Thunder Gut out Shootout Win in Arizona
March 17, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Prescott Valley, AZ - Coming into the weekend, the Thunder and Sundogs played a pair of games in what could be a first round playoff series. Wichita (36-18-8) gutted out a 4-3 shootout win against the Arizona Sundogs (29-27-7) on Saturday night at Tim's Toyota Center. Chad Painchaud tallied the game-winner in the shootout to help Wichita stay two points ahead of Fort Worth in second place. Wichita finishes the season-series 1-1-1 against Arizona and is 2-1-0 on its current four-game road swing that will finish in Allen on Tuesday night.
Both teams were awarded early power plays, but the Sundogs cashed in on their opportunity. Chad Nehring caught a pass at the left hash mark along the wall and blasted one just underneath the bar to give Arizona a 1-0 lead at 3:30 of the first period. Arizona had four chances with the man advantage in the opening 20 minutes and gave one back on its last one. Neil Trimm stepped away from Kevin Baker through the neutral zone, came in on a shorthanded break-a-way and was slashed from behind by Baker before he took a shot on Adam Russo. Trimm was awarded a penalty shot and became the first Thunder player this season to score and tied the game at one.
Wichita tilted the ice in the second with several quality scoring chances from good areas. Matt Robinson had two of those, one from the left wing circle where he caught iron and the second one when he was allowed to walk out from behind the net to the goalmouth and was denied by Russo. At 18:09, Flath fired a shot from the top of the left circle that popped straight in the air off of Russo's blocker and Lutz was there to knock the puck in and helped the Thunder take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
Matt Robinson extended the Thunder lead to 3-1 with a power play goal just seven seconds after Mario Larocque took a bad penalty after the whistle. Arizona climbed back into the game and tied it with two goals in the last five minutes. Sebastien Geoffrion scored off a face-off at 15:34 to cut the lead to 3-2. Andrew Martens was then sent off for tripping and Kevin Baker tied the game at 17:05 on the power play. Both teams battled down the stretch, but needed extra time for the second time in the three meetings against each other season.
At the beginning of the extra period, Matt Summers was assessed a one minute penalty for a high stick. Wichita found itself behind the eight ball when RG Flath went to touch the puck up for the whistle and fired a slap shot near the official and was kicked out of the game. Arizona had a five-on-three power play for one minute after the exchange. The Thunder penalty killers were able to keep the game tied as Arizona had several good chances on Jung. The five-minute overtime session came to a close and the two teams needed a shootout.
Chad Painchaud was the only player to score in the shootout as he came down and beat Russo just under the blocker in round one. Jung proceeded to shut down all five Sundogs shooters and Wichita earned its fourth shootout win of the season.
Trimm became the first Thunder player to score on a penalty shot this season and tallied his 34th goal of the year. Lutz recorded his first goal since early November while Jung earned his 22nd win of the season, stopping 28 of 31 shots.
Wichita went 1-for-4 on the power play while Arizona was 2-for-8.
Wichita finishes its four-game road trip in Allen, TX on Tuesday night against the Americans. 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!
• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...
Central Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2013
- Americans Lose Tight One to Fort Worth - Allen Americans
- Cutthroats One Point Away from Playoffs with 7-1 Win - Denver Cutthroats
- Special Teams Big in Brahmas' 4-3 Win over Allen - Fort Worth Brahmas
- Blaze Playoff Hopes Dim in Loss to Cutthroats - Bloomington Blaze
- Murray, Mallards Blank Missouri 6-0; Magic Number Shrinks to One - Quad City Mallards
- Mavericks Blanked by Mallards, 6-0 - Kansas City Mavericks
- Central Hockey League Announces Suspension - CHL
- Americans vs Brahmas Today - Allen Americans
- Sundogs Drop Game to Thunder in Shootout, 4-3 - Arizona Sundogs
- Bootland's Goal in Overtime Lifts Allen to 4-3 Win at NYTEX - Allen Americans
- Thunder Gut out Shootout Win in Arizona - Wichita Thunder
- Rush Steal 4-3 Shootout Win from Oilers - Rapid City Rush
- Oilers Earn Single Point in Shootout Loss to Rush - Tulsa Oilers
- Brahmas Fall to Americans in Overtime - Fort Worth Brahmas
- Mavericks Earn Playoff Berth in 3-1 Win over Mallards - Kansas City Mavericks
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.
