Bennefield's hat trick leads Thunder past River Kings

February 18, 2011|By JENN BATES | Eyewitness Sports

The Wichita Thunder beat the Mississippi RiverKings 5-2 at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Friday night.

Jesse Bennefield led the offense with Wichita's fifth hat trick of the season, helping the Thunder beat the RiverKings for the first time in four tries this year.

A.J. Gale capped off a defensive-minded first period with a goal at the 19:24 mark. Aaron Davis led a three-on-one rush down the left side before making a centering pass to Gale. Gale's one-timer went through the five-hole of RiverKings' goaltender Larry Sterling, hit the left post, and then bounced off the back of Sterling's pad and into the net.

Bennefield increased Wichita's lead to 2-0 at 2:02 in the second, deflecting Mike Looby's shot from the high slot over Sterling's left shoulder. The Thunder scored in the final minute of play for a second straight period when Troy Schwab lifted a backhander from the right faceoff circle past Sterling's right with 27 seconds left on the clock.

After Matt Summers scored from close range at 1:38 in the third to get Mississippi on the board, Bennefield punched in Gale's backdoor pass along the crease just 1:40 later. Bennefield potted his third of the night at 8:30, connecting on a breakaway setup by a headlong pass from Schwab. Patrik Levesque cut the lead to 5-2 with a goal at 10:41, but Wichita kept the RiverKings scoreless for the rest of the night.

Marc-Antoine Gelinas stopped 19 of 21 for the win. Sterling saved 31 of 36 in the loss. Wichita was 0 for 5 on the power play. Mississippi was 0 for 7.

The Thunder hosts the Tulsa Oilers Saturday night at 7:35 p.m. Prior to the game, the Thunder plays its inaugural alumni game at 5:30 p.m.

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