Thunder hockey team shut out by Missouri Mavericks

7Missouri took shots in flurries during the first two periods on Friday night, and that was manageable for the Thunder because goaltender David Shantz stopped them all.

The same rapid fire occurred for Missouri in the third, but with no resistance from the Thunder and no response.

Missouri scored three times in the first eight minutes of the third and defeated the Thunder 3-0 at Intrust Bank Arena. In its first loss, Wichita displayed little cohesion offensively against an opponent with nine contracted American Hockey League or NHL players.

“They’re a fast team, they’ve got a lot of skill,” Thunder defenseman Dan Milan said. “They have nine contracted guys, so obviously they have some good talent on the team. Going into the third period, I think we let up a little bit. Quick goals happen in the third period, but I think we got a little down on ourselves, then next thing you know it’s two, then three-nothing.”

After neither team sustained possession over the first two periods, the possibility of an immediate third-period goal seemed remote.

Missouri, though, didn’t need an extended barrage of shots to take the lead. After 53 seconds of the third, Tyler Barnes outraced Wichita defenseman Ryan Ruikka to a loose puck down the left side, creating a one-on-one chance against Shantz, which Barnes converted.

Twenty-four seconds later, Colin Markison scored from the point through traffic to make it 2-0, and the three-goal lead came at the 7:40 mark, as Kellen Jones pushed a shot, as he fell to the ice, past Shantz.

“We need… more sustained possession time in the offensive zone,” Thunder coach Kevin McClelland said. “A tight game there, then all of a sudden one of their guys (Barnes) get wide, almost like a breakaway, and that can’t happen in a 0-0 hockey game. You’ve got to be aware of your surroundings out there.”

The first goal apparently deflated the Thunder, which was unable to organize a timely response.

Wichita became enthused after a Danick Paquette elbow to the head of Todd Hosmer, but the burst of energy produced nothing of note, as the Thunder failed to score and Paquette backed off a chance to fight Erick Lizon or Theo Peckham.

The Thunder tallied 27 shots but few were truly threatening. There was little flow to Wichita’s possessions, as even returners Ian Lowe, Danick Gauthier and Kenton Miller, the Thunder’s top line, were rarely on the same wavelength.

“That’s a good team we’re playing,” McClelland said. “That’s no excuse, but we didn’t generate a lot. We made a lot of turnovers early on in the game through the neutral zone, (which) didn’t give us a lot of opportunities to go down and get chances.”

During the second period, when both teams were desperate for momentum, the Thunder didn’t score on a 5-on-3 advantage that lasted for more than 90 seconds. The extended time in control didn’t carry over to their even-strength possessions, either.

“You should probably get better opportunities than we got during a 5-on-3 – it was a lengthy one, too,” McClelland said. “Especially when it’s a 0-0 game, you’d like that opportunity. Scorer’s have to score, that’s the bottom line.”

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Thunder hockey team shut out by Missouri Mavericks."