Worcester scored the only goal in a battle of the netminders Wednesday night at Intrust Bank Arena.
It was the goaltenders who stood out Wednesday night at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita as the Worcester Railers edged the Thunder 1-0.
Railers goalie Henrik Tikkanen stopped all 28 shots he faced to earn his second shutout. His opponent, Aaron Dell, was even more impressive, saving 45 of the 46 shots he faced. It was the most saves by a Thunder netminder this season.
Unfortunately for him, the one shot that went in turned out to be the only goal of the game.
With five minutes left in the second period, Jack Randl tallied his sixth goal of the season. Randl took a pass from Jordan Kaplan, who beat a Wichita defender to the right corner after the Railers had dumped the puck in. Lincoln Hatten also picked up a helper.
The Railers tested Dell throughout the game, including a 19-5 shot advantage in the third period, but he refused to yield and kept his team in the game.
The Thunder sent out the sixth attacker with 22 seconds remaining, but the Railers didn’t allow a shot to get to Tikkanen and went on to the 1-0 victory.
It was the first time Wichita has been shut out at home and the second time overall this season. They were tied for sixth in the ECHL with 32.06 shots per game, but fell below that mark on Wednesday with their 28. Each team had three power-play opportunities but couldn’t capitalize on any of them.
Worcester improves to 7-9-1 on the season, while the Thunder drops to 9-8-1.
The two clubs will enjoy their turkey on Thursday before facing off again Friday in Wichita.
Friday is the Thunder's QuikTrip Buy In and Teddy Bear Toss Night. Fans can drop by any QT location in the Wichita area for a complimentary upper-level ticket voucher. They're also encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to throw onto the ice when the Thunder scores its first goal.