Behind two goals each from snipers Travis Clayton and Joe Blaznek, the Wichita Thunder rolled to a 5-2 win over visiting Bossier-Shreveport Wednesday evening, trimming the Mudbugs lead in the Northern Conference Finals to 2-1. The Thunder never trailed in the contest, and built a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes of play by scoring three times in the second period. While a loss would not have eliminated Wichita, it would have given Bossier-Shreveport a 3 games to 0 stranglehold. Instead, Wichita has an opportunity to even the series Friday on home ice before the clubs return to Bossier-Shreveport for Game Five Saturday evening at the CenturyTel Center. Thursday, the Southern Conference Finals resume in Amarillo, with the Gorillas hosting the Laredo Bucks in Game Three of their series.


Live Boxscore: Bossier-Shreveport 2 @ Wichita 5
Bossier-Shreveport Leads Northern Conference Finals 2-1

The Thunder got off to the start they wanted, scoring just 3:24 into the opening period on Travis Clayton’s sixth post-season goal. Mudbugs defenseman Jason Basile evened the score late in the period with his first of the playoffs before Wichita took control of the game in the second frame by scoring three times in a span of 3:42. Clayton’s second of the night at the 1:22 mark gave Wichita a 2-1 lead, followed by Tye Korbl’s first playoff goal at 4:06 and Joe Blaznek’s third of the post-season at the 5:04 mark. Blaznek picked up his second of the evening to give the Thunder a 5-1 lead early in the third, then Mudbug forward Chris Brassard rounded out the scoring midway through the final period with his fifth playoff goal. The key to the game was Bossier-Shreveport’s inability to hold off early pressure in each period by Wichita, who scored early goals in all three periods to deflate the Mudbug lineup. The Wichita win guarantees a Game Five Saturday in Bossier-Shreveport.