CHL Wichita Thunder

Thunder Takes Two from Americans with 4-2 Win Saturday

February 2, 2014 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release


Allen, TX - Wichita (19-19-4) completed a weekend sweep of the Allen Americans (25-12-4) on Saturday night, winning by the final score of 4-2 at the Allen Event Center. Mike Wilson led the way with three points including his eighth goal of the season while Matt Robinson potted a pair to push his team-leading total to 20. With the win, the Thunder moves back to .500. Wichita improves to 3-1-1 against the Americans this season and collects its fourth all-time win on the road against Allen.

The first period was a complete opposite of last night's contest. The two team's combined for eight power play chances including two five-on-threes. Allen got on the board first late in the opening 20 minutes when Jonathan Lessard trickled a rebound past Taylor Nelson at 19:17 on the power play. Allen limited Wichita to just six shots on net while putting 24 on Nelson, who made several great saves in the early portion of the period.

The run of power plays continued in the second. Mike Wilson tied the game at 15:40 with Ross Rouleau and Greger Hanson in the Allen sin bin. He caught a pass from Tomas Klempa at the left hash between the circles and beat Mark Guggenberger over the glove for his eighth of the season. Less than a minute later, Robinson registered his 19th of the year with a blast from the right circle to grab Wichita's first lead at 16:38. The Americans took advantage of a late penalty to Jesse Dudas, who was sent off for hooking. Daniel Tetrault scored at 19:39 to tie the game at two heading to the third.

Allen immediately went on the power play at the start of the final frame when Mike Wilson caught a man in the face with his stick. The Thunder killed off the chance and continued to get scoring chances. Klempa was denied in the slot and then Matt Summers got robbed by Guggenberger, getting his toe out at the last second to keep the game tied. At 10:57, Mike Wilson skated down the left wing, re-directed a pass off Rouleau to Erick Lizon and beat Guggenberger to give the Thunder a 3-2 lead. Seven minutes later, Robinson scored his second of the game. Ian Lowe came down the right wing on a two-on-one, took a shot that banked off Guggenberger right to Robinson and he put it to the upper portion of the net to increase the lead to 4-2. The Americans pulled their goalie down the stretch, but the Thunder didn't allow any chances. Wichita limited Allen to just four shots in the final period and 10 shots in the final 40 minutes of the game.

With the win, Wichita has won its last three contests. The first four goals of the game came with the man advantage. The two teams combined for 24 infractions and 70 penalty minutes. Mike Wilson finished with a goal and two assists. Jon Booras extended his assist-streak to five games with six helpers over that span. Klempa extended his point-streak to four games (3g, 3a). Nelson claimed his 10th win of the season, stopping 32 of 34 shots on net. Guggenberger suffers his fifth loss of the year, stopping 29 of 33 shots.

Wichita went 2-for-7 on the power play. Allen was 2-for-9 with the man advantage.

Wichita has a few days off until next Friday night when the Missouri Mavericks come to town. The Thunder then travel to Tulsa on Saturday night and finish the weekend on Sunday afternoon against the Mavericks at 5:05 p.m.

Individual game tickets are on sale now. Season tickets and mini plans are still available. Don't delay, contact the Wichita Thunder Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at (316) 264-4625. Stay up-to-date on all the news this off-season by visiting www.wichitathunder.com.

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Central Hockey League Stories from February 2, 2014


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