Both teams hope to get back to their winning ways Thursday in Wichita.
It’s been a while since the Wichita Thunder has had to leave the comforts of home. On Thursday, the club wraps up an eight-game homestand at Intrust Bank Arena against their heated Mountain Division rival, the Allen Americans.
The Thunder and Americans have met twice previously this season and will face each other in four of the next seven games.
Wichita is coming off a 4-1 loss to the Kansas City Mavericks last Sunday, a game that featured a boarding penalty assessed to Thunder forward Michal Stinil late in the first period. Stinil delivered a vicious cross-check to the Mavericks’ Damien Giroux and was suspended by the ECHL for one game and fined an undisclosed amount.
The suspension leaves Stinil unavailable for Wednesday’s game against the Americans, which is a big blow to Wichita’s offense. He’s tied for second in the ECHL with 24 points, tied for ninth in goals (10), third in shots (82) and tied for 11th in plus/minus (+12).
Against the Americans, Wichita is 29-43-8 on home ice and 57-92-14 all-time.
Wichita (10-10-1) has fallen to fifth place in the division with 21 points. The team is 3-1 in games decided in overtime, 8-3-1 when scoring first, and 4-1-0 when leading after the first period.
The Americans (7-7-4-0) are hoping to bounce back after being swept in a two-game series at home by the Tahoe Knight Monsters. They’re coming off a busy stretch, playing their third game in three days and sixth in the last nine days.
The team has a better record on the road than at home, sporting a two-game road winning streak and a 5-3-0 record away from CUTX Event Center. At home, it’s a different story (2-4-4 overall).
The Americans are currently three points behind the Thunder in the division with 18 points. They come into Thursday’s game ranked fifth in the league on the penalty-kill (89.2%, 33-for-37).
Players To Watch
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Puck drop for Thursday’s game is set for 7:05 Pm CT.