Thunder rumbles into CHL playoffs
March 26, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
THUNDER BEATS TULSA IN DO OR DIE FINALE- The Thunder took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission and never looked back, taking a 4-2 home win last night and clinching the sixth and final playoff spot in the Northern Conference. The Thunder entered the game trailing Tulsa by one point in the standings, and it was the Oilers who took the early lead with a power play goal. The Thunder responded with two power play goals of their own, from Jason Duda and Troy Barnes. In the second period, Travis Clayton gave the Thunder a 3-1 lead, scoring in dramatic fashion while diving and sliding on his stomach. Brad Wanchulak added an insurance goal in the third period, his first in a Thunder uniform. The Oilers cut the lead to two, but would get no closer, as rookie netminder shut the door to pick up his third victory of the season.
BRING ON THE BUGS...AGAIN- Bossier-Shreveport defeated Youngstown 6-4 last night, passing the Colorado Eagles to clinch the number one seed in the Northern Conference by one point. This will be the fourth straight season that the Thunder and the Mudbugs meet in the postseason. Bossier-Shreveport defeated Wichita 4-1 in the 2004 Northern Conference Finals. Wichita returned the favor with a 4-3 win in the 2005 Northern Conference Semifinals. Bossier-Shreveport knocked off Wichita 4-1 last season in the opening round. The Thunder went 1-3-1 versus the Mudbugs this season, 1-1-1 at home.
TICKETS ON SALE THURSDAY- Tickets for Thunder opening round playoff games three and four will go on sale this Thursday at 9:00 AM. Fans can also pick up their playoff ticket packages beginning on Thursday.
NOTHING LIKE WAITING TIL THE LAST MINUTE- Four times in Thunder history Wichita's playoff hopes have come down to the final weekend and four times the Thunder has gotten the job done. Wichita defeated San Antonio on the last weekend of the 1996-97 season to qualify for the postseason and then upset Oklahoma City 3-1 in the first round. In 2000 Wichita won at Memphis on the final weekend to qualify, but lost to Oklahoma City 3-2 in the first round. In 2004 The Thunder snuck in on the final day of the season and then upset Colorado 3-1 in the first round.
DUDA STILL DOES IT- 11-year Thunder veteran Jason Duda led the team and finished sixth in the CHL, with 75 points. It is the fourth time Duda has led the Thunder in scoring. Duda, who recorded over 100 penalty minutes for the first time in his career (106), also led the Thunder with 48 assists.
CLAYTON DOES IT TOO- 10-year Thunder veteran Travis Clayton led the Thunder for the fourth time, with 30 goals. Clayton finished the season with 310 career CHL goals, two shy of former Thunder star Paul Jackson for second place in CHL history. Clayton finished the season with 998 career CHL penalty minutes, six minutes shy of passing Jeff Leiter for second in Thunder history.
SCORING STREAKS- Both Duda and Clayton enter the CHL playoffs on a hot streak, having scored in six games straight. In that stretch Duda has notched four goals and 11 points, including a goal in each of the last four games. Clayton has also scored 11 points in that span. Defenseman Darren McMillan is riding a four-game scoring streak.
ROOKIE SHINES- Goaltender Jon Horrell, who had not played competitive hockey since last March at Bowling Green University, has been a key late season addition to the Thunder lineup. Horrell stopped 51 shots and two of four shootout attempts in a 3-2 win at Rocky Mountain on March 16th, his first pro start. After a perfect relief stint the following night, Horrell started and won his second game last Sunday, making 29 saves in a 5-2 win over the Rage. Horrell started all three games this weekend, moving his record to 3-1-1 with an impressive 2.41 goals against average and a .934 save percentage.
MR. CLUTCH- Veteran Joe Blaznek led the Thunder and finished third in the CHL with eight game-winning goals. Over the last four seasons, Blaznek has recorded a CHL-most 33 game-winners.
IRON MEN- Travis Clayton, Kris Wiebe and Scott Rozendal were the only three players to appear in all 64 Thunder games this season. It is the fourth time Clayton has played in every regular season game.
LAPLANTE SETS RECORD- Thunder MVP Goaltender Sebastien Laplante, who missed the last 17 regular season games, has resumed skating but is still questionable for the postseason. Despite the injury, Laplante finished second in the CHL with a Thunder single-season record .928 save percentage, breaking the old mark of .919 set by Jon Volp last season. Overall the Thunder finished third in the CHL with a .913 team save percentage.
MORE RECORDS- The Thunder registered one shot on goal in the first period on December 15th at Memphis, tying a franchise record. On January 20th at Laredo, Jason Duda scored a goal 13 seconds into the third period (shorthanded) tying Nate Metcalf's record set on January 7th, 2005 vs. Tulsa. Duda recorded a natural hat trick on March 2nd vs. Oklahoma City, the fastest three goals by a single player in Thunder history. On March 16th at Rocky Mountain the Thunder went 4-4 in the shootout for the first time ever.
PACK 'EM IN- The Thunder finished the season second in the CHL, averaging 6,239 fans per game, a total attendance of 199,675 fans. It is the second highest regular season attendance in Thunder history, behind only the 1994-95 season average of 6,500 per game. Sunday's attendance of 8,715 was the biggest Sunday crowd, as well as the biggest season finale crowd in franchise history.
NO SHUTOUTS- The Thunder failed to record a shutout this season for the fifth time in franchise history. Only New Mexico and Tulsa also failed to record a shutout this season. Seven times this season, the Thunder held their opponent to one goal. On a positive note, Wichita was shutout only once this season, by Ken Carroll on December 7th at Bossier-Shreveport. The Thunder have been shutout just twice over the last three regular seasons.
TWO IN A ROW- The Thunder managed to win two straight games seven times this season, but were unable to put together a three-game winning streak. Only the 1996-97 Thunder team failed to win more than two games in a row.
SPECIAL TEAMS...THE GOOD AND THE BAD- The bad news first; Wichita allowed a CHL-most 20 shorthanded goals this season. The franchise record for most shorthanded goals against stands at 24, set back in 1992-93. As for the good news, the Thunder finished fourth in the CHL in penalty killing, at 85.8%. The Thunder also finished a respectable seventh in the CHL on the power play, at 16.0%.
THUNDERBOLTS- The Thunder finished last in the CHL for both shots for (29.4) and shots against (38.3) per game.
IN THE BOX- Steve Dix finished third in the CHL this season with 283 penalty minutes. Dix finished second on the Thunder with 13 majors and led the team with nine misconducts. Matt Coughlin led the Thunder with 17 major penalties.
OUT OF THE BOX- Amazingly, defenseman Troy Barnes recorded just one penalty in 46 games this season. Barnes lone infraction was a tripping minor on January 20th at Laredo. Forward Ryan Lauzon was a close second, picking up just six penalty minutes in 57 games. Lauzon, who did not record a penalty in the last 24 games, had three tripping minors all season.
SWEET SUNDAY- The Thunder enjoyed playing at home on Sunday this season, going a prefect 5-0-0. Game five of the series is scheduled for Easter Sunday at the Kansas Coliseum at the special start time of 7:05 PM. The Thunder have played on Easter Sunday one other time in franchise history, a 6-2 loss at San Antonio in game five of the 1995 CHL Finals.
FUN PLAYOFF FACTS:
*Jason Duda is the all-time Thunder postseason leader for assists (43), points (67) and games played (60)
*Wichita is 9-7 in 16 all-time playoff series
*Wichita is 41-41 in 82 playoff games
*Wichita is 7-3 in playoff overtime, 2-3 versus Bossier-Shreveport
*The Thunder have scored 295 postseason goals and allowed 295 postseason goals.
# Bossier-Shreveport (1) vs. Wichita (6) Time
1 Friday, March 30 @ Bossier-Shreveport (7:05 PM) 1410 AM
2 Saturday, March 31 @ Bossier-Shreveport (7:05 PM) 1410 AM
3 Wednesday, April 4 @ Wichita (7:05 PM)
4 Thursday, April 5 @ Wichita (7:05 PM) 1410 AM
5* Sunday, April 8 @ Wichita (7:05 PM) 1410 AM
6* Tuesday, April 10 @ Bossier-Shreveport (7:05 PM)
7* Wednesday, April 11 @ Bossier-Shreveport (7:05 PM)
*If Necessary
PRACTICE SCHEDULE- Tuesday-Wednesday Kansas Coliseum 10:00 AM
Central Hockey League Stories from March 26, 2007
- Laperriere Named CHL Oakley Player of the Week - Arizona Sundogs
- Oakley Central Hockey League Player and Goaltender of the Week Announced - CHL
- Eagles Week in Review - Colorado Eagles
- Thunder rumbles into CHL playoffs - Wichita Thunder
- Youngstown's Jeff Christian Named Central Hockey League MVP - CHL
- Jeff Christian Named CHL's Most Valuable Player - Youngstown SteelHounds
- Rayz Round-Up returns tonight - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Mudbugs Weekly - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- All-Star Kelly Finishes as CHL's Top Goal Scorer - Arizona Sundogs
- Scorpions Host Playoff Games Friday and Saturday Night - New Mexico Scorpions
- RiverKings to face Oklahoma City in first round - Mississippi RiverKings
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.
