WICHITA, KS – Stefan Fournier and Michal Stinil each scored two goals to lead the Wichita Thunder to a 6-4 victory over the Tulsa Oilers. Carter Johnson added three assists and Jay Dickman and Logan Fredericks each had a pair of helpers. The six goals were the most scored by the Thunder since the team scored six against the Rapid City Rush back on November 27.

Brayden Watts returned to the Thunder and made his presence known 5:32 into the contest. Jacob Graves took a shot from the point of that Ryan Ruck saved, but Watts picked up the rebound and tucked it in for his eighth goal of the year.

The Thunder were dominating this contest, outshooting Tulsa in the first period, 18-6. However, a brief lapse allowed the Oilers to grab the lead, scoring two goals in the span of 66 seconds. The first came at 9:50 when Eddie Matsushima won the face-off to Dylan Sadowy, who beat Evan Buitenhuis for his 21st goal of the year.

Tulsa took the lead 1:06 later. Alex Kromm entered the Wichita zone on a 2-on-1 break. Instead of making the pass, he lifted a shot that beat Buitenhuis to the glove side to make it 2-1.

If Wichita was affected by the turn of events, they surely did not show it. The team came out of the second period and dominated early, scoring two goals in the span of 57 seconds. The first goal came at 4:55 when Stinil scored his first goal of the game. Dickman passed the puck to Stinil, who blasted a one-timer past Ruck to tie the score at two. It was the sixth goal of the year for the Thunder forward.

Less than a minute later it was Garrett Schmitz giving the Thunder back the lead. Fredericks passed the puck back to the point, where Schmitz blasted a slap shot that hit off the right post and bounced in for his fourth goal of the year.

The lead held for a little over eight minutes before Tulsa tied the score. With the face-off inside the Wichita zone, Alex Gilmour won the draw back to Darren McCormick, who fed Jack Doremus. Doremus blasted a one-timer from the slot to tie the score at three.

In the third, the Oilers dominated the frame in terms of shots, outshooting the Thunder 19-6. However, Wichita scored three times in the frame to earn the victory. The first came at 1:02 when Fournier scored his first goal of the game. Johnson took a pass-shot toward the net that was knocked down in front, but Fournier stuffed it in for his first goal of the season.

Just before the five-minute mark Fournier was back on the board. This time it was Dickman taking a shot that Fournier redirected past Ruck to make it 5-3.

At 8:31, Matsushima scored on a controversial goal to cut the deficit to one. After colliding with Buitenhuis, Matsushima found a rebound and was able to put it past the Thunder goalie to make it a 5-4 game. The referee reviewed the play but decided that the goal would stand.

Suddenly, Tulsa was back in the contest. However, Stinil added an empty net tally with 1:14 left in the game to secure the victory. The win moved to Wichita to 14-21-5.

The Thunder return to the ice on Wednesday when they travel to Allen to take on the Americans. The puck drops at 7:05.

Gamesheet