CHL Wichita Thunder

Thunder Weekly

January 23, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release


KILLER BEES STING THUNDER- The Killer Bees broke open a close game with three second period goals, en route to a 6-1 win over the Thunder on Friday in Rio Grande Valley. Travis Clayton scored the lone goal for the Thunder, who suffered their worst defeat of the season and their first ever loss to Rio Grande Valley.

THUNDER RALLIES PAST BUCKS- Trailing 3-1 after two periods, the Thunder turned the tables on the Bucks, tying the game and winning 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday night in Laredo. Jason Duda pulled the Thunder within one, with a shorthanded, unassisted goal, 13 seconds into the third period. Duda's goal tied a Thunder record for the fastest goal to start a period. Travis Clayton's second power play goal of the game tied the score. In the shootout, goaltender Sebastien Laplante continued his stellar play, stopping all five attempts, while Ryan Lauzon scored the game-winner for the Thunder. Laplante finished the night with 49 saves. The victory was Wichita's first this season when trailing after two periods and moved their all-time record versus Laredo to 3-1-1. Amazingly, the last four meetings have all gone to overtime or a shootout and all five meetings between Wichita and Laredo have been decided by one goal.

SIZZLING SPECIAL TEAMS- Wichita's special teams continue to roll, led by the penalty killing unit. Over the last 11 games, the Thunder has been shorthanded 46 times and has killed off 44 of those power play opportunities. The Thunder had their penalty killing streak stopped at 23 straight on Saturday. Wichita's penalty killing unit ranks fifth in the CHL, at 85.8%, while the Thunder power play unit ranks sixth in the CHL at 16.9%.

MILESTONES- With three goals this past weekend, veteran Travis Clayton passed Luc Beausoleil for third place in CHL history for goals scored, with 296. Clayton also became the first Thunder player to record 100 power play goals. With 289, veteran Jason Duda needs two goals to pass Don Parsons for fifth on the CHL goal-scoring list. With 122, Joe Blaznek needs four assists to pass Cam Plante for sixth place in Thunder history. Ryan McLean is one point shy of 100 for his career. Defenseman Daniel Tetrault will play in his 400th career pro game on Sunday, while Ryan Lauzon will play in his 200th career pro game on Friday.

ROSTER MOVES- The Thunder acquired forward Tim Earl from the Austin Ice Bats on Saturday for future considerations. Earl, who had 13 points and a +14 rating with Austin, is in his second stint with the Thunder. Earl made his pro debut with Wichita in the 2005 CHL playoffs, notching an assist in five games. Defenseman Darren McMillan, who has missed the last four games due to personal reasons, returned to the Thunder today and is expected back in the lineup this weekend. The Thunder, who have played with a full 18-man lineup just six times this season, expect to have one this weekend for the first time since December 9th versus Tulsa.

TAKING CHARGE- The Thunder has gone 5-1-1 in the last seven games and has scored the first goal of the game in each of those games, except Friday's loss at Rio Grande Valley. Over those seven games, the Thunder has outscored their opponents 9-2 in the first period. Wichita is 12-4-2 when scoring first this season.

THUNDERBOLTS- Sebastien Laplante ranks third among CHL goaltenders with a .925 save percentage...Wichita still ranks second in the CHL, averaging 6,128 fans per game...Steve Dix is fourth in the CHL with 159 penalty minutes...Joe Blaznek is second in the CHL with five game-winning goals...Daniel Tetrault ranks second among CHL defensemen with six power play goals...Wichita is still last in the CHL, averaging 29.6 shots per game.

PROMOTIONS- Thunderdog's Kid's Club Dinner is tonight, Tuesday at 6:00 PM at Hometown Buffet...Ben Murphy, Kris Wiebe, Darren McMillan and Andrew Martin will sign autographs at the Park City Library on Wednesday at 7:00 PM...Saturday's game is sponsored by Butler Community College...Sunday's game is the first AT&T postgame skate of the season...A limited number of skates will be available.

LAST WEEK'S GAMES:

Friday, January 19- Wichita 1 at Rio Grande Valley 6 Loss

Saturday, January 20- Wichita 4 at Laredo 3 Win (SO)

THIS WEEK'S GAMES:

Friday, January 26- Wichita at Oklahoma City 7:35 PM

Saturday, January 27- Colorado at Wichita 7:05 PM

Sunday, January 28- Memphis at Wichita 5:05 PM 1410 AM

PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Tuesday-Friday Wichita Ice Center 10:00 AM

METAL BLADE RECORDS PLAYER OF THE WEEK-

Center Travis Clayton 2 GP, 3 Goals

Check out the Wichita Thunder Statistics



Central Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2007


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