HIDALGO, Texas – All it took for the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees to get back into their best-of-seven Berry Conference Semi-Final series with the Wichita Thunder was a return home to the State Farm Arena. 
The Killer Bees, after losing the first two games of the series, struck first for the third-straight game – this time holding on for a 5-2 win in front of 2,001 home fans on Wednesday night. Aaron Lee provided two goals while Cody Carlson added a goal and assist to cut Wichita’s series lead to 2-1. As has become the norm in this series, Rio Grande Valley scored first on a Zac Pearson goal 11:12 into the first period. Taking the puck across the blue line from the neutral zone, Pearson let loose a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle, beating Thunder goaltender Adam Russo. The goal would be the first of many on the night for the Killer Bees as they were determined to deny yet another come-from-behind win by the Thunder. Carlson hit pay dirt 3:22 later off a face-off to increase the Rio Grande Valley lead to 2-0 as the teams headed into the locker rooms at the first intermission. Maintaining the offensive pressure, the Killer Bees would make it 3-0 just 12-seconds into the middle frame. Dan Gendur took a pass from Tomas Klempa and blasted a slap shot past Russo from the top of the right circle. The goal prompted Thunder bench boss Kevin McClelland to pull Russo in favor of backup goalie Bryan Hogan. Hogan was welcomed into the game by Lee when he took a feed from Brady Leavold and knocked the puck into the net just 33-seconds after replacing Russo to give the Killer Bees a 4-0 lead. Wichita finally found the net at the 5:27 mark when Kevin Young sent a snap shot home past Rio Grande Valley goaltender John Murray to make the score 4-1. The Bees held a 25-21 shot advantage over the Thunder heading into the third period, but that would change. Seeking yet another comeback, Wichita would outshoot Rio Grande Valley 12-4 in the third period. Unfortunately for the Thunder, Murray held strong for the majority of the final period, allowing just one goal. After stealing the puck, Chris Greene passed the puck in front to Dustin Donaghy who sent it past Murray and into the net to cut the score to 4-2. Unfortunately for Wichita, that would be as close as they could get. Rio Grande Valley added an insurance goal late in the game when Lee scored on the empty net at the 19:49 mark. The two teams will face off again tonight in Hidalgo in Game Four before the series shifts back to Wichita on Saturday night for Game Five. Contact the writer: john.hall@prohockeynews.com
