CHL Wichita Thunder

Thunder Drops Two

October 19, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release


The Wichita Thunder went 0-2-0 in their opening weekend. Friday night, the Thunder was shutout by the red-hot Amarillo Gorillas 5-0 at the Kansas Coliseum. Jake Morissette broke a scoreless tie midway into the second period before adding a second goal and an assist to finish the night with three points. Tim Boron, playing for the first time since January 30th, suffered the loss, saving 23 of 28.

In a back-and-forth match on Saturday, the Thunder fell 5-3 to the Mississippi RiverKings. After falling behind 2-0 less than halfway into the first period, Wichita rallied for three unanswered power play goals. Marc Belanger cleaned up a rebound from Damian Surma at 10:33 to get Wichita on the board. At 15:02, Jason Duda deflected a long shot from Mark Adamek into the net to tie the game. Glenn Detulleo scored at 10:13 in the second to give Wichita the lead. The RiverKings made a comeback of their own however, re-tying the game with less than a minute left in the second and then getting a pair of goals from Ryan Held in the third period to take the lead for good. Rookie goaltender Scott Campbell made his professional debut, saving 25 of 30 in the loss.

Duda One Shy of Third Place

Jason Duda's power play goal on Saturday night was the 874th point of his career. Duda now trails Doug Lawrence by one point for third place all-time in CHL history.

Special Teams Notes

The Thunder's three power play goals on Saturday night matched their single game-high from all of last season. Wichita currently ranks tied for sixth in the league on the man advantage at 17.6%. On the defensive side, Wichita ranks fifth in the league on the penalty kill at 85.7%

Campbell Debuts

Thunder goaltender Scott Campbell made his professional debut on Saturday night, taking the loss. Campbell saved 25 of 30 shots. While the Thunder has several players with rookie status on its roster, only Campbell was without professional experience until this weekend. Campbell was a college teammate of Thunder forward Mike Kneeland at Lake Forest College where the two graduted from last season.

Several Return From Lengthy Offseason

Wichita saw four of its players hit the ice this weekend who ended the 2008-09 season in the Season-Ending IR. Goaltender Tim Boron started Friday night after not seeing action since January 30th due to injuries to both of his hips. Defenseman Connor MacDonald, who picked up a fighting major on Saturday, played for the first time since February 3rd because of injuries to his shoulders. Right Wing Joel Hanson had been sidelined by a wrist injury since March 13th. Meanwhile, right wing Mike Batovanja, who had a fighting major on Friday, played for the first time since October 18th, 2008 when he tore his ACL in the Thunder's home opener.

Injury Notes

Brandon Kaleniecki, Chris Trafford, and Jordan Little remain on the 14-Day IR. Chris Kovalcik is currently on the 30-Day IR. All assignments date back to October 16th.

Up Next

The Thunder plays three games in three nights this weekend. Wichita hosts the Tulsa Oilers on Friday night at the Kansas Coliseum at 7:05 p.m. The first 5,000 fans in attendance receive a souvenir magnet schedule, courtesy of Great Clips, El Mexico Cafe, Green Lantern Car Wash, and Heroes. Students can also receive upper corner and upper end seats for just $7.00 with the presentation of their student ID. The two teams meet up the following night at the BOK Center before Wichita heads South for a rematch against the RiverKings on Sunday afternoon. For tickets, call the Thunder office at (316) 264-GOAL.

Check out the Wichita Thunder Statistics



Central Hockey League Stories from October 19, 2009


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