Familiar addition helps spark second straight win for Wichita Thunder, move up standings
Thanks to back-to-back victories over the weekend, the Wichita Thunder have crawled out of last place in the Western Conference standings.
It’s not an ideal place to be at the halfway point of the ECHL season, but the Thunder have now racked up 29 points — just six back from the fourth and final playoff spot reserved for the Mountain Division.
Wichita hopes the return of forward Quinn Preston, who reunited with the team on Sunday following a stint overseas, boosts the offense for a playoff push in the second half of the season. Preston, 26, notched 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists) in 62 games last season for the Thunder.
Preston is off to an encouraging start, as he scored a goal and registered an assist in the Thunder’s 6-3 win over the Utah Grizzlies at Intrust Bank Arena on Sunday. Michal Stinil netted his second career hat trick in the win and also added an assist, while Jay Dickman, Ryan Finnegan and Shane Kuzmeski each had two points.
The Thunder had spiraled to the bottom of the ECHL standings following a stretch where the team won just once in a 12-game span. Wichita snapped a seven-match losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones this past Saturday.
Peter Bates, Wichita’s All-Star selection, and Stinil each netted a pair of goals against Cincinnati, as Stinil finished with three points and Nick Nardella, Brayden Watts and Jake Wahlin all finished with two points.
While the addition of Preston could help an offense that currently ranks No. 20 in the league, the Thunder also need drastic changes to shore up their defense that ranks dead-last in the 28-team league at 4.17 goals allowed per game.
Wichita has just one hockey game over the next 11 days, a 7 p.m. home game on Friday night against the Tulsa Oilers, a team the Thunder are chasing in the playoff hunt.
This story was originally published January 15, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
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