CHL Wichita Thunder

Thunder Weekly

Published on February 13, 2012 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release


LAST WEEK'S GAMES -

Thursday, Feb. 9th Wichita 4 Allen 2

Friday, Feb. 10th WICHITA 3 Tulsa 0

Saturday, Feb. 11th WICHITA 1 Rapid City 3

**Caps designates home

THIS WEEK'S GAMES -

Tuesday, Feb. 14th Wichita vs. Laredo 7:05 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 17th Wichita vs. Quad City 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 18th Wichita @ Missouri 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 19th Wichita vs. Missouri 5:05 p.m.

RADIO - Tuesday, Feb. 14th 1550 KKLE

Friday, Feb. 17th 1550 KKLE

Saturday, Feb. 18th 1550 KKLE

Sunday, Feb. 19th 92.7 KWME, 1550 KKLE

**Pre-game begins 20 minutes prior to start of all games. All games can be heard on www.wichitathunder.com or on your smart phone with the Tune In Radio App using 1550 KKLE**

THUNDER CLAIM FOUR POINTS- Wichita finished off its road trip in a battle for first place before returning home for a pair of games this past weekend. For the third time this season in Allen, the Thunder and the Americans met at the Allen Event Center with the winner claiming first place in the Berry Conference. The Americans jumped out to a 2-0 lead through the first 40 minutes. Wichita scored four unanswered goals in the third period including two from Jarred Mohr and two points from Dustin Donaghy against his old team as the Thunder came-from-behind to win 4-2. Bryan Hogan earned his third win in a Thunder uniform and 10th of the season. It was the first win in regulation all-time against Allen and first ever win at the Allen Event Center. The Thunder returned home Friday night and got a dynamic performance from Adam Russo en route to a 3-0 win against the Oilers in the final regular season meeting. Russo made 42 saves and earned his third shutout of the season, which is his new career-high. Matt Robinson paced the Thunder with three points (2g, 1a) and his fourth multi-goal game of the season. Russo continued his outstanding play into Saturday night against Rapid City. The game quickly turned into a goaltender duel as the two teams unloaded 72 shots combined. Russo had his shutout streak stopped at 107:48 when Shawn Limpright found Collin Circelli and the Rush came back to nip Wichita 3-1. The loss snapped Wichita's six-game winning streak and was just the fifth loss of the season on home-ice.

PACKIN' THE HOUSE- Saturday night was the second-largest crowd in franchise history and the largest crowd to-date in the CHL (13,186). A year ago on the same date (February 11, 2011), Wichita hosted 10,114 on a Friday night and was previously the second largest until this past weekend. The largest crowd in franchise history was on January 23rd, 2010 against Tulsa (13,412) which is also the first game the Thunder played at INTRUST Bank Arena. Wichita is second in overall attendance in the CHL, averaging 6,258 fans per game. The franchise-best for average attendance in a season dates back to 1994-95, when Wichita averaged 6,525 per game.

LAST FIVE- In the last five games, he has eight points (4g, 4a) including two three-point outings in that span. RG Flath also has eight points (4g, 4a) over the past five games and is a +7 in that span. Flath (20g) is one goal shy of breaking his single-season high, which includes his totals in Denmark and England. He set his previous high in 2007-08 with stops in Oklahoma City and Austin.

SIX PACK- Wichita had its six-game winning streak stopped on Saturday night against Rapid City, which is a season-high. The Thunder has won seven of its last nine games, with only one of those contests being decided past regulation. Wichita leads the league in points (64), winning percentage (.696), goals scored (165), wins (31) and wins at home (19).

SEEING BLACK - Adam Russo saw a lot of rubber this past weekend. In two starts, he made 79 saves on 81 shots and allowed just two goals against Tulsa and Rapid City. In two of his last three starts against the Rush, Russo has averaged 38.5 saves. He saw 41 shots on January 13th in a 2-1 shootout win in South Dakota. Russo is tied for the league-lead in shutouts (3), first in shootout wins (5), third in wins (21) and fourth in minutes played (1870:02)

MARTENS HEADS TO TORONTO- Andrew Martens returned to Wichita from Oklahoma City of the AHL on January 27th against Allen and ironically, was called-up to the Toronto Marlies after Wichita's win Thursday night against the Americans. This is his second call-up of the season and played on Saturday afternoon in Toronto's 5-1 win over Hamilton. Martens was a +2 in his first appearance in a Marlies uniform.

CLOSING TIME- Wichita is at the top of many categories in the CHL, but the most important stat to look at may just be the Thunder's ability to shut down its opponent in the third period. Wichita has outscored and outshot teams this season by a wide margin in the final frame. The Thunder is one of only two teams to allow less than 400 shots total in the third period and a CHL-low 389. Along with that stat, Wichita holds a 61-41 edge in scoring against the other teams in the league in the third.

THUNDERBOLTS... Wichita is first in goals per game (3.59) and fifth in goals against per contest (2.80)... Wichita is second in shots allowed (28.57/game)... The Thunder power play away from home is ranked second, going 20-for-92 at a clip of 21.7%... Flath is first in shooting percentage (.275) while Summers is third (.237)... Davis is tied for second in game-winning goals (6)... In one-goal games, Wichita is 13-4-2... In four-goal games, Wichita is 4-0-0... When leading after one, The Thunder is 14-3-1... When trailing after one, Wichita is 8-6-1... Tied after two periods, Wichita is 10-2-2... When scoring first, Wichita is 18-7-1...When giving up the first goal, Wichita is 13-6-1... When outshooting the opponent, Wichita is 17-5-0...When outshot by opponent, Wichita is 10-7-2... Wichita is 10-5-2 playing on a Friday... Wichita is 11-4-0 playing on a Saturday... The Thunder is 11-4-2 against teams from the Turner Conference while going 20-9-0 in division... In division, Wichita is 8-7-0 on the road and 12-2-0 at home

UPCOMING WEEK- Wichita hosts Laredo tomorrow night on Valentine's Day and then begins three games in three nights on Friday against Quad City. WWE Superstar Jerry "˜The King' Lawler will be at the game Friday night and will be on the concourse signing autographs. The last WWE Superstar to appear at a Thunder game was Mick Foley in 2004-05. For tickets, call 755-SEAT, visit the INTRUST Bank Arena box office or online at www.selectaseat.com .

Check out the Wichita Thunder Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Central Hockey League Stories from February 13, 2012


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.

OurSports Central