Wichita Thunder

Wichita has a lot of things to do.  Last week we talked about sports and I got to play hockey with the Wichita Thunder. This week I wanted to settle down and try something a little more artistic, so I tried staining glass.

The Wichita Thunder (6-1) defeated the Rapid City Rush (5-2) 5-3 on Wednesday night at Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita. Colin Hemingway scored a hat trick and also earned 1st star for the game.  Wichita has won three straight home games and is set to host Quad City (3-3) this Friday night. Andrew Martens and Daniel Tetrault also scored for Wichita on Wednesday night.  Goalie Adam Russo recorded 34 saves in the win.

By John Boyd (WICHITA, Kan.) George Strait and Reba McEntire will play to a sold-out crowd at Intrust Bank Arena tonight.  The country duo's show starts at 7:00 tonight. Arena officials tell us the concert sold out in a little more than two hours. 15,000 people are expected to attend the show. Intrust Bank Arena Parking Information The event kicks off a busy weekend for the arena.  The Lipizzaner Stallions are set for two shows on Saturday, then the Wichita Thunder take the ice on Sunday.

The Wichita Thunder dropped their third straight game to Tulsa Saturday night, falling to the Oilers 4-1 at Intrust Bank Arena. Thomas Beauregard was the lone goal-scorer for the Thunder on Saturday night.  Goalie Ryan McDonald recorded 22 saves in the game. The Thunder are now 8-4 and are no longer leaders in their conference.  Wichita's next game is next Wednesday the 22nd against Missouri at Intrust Bank Arena.

By Eyewitness News (WICHITA, Kan.) Wichita's INTRUST Bank Arena opened in January. On Wednesday, the Sedgwick County Commission learned the arena has made a profit. Below is a breakdown of the biggest events at the arena in January and February. January Brad Paisley - January 9 Attendance: 10,084 Tickets Sold: 10,156 Gross Ticket Sales: $498,799 Average Cost Per Ticket Sold: $49.11 Harlem Globetrotters - January 22 Attendance: 6,709 Tickets Sold: 5,767 Gross Ticket Sales: $158,309 Average Cost Per Ticket Sold: $27.45 Wichita Thunder vs. Tulsa - January 23 Attendance: 10,575 Tickets Sold: 11,136 Gross Ticket Sales: $99,099 Average Cost Per Ticket Sold: $8.90 Totals Attendance: 34,362 Tickets Sold: 35,583 Gross Ticket Sales: $816,125  February George Strait - February 19 Attendance: 14,738 Tickets Sold: 14,649 Gross Ticket Sales: $1,259,197 Average Cost Per Ticket Sold: $85.96 Free Style Motor Cross - February 5 & 6 Attendance: 7,556 Tickets Sold: 7,338 Gross Ticket Sales: $136,672 Average Cost Per Ticket Sold: $18.63 Wichita Thunder vs. Arizona - February 28 Attendance: 6,820 Tickets Sold: 3,362 Gross Ticket Sales: $24,642 Average Cost Per Ticket Sold: $7.33 Totals Attendance: 59,252 Tickets Sold: 51,906 Gross Ticket Sales: $1,692,407  ...

The Wichita Thunder has officially clinched a berth in the 2011 Central Hockey League playoffs. By virtue of the Evansville IceMen's 5-1 loss to the Fort Wayne Komets earlier this afternoon, the Thunder has guaranteed at least an eighth place finish in the Turner Conference. It is the Thunder's first playoff berth since the 2006-07 season, and 10th overall in franchise history.  With 11 games remaining on their regular season schedule, Wichita will now focus on earning its highest possible seed for the tournament.

The Wichita Thunder acquired goaltender Adam Russo from the Quad City Mallards today in exchange for future considerations. Russo went 15-13-0 with Quad City last season, including one shutout, a 2.88 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.  He had even more impressive numbers two seasons ago, going 23-14-3 with a 2.81 goals against average, playing for the IHL's Port Huron Icehawks, where he was a teammate of Thunder team...

The finalists in many categories have been named with the winners being announced on Thursday, June 30 at the 14 th Annual Wichita Sports Commission Banquet at the Hyatt Regency.  The finalists are listed below…   Lynette Woodard High School Female Athlete of the Year   Jhasmin Bowen (Wichita Heights) Sarah Balderas (Bishop Carroll) Mackenzie Maki (Kapaun Mt. Carmel)   Barry Sanders Male Athlete of the Year   Evan Wessel (Wichita Heights)

The Wichita Thunder beat the Allen Americans 4-1 on Tuesday night, taking a 1-0 series advantage in the CHL Finals.  Todd Griffith, active for just his third playoff game for Wichita, scored the first two goals of the game as Wichita went up 2-0 after two periods. Allen scored in the third to cut the Thunder lead to 1, but just a few seconds later R.G. Flath connected on a slap-shot to the top shelf to give Wichita a 3-1 advantage.  Chad Painchaud went top shelf himself a few minutes later to give Wichita the commanding 4-1 advantage.

The Wichita Thunder lost 2-0 to the Missouri Mavericks at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Monday night. Mavericks' goaltender Rob Nolan worked a 31-save shutout, including 12 in the final period to earn the win. Missouri broke a scoreless tie 1:09 into the second period. Mike Berry stayed with a rebound to the right of Marc-Antoine Gelinas and scored just outside of the crease. Bill Vandermeer connected from the high slot at 11:16 to make it 2-0. Marc-Antoine Gelinas saved 19 of 21 in the loss.