Boron’s shutout gets Thunder first victory
No, there probably weren’t really 2,341 people at Intrust Bank Arena – the announced attendance – for the Thunder’s Wednesday game against Tulsa that competed with Game 7 of the World Series.
The Thunder really did beat Tulsa 2-0, though, a figure that seemed just as unlikely considering recent history.
Tulsa scored 15 goals in winning its first two games as part of the ECHL, while Wichita began its stint in the league by allowing 12 goals in two losses. The Thunder amped up its defensive efforts and found an anchor in goaltender Tim Boron, who stopped all 27 Oilers shots.
“It’s a long summer and you have to get the rust off, and everyone was,” Boron said. “The first weekend, you have to forget about that. I’ve been working hard each day when I come to the rink and feeling better each day, and today getting out there, we just came together. I felt good, too. I was seeing the puck well.”
Wichita played a patient game that led to no goals during the first 28 minutes. The Thunder offset Tulsa’s speed by placing defensemen in the neutral zone or deeper to prepare for the Tulsa rush.
That approach also slowed down the Oilers and prevented second opportunities after Boron stopped the first. If Boron allowed a rebound, a Thunder defenseman usually reached the puck first, and those defensemen supported Boron by blocking several shots and clogging the pathway to the goal.
The Thunder’s patience paid off after Tulsa was whistled for two penalties in about a minute, giving Wichita a 5-on-3 advantage it converted in 32 seconds on Alex Bourret’s goal.
“You want to make (scoring) difficult, make them come all the way down the ice, 200 feet,” Thunder coach Kevin McClelland said. “We did a pretty decent job in the neutral zone, swatted a lot of pucks back and got some counterattacks going off of it.”
Tulsa scored four Sunday in the first period against the Thunder during an Oilers overtime win in Tulsa, but the Thunder has been largely superior during the other five regulation periods.
The Oilers haven’t scored more than a goal in any of them, and the Thunder has been successful by not trying to keep up with Tulsa but with slowing down its faster forwards.
A goalie who can cover for any flaws in that philosophy doesn’t hurt, either.
“I got out there, and the first couple saves I was seeing (the puck) well,” Boron said. “I just kept going like that and it kind of snowballed. It was all-around just a good 60 minutes by the team.”
Tulsa | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
Wichita | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 2 |
First period
Scoring—None. Penalties—Tulsa, Booras (interference), 6:22; Wichita, Lowe (diving), 6:22; Wichita, Schultz (holding), 18:52.
Second period
Scoring—1. Wichita, Bourret PP (Kashirsky, Schultz), 7:58. Penalties—Tulsa, Fisher (hooking), 6:22; Tulsa, Mele (tripping), 7:26.
Third period
Scoring—2. Wichita, Hosmer (Lizon, Walker), 9:05. Penalties—Tulsa, Noble (holding), 10:59; Wichita, Peckham (tripping), 19:23.
Power play—Tulsa 0-2, Wichita 1-3. Shots—Tulsa 10-9-8—27, Wichita 7-10-9—26. Saves—Tulsa, Carr 24-26; Wichita, Boron 27-27.
T—7:10. A—2,341.
This story was originally published October 29, 2014 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Boron’s shutout gets Thunder first victory."