WICHITA, Kan. (Oct. 29) – Matt Davis stopped 29 shots, Peter Bates tallied the game-winner and Wichita held off a furious rally for a 2-1 victory over Florida on Wednesday night at INTRUST Bank Arena in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Noah Beck tallied his second goal of the season while Ryan Finnegan, T.J. Lloyd, Kyle Masters and Michal Stinil each recorded assists.
After a brief feeling out period, Wichita started to generate some opportunities in the Florida end. Michal Stinil had the best chance after intercepting a centering feed near the Everblades line. His opportunity was thwarted off by Florida netminder Will Cranley with 1:32 to go in the first.
In the second, both teams were able to break through and find the scoresheet. Florida snapped the scoreless tie at 16:21. Craig Needham won a faceoff to the left of Davis. Reid Duke unloaded a shot that found the net and made it 1-0.
With six seconds left in the frame, Beck tied the contest at one. He stepped around Jordan Sambrook with a toe-drag move and wired a shot through a screen for his second of the year.
Just four minutes into the third, the Thunder took their first lead of the night when the Everblades were caught with seven players on the ice. Bates accepted a pass in the slot from Stinil and he buried a shot past Cranley’s blocker to make it 2-1.
Florida finished with a flurry of chances, outshooting Wichita, 11-7, in the final frame. With 1:17 left in regulation, Tarun Fizer found a rebound that banked off Davis’s leg pad but missed a wide-open net. The Thunder held down the fort in the final minutes and earned the win.
Wichita claims its first home victory of the season and handed Florida its first road loss of the year. Beck has goals in back-to-back games. Bates has points in his first four outings of the season and his first goal of the campaign. Stinil added his fourth point in his last two games. Kyle Masters has assists in his last two contests.
