WICHITA, KS – The Wichita Thunder fell to the Allen Americans for the second straight night, this time 5-4. It was a four goal third period that helped propel Allen to the victory. Roman Kinal and Peter Bates each had two points for Wichita and the loss. The Americans had four players with multiple points.

The teams split goals in the first period. Joe Gatenby made a perfect pass onto the stick of Hank Crone just after he had moved past the Thunder defensemen, sending him in on a breakaway. He beat Beck Warm with a wrist shot for his fourth goal of the season.

Wichita tied the score at 10:19 when Ryan Finnegan netted his sixth tally of the year. Nick Nardella fired a shot toward the net that Finnegan deflected past Americans netminder Mark Sinclair to make it 1-1.

That would be the score after one, with Allen outshooting Wichita in the first period, 11-10. In the second, the Thunder outshot the Americans 15-11, but it would be Allen coming away with a 4-2 advantage in goals.

Mikael Robidoux scored his second goal at 2:25 to put the Americans back on top. Nolan Orzeck took a shot that Warm saved, but Robidoux put in the rebound for his second tally.

At 6:22, Jay Dickman reknotted the score with his 14th of the year. Wichita was on the power-play when Michal Stinil passed the puck to Kinal at the opposite post. He quickly shoveled the puck across the crease to Dickman who slammed that in to tie the score.

Once again, Allen would take the one goal advantage would Blake Murray scored at 8:10. Kris Myllari intercepted a clearing attempt along the left boards, then fired a shot that found its way on net. Warm was able to make the save, but Murray put in the rebound to make it 3-2.

Once again, Wichita was down, but responded when Kinal tied the score at 12:21. The rebound goal was the theme of the night, and this goal was no exception as Connor MacEachern took a shot that Sinclair saved, but Kinal jumped all over it, putting in the rebound for his sixth of the year.

This game looked like it may stay tied heading to the second intermission, but the Americans scored twice in the final 1:32 of the second. Easton Brodzinski gave Allen the lead for good at 18:28 when he took a pass from Gavin Gould and buried it past the Thunder netminder.

With 32 seconds left in the period, the Americans were on the power-play. They quickly capitalized when Colby McAuley fired a wrist shot that found its way past Warm for his 16th of the year.

The Thunder were down, but refused to go away. Just before the five minute mark of the third, Jason Pineo netted a shorthanded goal to cut the deficit to one. Bates gained control of the puck in his own end, then found Pineo, sending him streaking the other way. He wristed a shot past Sinclair to make it 5-4.

The Thunder pulled their goaltender with a little over a minute left in the contest but were unable to get the equalizer. Stinil finished with two assists and now has points in six straight games.

Wichita will close out their three-game set with the Americans on Sunday. The puck drops at 4:00.

Gamesheet

by Robert Pannier