Wichita Has Thrived in Tough Stretch Versus CHL's Best


Road Trip Fueling the Confidence of the Thunder

On February 18, the Wichita Thunder looked at the road ahead of them and had to say that it might be a bumpy one.  The Thunder were an impressive 33-13-2 and coming off an equally impressive 2-1 victory over Quad City on February 17.

What was waiting for Wichita was a true test of where they stood in the CHL with 11 games over nearly a month against the top teams in the league;  four games against Missouri, three games against Evansville, three games against Rapid City and one game against Fort Wayne.  In that stretch were seven road games in an eight game span including five straight away from home.

All that the Thunder has done is flex their muscles by stretching their lead in the Berry Conference to 11 points and taking over the point lead in the entire league by four points over both Evansville and Fort Wayne.

Wichita is 6-2-0 since February 17 and has three games remaining that 11-game benchmark, all against the Rush (twice this weekend in South Dakota and on March 14 in Wichita.

Versus the Mavs, the Thunder went 3-1 and head-to-head versus the IceMen, Wichita went 2-1 (all in the Ford Center).  Last Sunday, the Thunder topped the Komets in a shootout expanding their current winning streak to five games.

They have shown great balance all season and have had to fight through numerous injuries and extended call-ups to the American Hockey League with players such as Alex Bourret and Andrew Martens (2011 CHL Defenseman of the Year). 

Matt Summers is the top scorer on the league’s best team and he is just tied for 15th in the league with 52 points (18-34=52).  In fact, four different Thunder players have 50+ points (Thomas Beauregard, Matt Robinson, Summers and Bourret), no other team has more than three and eight different skaters have double-digit goal totals.

Wichita has been equally as devastating on the road (17-9-2) as they have been at home (22-6-0) and have point streaks of four games or more six times so far this season.

Newcomer Frances Trudel has added to an already solid blue line and has shown great production with 14 points (1-13=14) and a +14 in 18 games played.  Jarred Mohr (32 points, +21), Kevin Seibel (27 points, +8) and Travis Wight (8 points, +14) have all been steady and Justin Sawyer (8 points, +9, 131 PIMS) has been a tough, physical presence in front of the Thunder net.

In goal, Adam Russo has been steady since opening night sitting third in the CHL with 25 wins and boasting a 2.58 GAA and three shutouts.  Mid-season addition Bryan Hogan has been a nice find as the rookie has won seven of eight decisions with the Thunder with a miniscule 1.59 GAA.

As the post-season approaches, the Thunder are establishing themselves as the favorite and are moving towards clinching home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

Celebrating their 20th season, the Thunder have not hoisted a Cup since the 1994-95 campaign (their second in a row).  Could this be the year?     



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