Wichita Eagle: Wichita Thunder

End of the line for Wichita Thunder

Jeffrey Lutz — Sun, 12 May 2013 09:16 CDT

Andrew Martens glared back at the Allen Events Center ice one last time as he prepared to walk onto the Thunder’s bus, as if to steel the melancholy image into his mind for the next five months.

Minutes earlier, Allen’s Mike Berube had a much different view.

Martens looked back at the celebration on the ice with a scowl after Allen beat the Thunder 3-2 in overtime of Game 7 of the Central Hockey League Finals, giving the Americans the championship in a game Wichita led with fewer than three minutes to go.

Wichita Thunder beats Americans 3-2, forces Game 7 in CHL Finals

Jeffrey Lutz — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:08 CDT

The urgency — if not sheer desperation — with which the Thunder was playing Friday night with its season on the line was best encapsulated in the final few minutes of a 3-2 win over Allen.

After having given up a power-play goal in the first period, Wichita faced a penalty-killing situation with less than 10 minutes to go, then another one with less than five. Allen was just as urgent and/or desperate — with a win, the Americans would be Central Hockey League champions.

The Thunder held off both penalties with greater will and superior effort. The Americans hardly got a quality shot during those four minutes with a one-man advantage, and the Thunder survived Game 6 of the best-of-seven CHL finals at Intrust Bank Arena.

Wichita Thunder feeds off McClelland’s composed urgency

Jeffrey Lutz — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:08 CDT

Kevin McClelland isn’t an expressive coach with a stack of motivational speeches in his office, ready to use whenever the situation calls for one. But Thunder players are familiar enough with McClelland to detect excitement from their coach.

Of course, it doesn’t take an overly emotional person to be excited about the prospect of winning a Central Hockey League championship, which the Thunder can do by winning the next two games against Allen — Wichita trails the best-of-seven finals 3-2.

While McClelland isn’t instructing his team to "Win one for Mac," his inability to go longer than a few seconds without mentioning Friday’s Game 6 at Intrust Bank Arena is an easy tell that he’s as amped as anyone would be in this situation.

Allen beats Wichita Thunder, takes 3-2 series lead

Jeffrey Lutz — Wed, 08 May 2013 06:18 CDT

Even before Allen began a five-minute power play near the end of the second period against the Thunder on Tuesday, Wichita seemed powerless to stop the momentum the Americans built by scoring three goals in seven minutes.

When Thunder forward Les Reaney went to the penalty box for a boarding major with about three minutes left in the third, all signs pointed to Allen staying hot and building on its lead.

A manageable two-goal deficit for Wichita became a four-goal lead for the Americans, who scored twice during the power play and turned Game 5 of the Central Hockey League finals into a 5-1 runaway victory at the Allen Event Center.

Wichita Thunder ready to battle for CHL title

Jeffrey Lutz — Tue, 07 May 2013 06:28 CDT

The Thunder’s victory over Allen in Game 1 of the Central Hockey League finals last week, certainly important at the time, has suddenly become even more crucial.

The damage incurred to Wichita’s collective psyche after losing Game 4 in Wichita, tying the series 2-2, was somewhat offset by the precedent the Thunder set by winning the opener on the road.

The finals has been reduced to a best-of-three, with two games to be played in Allen including the if-necessary Game 7. Wichita is confident it can win on the road after having done it once already, and the Americans have been far from unbeatable at the Allen Event Center during the postseason.

Allen evens CHL finals by beating Thunder 2-1

Jeffrey Lutz — Sun, 05 May 2013 21:05 CDT

A pivotal moment in the second period of Game 4 of the Central Hockey League finals didn’t represent a shift in momentum as much as a shift in emotion.

The Thunder appeared on the verge of adding to its one-goal lead over Allen, or at least keeping it more comfortably than such a margin suggests. Wichita was controlling the game and not much was happening for the Americans.

But when the Americans tied it near the midway point of the second, they began playing with a renewed energy while the Thunder players momentarily lost theirs. Allen used that surge to score early in the third, the decisive goal in its 2-1 victory at Intrust Bank Arena.

Wichita Thunder wins Game 3 over Allen, takes series lead

Jeffrey Lutz — Sun, 05 May 2013 08:29 CDT

The Central Hockey League finals are rarely looking like a final confrontation between teams separated by a single point during the regular season.

Teams aren’t grinding out difficult wins that come down to who plays best over the final few minutes, as exhibited once again during the Thunder’s 5-2 victory Saturday night over Allen at Intrust Bank Arena.

Wichita took a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven series in which, so far, all games have been decided by three goals. The better team on any given night has been much, much better. Wichita won Game 1, 4-1 and Allen won Game 2, 5-2.

Wichita Thunder, Americans ready to resume hard-fought series

Jeffrey Lutz — Sat, 04 May 2013 07:46 CDT

Part of playing in the finals involves players convincing themselves that the other team is a sworn enemy, even if the underlying feeling between them is mutual respect.

The Thunder and Allen have had no problem with that, probably because their rivalry began long before the Central Hockey League finals. It developed last season, when the teams had the top two records in the league, intensified this year and has finally reached a boiling point during this series.

The mutual respect appears to have disappeared and shared hatred has taken over. During Game 2, won by Allen 5-2 to even the series 1-1, 13 players earned penalties for fighting in the third period, the culmination of a season full of disdain.

Allen evens CHL finals by winning fight-filled Game 2 over Wichita Thunder

Jeffrey Lutz — Fri, 03 May 2013 07:13 CDT

The mixed-martial artists who fought at Intrust Bank Arena last weekend may be asked back on Saturday — Game 3 of the Central Hockey League finals is going to need an undercard.

Allen’s 5-2 win over Wichita on Thursday, which tied the best-of-seven series 1-1, was marred — or highlighted, depending on how you look at it — by a third period that included more than 100 penalty minutes. Most of those were the result of fights, some of which went without penalties because they were happening at the same time as other fights.

Two players, both from the Thunder, earned game misconduct penalties and several more left the ice early because the time on their penalties exceeded the time on the clock. But facts can’t sum up the bedlam that occurred over the final 20 minutes. Nothing can, really, except possibly the emotions that lingered afterward.

Wichita Thunder doesn't want to talk sweep

Jeffrey Lutz — Thu, 02 May 2013 07:23 CDT

The Thunder has avoided talking much about the possibility of a sweep of Allen in the Central Hockey League finals, not for fear of getting ahead of itself, but because it never seemed like a possibility.

The questions were inevitable because Wichita swept its first two playoff series; taking four in a row against the Americans without home-ice advantage wasn’t a consideration.

But after a 4-1 Thunder road win on Tuesday, the questions are back. Wichita thoroughly handled Allen, which finished with the CHL’s best regular-season record, bringing back into play the chances of a short series or even the shortest series.

Bob Lutz: Jung putting Wichita Thunder on his back

Thu, 02 May 2013 07:23 CDT

Remember how Jonathan Quick got so hot in the goal during last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs for the Los Angeles Kings? And how Quick’s dominance helped LA win the Cup and win 16 of 20 playoff games in the process?

Well, a similar thing is happening with the Wichita Thunder and its goalie, Torrie Jung. He’s not just standing on his head in net for the Thunder, who have a chance to go up 2-0 against the Allen Americans on Thursday night in Texas in the CHL finals. Jung is doing cartwheels back there — he’s allowed just 13 goals in nine playoff games.

All nine have resulted in victories.

Wichita Thunder takes 1-0 series lead in CHL finals

JEFFREY LUTZ — Thu, 02 May 2013 06:36 CDT

The video-board operator at the Allen Event Center picked the optimal time on Tuesday night to show a video mocking Thunder players for contrived intermission rituals. If it had been shown one minute later, not as many people would have seen it.

Shortly after the video, which displayed four seated actors in Thunder jerseys massaging one another, Chad Painchaud scored the final goal in Wichita’s 4-1 win. It sent many fans to the exits and was the dagger in the Thunder’s triumph in Game 1 of the Central Hockey League finals.

Wichita grabbed home-ice advantage for the seven-game series with a dominating performance that included a pair of goals from little used-forward Todd Griffith. Goalie Torrie Jung stabilized the Thunder during an aggressive start by the Americans and saved 15 of 16 shots overall.

At long last, the CHL’s top teams meet to decide a champion

Jeffrey Lutz — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:27 CDT

Whenever an athlete says he has no preference regarding which opponent his team faces in an important playoff series, he’s almost always being less than honest. The truth comes out when top teams meet in the postseason, and a player says it was the series he wanted all along.

That would have seemed to be the case for the Thunder and Allen, the teams that tussled for the top spot in the Central Hockey League throughout the regular season. It would stand to reason that Wichita was targeting the Americans, who won the league, but that’s not the case.

After losing in a five-game final series to Fort Wayne last year, the Thunder isn’t focused on beating any particular opponent, just winning no matter who the opponent. So far, that goal has been reached, as Wichita has swept its first two series, against Arizona and Fort Worth and open CHL finals play against Allen on Tuesday in Allen, Texas.

Circumstances cause home headaches for Thunder hockey

Jeffrey Lutz — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 08:13 CDT

They’re supposed to be enemies this week, when they meet in the best-of-seven Central Hockey League finals, but Allen has been friendly to the Thunder recently. Or at least to Wichita’s previously maddening playoffs schedule.

A prior booking at the Allen Events Center prevented the series from beginning this weekend, keeping the Americans from prime Friday and Saturday dates that bring in bigger crowds.

So Wichita gets the weekend dates with Games 3 and 4 scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Intrust Bank Arena. The Americans also did the Thunder a favor by beating Missouri in the semifinals, creating a nine-day break for Wichita between games after it swept Fort Worth in the semifinals.

Wichita Thunder keeps intensity up during pre-finals break

Jeffrey Lutz — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:16 CDT

The Thunder is at the end of its hockey season, but it looks more like the beginning.

Near-daily practices without games to prepare for is more reminiscent of training camp than of a team preparing for the Central Hockey League finals. Because of sweeps by the Thunder in the first two rounds and odd scheduling due to building conflicts, Wichita has had lots of idle time between series.

The Thunder wrapped up its semifinal series against Fort Worth on April 20 and don’t start the finals until Tuesday at Allen, a 10-day layoff. Wichita went a week between games after sweeping Arizona in the first round.

Thunder sweeps Brahmas, earns spot in CHL Finals

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 07:58 CDT

The Wichita Thunder broke a 1-1 tie in the third-period with an Ian Lowe goal and eliminated the Fort Worth Brahmas from the CHL playoffs with a 3-1 victory Saturday night at NYTEX Sports Centre.

The victory sends the Thunder to the CHL Finals for the second consecutive season.

The Thunder swept the best-of-seven series, the second consecutive playoff sweep for Wichita. The Thunder’s eight straight wins ties the CHL record for postseason winning streak.

Thunder blanks Brahmas, takes 3-0 lead in CHL series

BOB KOWALSKI — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:36 CDT

The Wichita Thunder scored a power-play goal early in the second period and added scores late in the third period to defeat the Fort Worth Brahmas 3-0 at NYTEX Sports Centre on Thursday night.

The victory gives Wichita a 3-0 lead in in the teams’ best-of-seven second-round CHL playoff series, which resumes with Game 4 at NYTEX on Saturday night.

Heading into the game, Brahmas coach Dan WIldfong talked about how his team was playing well but not able to get the key breaks. That scenario played out Thursday as rebounds in or around the crease stayed just beyond the Brahmas’ reach.

Thunder beats Fort Worth 4-3 in CHL playoffs

Jeffrey Lutz — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 06:05 CDT

The biggest threat to the three-goal lead the Thunder established after one period Thursday against Fort Worth wasn’t the two goals the Brahmas scored in the second.

The Brahmas didn’t seem to truly gain momentum until they withstood a 5-on-3 Wichita advantage that lasted more than 90 seconds early in the third period. If Fort Worth was going to find the even-strength offense to tie and perhaps win the game, it was likely happening following its most vital defensive stand.

But Fort Worth, even though it was largely successful in slowing the pace to the more methodical style it prefers, couldn’t consistently slow the efficient Thunder offense. Greger Hanson added to the lead later in the third, an important goal in allowing Wichita to hold on for a 4-3 victory at Intrust Bank Arena.

Thunder tops Fort Worth 4-1 in first game of CHL semifinals

Jeffrey Lutz — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:52 CDT

At the end of the second period Wednesday against Fort Worth, Thunder goalie Torrie Jung lingered near his goal for a few seconds as his teammates skated into the locker room.

Perhaps Jung was giving the standing ovation from the fans behind the glass time to sink in. Or maybe he just needed to catch his breath after an eventful second period.

Wichita scored two power-play goals in the second and Jung helped the Thunder hold onto the lead with a few impressive saves. The Thunder’s special teams play, where it also stopped four Fort Worth power-play attempts, was key to its 4-1 win at Intrust Bank Arena.

Hanson’s return adds speed to Thunder attack

Jeffrey Lutz — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:41 CDT

The eight weeks approximated for Greger Hanson’s rehabilitation after he suffered a torn groin in early February put him in line to rejoin the Thunder just as the Central Hockey League playoffs were beginning.

What wasn’t certain was how Hanson, a rookie forward from Sweden, would play upon returning from a major injury.

If the first round of the postseason is any indication, Hanson has suffered little or no dropoff. He scored three goals and notched three assists for Wichita as it rolled to a four-game sweep of Arizona in the opening round.