Jesse Bennefield

The Wichita Thunder beat the Quad City Mallards 3-2 at the iWireless Center on Monday night. Lance Galbraith snapped a 2-2 tie with 67 seconds left in regulation to lift Wichita to victory.  Galbraith took a pass from Jesse Bennefield towards the left corner and wristed a shot to the long side of the net past the left pad of Mallards' goaltender Adam Russo.  The Thunder looked to have taken the lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the third when Bennefield slipped a puck past Russo from close range, but the goal was overturned and the game remained tied.

The Wichita Thunder lost 2-1 to the Missouri Mavericks in Game Four of the Opening Round at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Tuesday night. The series is now tied 2-2 heading back to Missouri for a decisive Game Five on Wednesday night. Mavericks' goaltender Rob Nolan stopped 38 of 39, while the Mavericks weathered three Thunder power plays in the third to help Missouri even the series. The teams battled to a scoreless tie after the first period.  Rob Nolan made two key saves to keep Wichita off the board, stopping Daniel Tetrault on a centering pass from Brent Cullaton, and later denying Cullaton from point blank range on a pass from Jesse Bennefield.

The Wichita Thunder lost 5-3 to the Allen Americans at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Saturday night. Nino Musitelli broke a 3-3 tie with 1:57 remaining in the third period. Colton Yellow Horn sealed the game for Allen with an empty net goal with two seconds left. Allen took a 1-0 lead at 2:07 in the first period when Nino Musitelli snuck a rebound from Dave Bonk past Ian Keserich. Wichita tied the game at 3:24 on a goal from Chris Greene. Greene buried a backdoor pass from A.J. Gale beyond the left of Americans' goaltender Chris Whitley.

The Wichita Thunder lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Bloomington Prairie Thunder at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Saturday night. John Snowden scored the shootout's lone goal, shooting past the left of Peter Delmas on Bloomington's first attempt. Bloomington goaltender Brad Phillips, who subbed for an injured Marco Emond early in the first period, stopped all five shots as well as 30 of 32 in regulation and overtime for the win. Delmas was also strong in his Thunder debut, stopping 33 of 35 in regulation and overtime.

The Wichita Thunder lost 5-0 to the Mississippi RiverKings at the DeSoto Civic Center on Saturday night. RiverKings' winger Matt Summers scored a natural hat trick, while goaltender Alexander Pechurskiy worked a 27-save shutout.  It was the first time this season the Thunder has been shutout. Leading 1-0, Summers scored a pair of second period goals separated by 1:50 that helped Mississippi carve out a 3-0 lead.  Summers knocked in a backdoor pass from Lutz at 12:33 to convert a RiverKings' power play.

The Wichita Thunder shutout the Quad City Mallards 2-0 at the iWireless Center on Wednesday night. Marc-Antoine Gelinas earned his second shutout of the season, stopping all 27 of Quad City's attempts. Troy Schwab delivered a big insurance goal with 1:29 left in regulation. Jesse Bennefield battled for the puck behind the Mallards' net and gave it to Schwab who was denied on his first shot by goaltender David Brown. Schwab then retrieved his own rebound and knocked the puck past Brown's right for a 2-0 Thunder lead.

The Wichita Thunder defeated the Arizona Sundogs 6-3 at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Saturday night. Matt Robinson scored two goals while Aaron Davis and Lance Galbraith each had three points. The Thunder, who has won six of their last nine games, took three of four on their homestand heading into Monday's game at Quad City. With the Thunder keading 3-2 in the third, Robinson scored his second of the night at 7:28, slipping the puck through the five-hole of Sundogs' goaltender Doug Groenestege.

The Wichita Thunder won 3-0 over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs at the Century Tel Center on Tuesday night. Marc-Antoine Gelinas set a new Thunder single-season record with his fourth shutout of the year.  Gelinas stopped all 36 Mudbugs' shots, including a staggering 21 in the final period. Gelinas made several brilliant saves from close range throughout the game, and was helped by a number of defensive plays in a third period that saw Wichita get outshot 21-0. Aaron Davis put Wichita in front 1-0 with a shorthanded goal at the 5:14 mark in the first.

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 Wichita Thunder lost 2-1 to the Missouri Mavericks in Game Four of the Opening Round at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Tuesday night. The series is now tied 2-2 heading back to Missouri for a decisive Game Five on Wednesday night. Mavericks' goaltender Rob Nolan stopped 38 of 39, while the Mavericks weathered three Thunder power plays in the third to help Missouri even the series. The teams battled to a scoreless tie after the first period.  Rob Nolan made two key saves to keep Wichita off the board, stopping Daniel Tetrault on a centering pass from Brent Cullaton, and later denying Cullaton from point blank range on a pass from Jesse Bennefield.

The Wichita Thunder beat the Missouri Mavericks 5-4 in overtime in Game Three of the Opening Round at the Independence Events Center on Saturday night. The Thunder now leads the best-of-five series 2-1 heading back to Wichita for Game Four on Tuesday night. Daniel Tetrault scored the game-winning goal during a power play at 5:47 in overtime, connecting on a low shot from the point past the right side of Mavericks' goaltender Rob Nolan. Trailing 4-3 in the final minute, Jesse Bennefield tied the game on a scrum in front of the net with 58.6 seconds left in regulation.

The Wichita Thunder beat the Colorado Eagles 7-6 in a shootout at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Tuesday night. With the Thunder leading 1-0 in shootout after four rounds, Aaron Davis sealed the win with a quick wrister past Eagles' goaltender Kyle Jones.  Troy Schwab earned credit for the game-winner, sneaking the puck past Jones' right pad on a deke.  Marc-Antoine Gelinas stopped all four of Colorado's shootout attempts to earn the win. It was the Thunder's first home shootout win since March 7th, 2007 when Wichita beat Colorado 3-2 at the Kansas Coliseum.

The Wichita Thunder lost 5-4 in overtime to the Colorado Eagles at the Budweiser Events Center on Saturday night. Adam Chorneyko scored on a one-on-one rush at 1:34 in overtime, shooting through the five-hole of Marc-Antoine Gelinas. The back-and-forth game saw the lead change a total of four times. Down 3-2 entering the third, Colorado went in front 4-3 on goals from Aaron Schneekloth at 4:53 and Steve Haddon at 8:47. Schneekloth wrapped a loose puck around the left post while Haddon scored on a slapshot from the top of the left circle.

The Wichita Thunder fell 8-7 to the Texas Brahmas in overtime at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Wednesday night. The Thunder battled back from three separate four-goal deficits to force overtime, but Greg Hogeboom's hat trick goal 23 seconds into overtime allowed Texas to escape with the win. Wichita's comeback began in the second period in which they entered trailing 5-2.  Hogemboom scored a power play goal at 5:55 in the period to...

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 Wichita Thunder won 3-0 over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs at the Century Tel Center on Tuesday night. Marc-Antoine Gelinas set a new Thunder single-season record with his fourth shutout of the year.  Gelinas stopped all 36 Mudbugs' shots, including a staggering 21 in the final period. Gelinas made several brilliant saves from close range throughout the game, and was helped by a number of defensive plays in a third period that saw Wichita get outshot 21-0. Aaron Davis put Wichita in front 1-0 with a shorthanded goal at the 5:14 mark in the first.

The Wichita Thunder won 4-3 in overtime over the Bloomington Prairie Thunder at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Saturday night. Wichita overcame a three-goal deficit, including a game-tying goal from Lance Galbraith with 47.3 seconds left in regulation, before A.J. Gale scored at 2:37 in overtime for the win. With an extra attacker on the ice, Matt Robinson led the game-tying rush, carrying the puck down the left boards and behind the...

The Wichita Thunder beat the Quad City Mallards 3-2 at the iWireless Center on Monday night. Lance Galbraith snapped a 2-2 tie with 67 seconds left in regulation to lift Wichita to victory.  Galbraith took a pass from Jesse Bennefield towards the left corner and wristed a shot to the long side of the net past the left pad of Mallards' goaltender Adam Russo.  The Thunder looked to have taken the lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the third when Bennefield slipped a puck past Russo from close range, but the goal was overturned and the game remained tied.

The Wichita Thunder defeated the Arizona Sundogs 6-3 at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Saturday night. Matt Robinson scored two goals while Aaron Davis and Lance Galbraith each had three points. The Thunder, who has won six of their last nine games, took three of four on their homestand heading into Monday's game at Quad City. With the Thunder keading 3-2 in the third, Robinson scored his second of the night at 7:28, slipping the puck through the five-hole of Sundogs' goaltender Doug Groenestege.