Thunder Tripped by Sundogs 5-4
December 21, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Prescott Valley, AZ - In a penalty-filled contest, Wichita's (7-14-4) comeback effort fell short Friday night, losing 5-4 to the Arizona Sundogs (9-15-1) at Tim's Toyota Center. The two teams combined for 14 power plays and five goals on the man advantage. Wichita finished with 33 penalty minutes on 11 infractions while Arizona had 38 minutes on 12 infractions. Jesse Dudas and Ian Lowe each had a goal and an assist in the loss for the Thunder. The two teams will meet once again tomorrow night before the Christmas break.
Right off the bat, Wichita was put behind the eight ball. Michael Trebish caught Erick Lizon with an elbow on the wall near the Arizona line that went uncalled. Jason Wilson came over to protect his line-mate and after the fracas, Lizon was sent out of the game and given a five-minute major. The Sundogs capitalized on the two-man advantage, scoring twice in less than two minutes. Ian Schultz tipped home a shot to give Arizona a 1-0 lead. Brandon Coccimiglio, who was acquired by the Sundogs in a trade with Tulsa, made it 2-0 at 3:52 as Arizona went 2-for-2 on the man advantage early. At 10:10, Bryan Cameron got into the act and increased the lead to 3-0 with a wrist shot that beat David Brown to the far side from the right circle. Later in the period, Wichita was able to gain some momentum and got on the board. RG Flath put home his own rebound at 18:58 to make it 3-1 and right after, his stick was sent flying through the air and Arizona was given a penalty. With six seconds left in the period and a face-off outside the Sundogs line, Flath drew another slashing minor that sent Paul McIlveen to the box and gave Wichita a two-man advantage entering the second.
Jesse Dudas made Arizona pay at the start of the second, blasting a shot past Andrew Engelage just 36 into the frame and cut the lead to 3-2. The Sundogs got one back less than a minute later as Alex Tuckerman scored a shorthanded goal at 1:22. He would leave the game right after that sequence after taking an awkward fall into the right corner wall, but gave his team a 4-2 advantage. Arizona added another power play goal halfway through the period when Kevin Baker got to a loose puck and beat Brown to increase the lead to 5-2. At 12:37, Ian Schultz lost his helmet in front of the Thunder net and proceeded to take a baseball swing at Matt Summers away from the play. One of the linesmen caught the action and Schultz was ejected from the game, awarding the Thunder a five-minute major power play. Ian Lowe scored his third goal in two games at 12:58 on the power play to cut the lead to 5-3.
The Sundogs kept a two-goal cushion down the stretch and tried to protect the lead. With just over a minute remaining, Brown was pulled for the extra attacker. Mike Wilson stepped down the left wall and dished it towards the net where Jason Wilson was able to deflect over Engelage to cut the lead to one. The Thunder couldn't get any closer, however, and fell by the final of 5-4 in the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
Wichita falls back to 5-5-2 on the road. Mike Wilson had three assists to lead all Thunder scorers. Brown took the loss, stopping 26 of 31 shots. Engelage earned the victory, stopping 32 of 36 shots.
Wichita went 2-for-7 on the power play. Arizona was 3-for-7.
Wichita plays its final game before the Christmas break tomorrow night against Arizona at 8:05 p.m. CST. The Thunder close out its five-game road trip a week from tonight against Tulsa at the BOK Center at 7:35 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.
Central Hockey League Stories from December 21, 2013
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- Americans Look for Weekend Sweep against Brampton - Allen Americans
- Thunder Tripped by Sundogs 5-4 - Wichita Thunder
- Arizona Beats Wichita 5-4 - Arizona Sundogs
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