West Valley City, UT – Peter Bates and Connor MacEachern each scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Wichita Thunder to a 4-2 victory over the Utah Grizzlies. The win was the first on the road for the Thunder in 2023-24. Trevor Gorsuch earned the win, stopping 29 shots.

Dillon Boucher gave Wichita the lead 8:44 into the contest. Jason Pineo sent a pass into the slot where Boucher corralled the puck then attempted to take a shot, but the puck was knocked into the air. Boucher did not give up however, twice knocking the puck out of the air until he was finally able to knock it in for his third goal of the year.

The Grizzlies outshot Wichita 11-7 in the first, but trailed by a goal. The lead for the Thunder became two 10:52 into the second when MacEachern scored his first professional goal. MacEachern took a pass from Xavier Pouliot then stuffed a wraparound shot past Trent Miner.

The Thunder extended the lead to three 9:12 in the third when Bates scored his fourth goal of the year. Jeremy Masella read a pass attempt perfectly, intercepting it and then leading a two-on-one break out of the Wichita zone. He waited to the last minute before making a pass to Bates who buried the one-timer.

The three-goal advantage lasted for just 16 seconds before the Grizzlies were finally able to get onto the board. Jordan Martel took a pass from Brandon Cutler and buried a one-timer of his own.

The lead became just one with 1:29 left in the contest when Nathan Burke netted his third tally of the season. With Miner on the bench for the extra attacker, Bryan Yoon took a shot that Burke tipped past Gorsuch.

The Grizzlies were buzzing, but Jay Dickman sealed the victory when he drilled in an empty net tally with 70 seconds left. Dickman extended his point streak to five straight games with the goal.

These two teams go at it again on Friday. The puck drops at 8:10 Wichita time.

Gamesheet

By Robert Pannier