WICHITA, KS – Gabriel Carriere stopped 38 shots for his first professional shutout as the Wichita Thunder defeated the Rapid City Rush on Sunday afternoon, 3-0. Jay Dickman scored twice and Kobe Walker added two assists. The victory was the sixth in a row for Wichita, moving the team to the top of the Mountain Division standings.

Wichita took the lead just 3:51 into the contest. With the Thunder on the power-play, Peter Bates fed the puck to the slot, where it hit off a defender and toward Dickman. He deflected the puck past Rapid City netminder Matt Radomsky for his fourth goal of the season.

It remained a one goal advantage for the Thunder through the first two periods, as Carriere battled with Radomsky in a great goaltending duel. The Thunder netminder faced just 15 shots through the first two periods, while the Rush goalie faced 30. However, in the third, the Rush began to put on the pressure, peppering Carriere with 23 shots. However, he would deny every opportunity.

Despite only taking seven shots in the third, Wichita rewarded their goaltender, scoring twice. The first came at 6:33 when Dillon Boucher scored his first goal of the year. Jake Wahlin created a turnover in the neutral zone, then found Ryan Finnegan. He entered the Rapid City zone, feeding the puck to Boucher in the slot, where he blew a one-time or by Radomsky.

With 56 seconds left in the game, Dickman added an empty net goal to seal the victory. Walker earned his second assist of the game on the play, his ninth of the year.

The Thunder penalty killing was spectacular in this game, shutting down all six opportunities for Rapid City. That consisted of six straight minutes where the Rush had the man advantage.

The Wichita Thunder (6-2-0) will continue on Friday when the Allen Americans (1-4-1) come to town. The puck drops at 7:05.

Gamesheet

by Robert Pannier