Thunder win 3rd in a row, blast Tulsa 8-0

{TULSA, Ok.} — The Wichita Thunder whitewashed the Tulsa Oilers 8-0 at the BOK Center on Sunday afternoon.

Chris Moran scored the first two goals of his professional career while 21-year old goaltender Marc-Antoine Gelinas completed a 23-save shutout in his Thunder debut.  The eight goals were the most by the Thunder since December 8th, 2006.

For a second straight game, the Thunder built a two-goal lead in the first period.  At 2:55, Chris Schwab knocked a second rebound past the right of Oilers' goaltender Tyler Sims for the early Thunder advantage.  The opportunity came after both A.J. Gale and Bobby Hughes had taken shots from close range.  Just over a minute later, Chris Falloon slipped another puck past Sims' right to make it 2-0 at the 4:04 mark.

In the closing minutes of the first period, and with Tulsa threatening on a power play, Gelinas made a spectacular save against Tulsa's Jack Combs to keep the Oilers off the board.  Combs ripped a shot towards an open left side of the net when Gelinas, who was positioned on the right side of the crease, dove in the opposite direction to smother the puck.

The Thunder broke the game open for good with a six-goal second period, highlighted by a pair of scores from Moran.  After Aaron Davis gave Wichita a 3-0 lead at 2:02, Moran netted the first of his career at 3:29 later.  Moran also potted Wichita's final goal of the game at 15:28 in the second, outhustling an Oilers' defender to a loose puck.  In between Moran's goals, Kory Scoran, A.J. Gale, and Jesse Bennefield all found the back of the net.

The shutout was the first by the Thunder since February 21st, 2010.  Wichita outshot Tulsa 28 to 27 for the game.  Wichita was 1 for 5 on the power play (Scoran) and 3 for 3 in penalty kill chances.

Wichita returns home on Friday when they host the Arizona Sundogs at 7:05 p.m.