WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita returned home on Saturday night to start a five-game homestand. The Thunder used a big third period to pull away from the Tulsa Oilers for a 5-1 victory at INTRUST Bank Arena.Leading 2-1 heading into the third, the Thunder scored three times in the final frame to blow the game wide open.
Matteo Gennaro scored a pair, Tim Soderlund tallied three points and Evan Buitenhuis earned his sixth win of the season, making 27 saves. Peter Crinella and Christian Hausinger also scored for Wichita.
Gennaro got things started halfway through the first period. Soderlund found him near the front of the net and he tipped a pass over Mason McDonald to make it 1-0.
In the second, Soderlund made it 2-1 with a beautiful goal at 13:23. Andrew Shewfelt stole the puck inside the Thunder zone, fed a pass ahead to Soderlund and he used his speed to get past the Oilers defense. As he came in, he made a great stickhandling move and fired a shot over McDonald’s blocker for his first of the season. Jimmy Soper cut the lead to one at 17:55 with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Buitenhuis.
Hausinger increased the lead to 3-1 at 9:13 of the third. He unloaded a shot from the left point and beat McDonald for his first as a pro. At 13:10, Crinella tallied his sixth of the season to make it 4-1. Gennaro closed the scoring at 15:54, tipping home a shot from Dean Stewart for his second of the game.
The win pushes the Thunder’s winning streak to four games and back above .500 with a 6-5-0-0 record.
Soderlund finished with a goal and two assists. Gennaro had two goals. Brayden Watts, Nick Minerva, Logan Fredericks, Jay Dickman, Carter Johnson and Cam Clarke all picked helpers in the win.
The Thunder begins a busy holiday week on Wednesday night as the Rapid City Rush comes to town starting at 7:05 p.m.
With Wichita Thunder release
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