‘Can’t change the past’: Wichita Thunder focused on keeping slim playoff hopes alive
With their ECHL playoff hopes holding on by a thread, the Wichita Thunder need to win their final two games and receive major help to play for the Kelly Cup.
For any of it to matter, Wichita must take care of business against the last-place Rapid City (S.D.) Rush on Friday and Saturday night.
The only scenario where the Thunder reaches the postseason is for two Wichita victories on top of the Allen Americans and Utah Grizzlies both losing their final games in regulation. Allen and Utah are currently tied at 66 points for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Mountain division, while Wichita is three points back and loses all tiebreakers.
Allen plays three games at Tulsa (67 points), while Utah plays two games at Idaho (96 points).
“We have to rely on other teams and what happens with them, but basically we just have to take care of our own business first,” Wichita coach Bruce Ramsay said. “We can make it if we get some help, but we have to take it one game at a time.”
After the Thunder revived their playoff chances by securing nine of a possible 10 points last week, their postseason hopes took a serious hit with a 6-2 loss to Rapid City on Thursday to kick off the final three-game road swing of the season.
With its chances dwindling, Wichita (27-34-8-1) is in danger of missing the postseason for the third consecutive season.
With seven of its past nine losses coming in one-goal games, Wichita has plenty of what-ifs to ponder, particularly a three-game road swing to last-place Iowa that ended with three straight one-goal losses.
“It’s definitely disappointing because I believe we are a playoff team, especially with the wins we’ve been getting against quality teams lately and the way we’re playing,” Ramsay said. “But that’s why you have a 72-game season. Obviously we should have taken care of business a little bit better early on. But we can’t change the past, we can only take care of the future. We’ve got to hope for some luck and continue to win hockey games for ourselves.”
Wichita’s defense has improved as the season has progressed with goaltender Trevor Gorsuch, who has started 25 of the last 32 games, spearheading the late-season push. Lleyton Moore was another important part, but the defenseman was just called up to the AHL earlier this week.
In Moore’s place, the Thunder have seen Shane Kuzmeski, Nolan Kneen and rookie Tyler Jette step up. Michael Stinil (31 goals, 33 assists) and Jay Dickman (28 goals, 36 assists) lead the team in points, while Brayden Watts has recorded a team-high 43 assists.
Wichita is 23-4-2-1 when it scores at least four goals, while it is 4-30-6-0 when it scores three goals or fewer.
“We’ve been really strong defensively lately,” Ramsay said. “Our analytics have shown that we’ve cut down on our scoring chances against dramatically. We’re playing as a team and we’re getting contributions up and down our lineup at key points and key turns. I love our group and these guys have been bought in together and focused on what they want to get done here late in the year.”
This story was originally published April 12, 2024 at 1:21 PM.
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