WICHITA, KS – Michal Stinil scored 2:53 into overtime to give the Wichita Thunder a 2-1 victory over the Rapid City Rush on Friday night. The goal capped off a two-point night for the forward and Gabriel Carriere was spectacular, stopping 39 shots. The win was the fourth straight for the club.

Neither team was able to light the lamp in the first period, but Jay Dickman put Wichita on the scoreboard 2:11 into the second. With the Thunder on the power-play, Peter Bates made a nice move to gain control puck around the left face-off circle, finding some room and then threading a pass to Dickman. He redirected the puck past Rapid City netminder Christian Propp for his third goal of the year.

Carriere was dominant, stopping 25 shots through the first two periods and holding the Rush off the scoreboard through the first 51 minutes of this contest. However, at 11:33, Mason McCarty scored his first goal of the season. Maurizio Colella took a shot that was knocked down in front, but McCarty scooped up the rebound, putting it in to tie the game at one.

Neither team could take the lead over the final eight minutes, sending the game to overtime. That is when Stinil sent the crowd of nearly 3000 home happy. The play was set up when T.J. Lloyd sent a perfect pass onto the stick of Stinil as he crossed the blue line. The forward then fired a shot that went over the shoulder of the Rapid City netminder to give the Thunder the victory.

The win was not only the fourth in a row for the team, but their third overtime victory of the season. Carriere earned his third victory in a row, stopping at least 30 shots for the third straight game while lowering his goals-against average to 2.69.

Stinil has points in each of the first six games of the season, scoring eight goals and adding six assists. The Thunder superstar leads the league in both goals and points. He is a +10.

The Thunder (4-2-0) remain at home tonight, taking on Rapid City (0-3-2) again. The puck drops at 6:05.

Boxscore

by Robert Pannier