Gorsuch Blanks Oilers to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
WICHITA, KS – Trevor Gorsuch stopped all 37 shots he faced on Saturday, leading the Wichita Thunder to a 4-0 victory over the Tulsa Oilers. It was the first shutout of the season for Gorsuch and the third of his ECHL career. The victory moved Wichita to within four points of the Allen Americans for the final playoff spot in the Mountain Division.
Wichita took the lead just after the two minute mark of the first period. Jake Wahlin passed the puck back to Jeremy Masella at the blueline, who lifted a shot that found its ways over the shoulder of Oilers netminder Gage Alexander for his seventh goal of the season.
At 13:41 of the first, Jay Dickman extended the lead to two. Tyler Jette made a pass off the boards to Dickman in the slot. He corralled the puck on his stick, then fired a laser past Alexander for his 27th tally of the year.
With just under two minutes left in the first, Lleyton Moore extended the lead to three. Michal Stinil started the play, when he gained control of a loose puck near his own blueline, then headed the opposite way with Moore on a 2-on-1 break. As he approached the net, he fed the puck across the slot to Moore, who blasted a one-timer by Alexander for his seventh goal of the year.
Tulsa was pouring it on through the first two periods, peppering Gorsuch with 15 shots in the first and 18 in the second. However, the Thunder netminder was not giving an inch in this contest, setting aside each opportunity the Oilers had.
In the third, the Thunder shut down that ferocious Oilers attack, holding them to just four shots. They also added one more goal for their netminder as Bradley Marek scored on the power-play 4:42 into the frame. Brayden Watts passed the puck to Marek at the left face-off circle, who blasted a one-timer by Alexander for his 12th tally of the year.
Moore and Marek each finished with a goal and an assist for the Thunder. The shutout was the first for Gorsuch since the 2021-22 season when he was with the Kalamazoo Wings.
The two teams faceoff again on Sunday. The puck drops at 4:05.
By Robert Pannier
