WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita’s (3-3-0-0) offense broke out in a big way on Friday night, blowing past Colorado (1-5-1-0) by the final score of 5-2 at INTRUST Bank Arena. The Thunder raced out to a 3-0 first-period lead and never looked back behind a balanced offensive output.
Mason Baptista and Peter Sakaris each had two points while five different players found the back of the net for the home team.
It took just 18 seconds into the first for the Thunder to get things going. Newcomer Todd Fiddler put home a rebound past Colorado goaltender Jacob DeSerres, making it 1-0. The Eagles answered back at 12:42 as Trent Daavettila stole the puck in the right circle and put it past Thunder goaltender David Shantz. Ian Lowe would capitalize on the power play at 15:19, getting a quick pass at the side of the net from Sakaris and beat
DeSerres to make it 2-1. Just 1:22 later, Brandon Martell fired a shot from the blueline that got through to up the lead to 3-1.
In the second, Dalton Reum recorded his second of the season with a shot from the right point that got past DeSerres’s glove at the 10 minute mark. His goal would be the only scoring in the frame and a 4-1 advantage after 40 minutes.
Baptista added another for the Thunder at 1:50 of the third, receiving a terrific pass from Sakaris across the goal mouth. Tempers started to flare after Lowe was hit from behind by Colin Joe. The hit brought everyone on the ice into the corner and eventually, Dan Milan and Darryl Bootland were sent to the showers. Patrick D’Amico added a late tally for the Eagles to end the scoring with three seconds left.
The two teams combined for 80 penalty minutes and 10 power plays. Baptista recorded his first goal in a Thunder uniform and added an assist. Sakaris finished with two helpers on the night. Fiddler added his second goal of the year and his first in a Thunder uniform.
With Wichita Thunder team release
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