue in the beginning of the final 20 minutes and out-shot the Oilers 11-3 in the third. Madden tipped home a Dave Inman blast from the blue line and scored his first professional goal to tie the game at three. At 16:27, Robinson got to a loose puck at the right face-off dot, came across the slot and beat Madolora to give the Thunder the lead for good. Kevin Young added an empty-net goal with 40 seconds left to cap off a 5-3 victory.
Wichita pushes its home-point streak to 12 games, going 11-0-1 in that span and earns its 24th home win of the season. Trimm extended his goal-scoring streak to five games and recorded his seventh multi-goal game of the season. Torrie Jung, who came on in relief for Rollheiser at the start of the third period, earned the win for the Thunder in a limited amount of work for his 20th victory, stopping all three shots he faced.
Wichita went 1-for-3 on the power play while shutting down Tulsa as they were 0-for-4.
Wichita begins a four-game road trip tomorrow afternoon against the Missouri Mavericks at 4:05 p.m. The Thunder will not return to home-ice until March 22nd against the Allen Americans. For tickets, call 755-SEAT, visit the INTRUST Bank Arena box office or online at www.selectaseat.com.
Wichita Thunder playoff packages are on sale now. There are many ways to get involved, so be a part of the Blue Revolution and the Thunder's quest for a CHL Title. Contact the Wichita Thunder Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at (316) 264-4625 or visit the fan relations table behind section 120 at any Wichita Thunder home game for more information. Join the Blue Revolution today!
Central Hockey League Stories from March 9, 2013
- Rush Rally to Steal Point in 3-2 Overtime Loss to Allen - Rapid City Rush
- Brahmas Drop Defensive Battle to Sundogs - Fort Worth Brahmas
- Mallards Blast Missouri 7-1; 5,068 Watch Flock Roll to Fourth - Quad City Mallards
- Sundogs Hold off Brahmas in 2-1 Win - Arizona Sundogs
- Thunder Complete Come-Back to Skate Past Oilers - Wichita Thunder
- Third Period Sinks Oilers in 5-3 Loss to Thunder - Tulsa Oilers
- Mavericks Swept in Weekend Series vs. Quad City - Kansas City Mavericks
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