Wichita Thunder beats Tulsa in shootout

The secret to Anthony Deluca’s go-to shootout move has been out for a while. The secret to defending it remains elusive.

Deluca gave the Thunder a 2-1 shootout win over Tulsa on Wednesday night at Intrust Bank Arena with his tried-and-true that is almost beyond description.

Deluca, Wichita’s 20-year-old rookie, faked out Tulsa goaltender Jussi Olkinuora by faking left, nearly coming to a complete stop once his counterpart lunged forward, then calmly shifted right and scored in an open net.

The goal was the culmination of what Thunder coach Kevin McClelland called a “wide-open” game as both teams nearly secured a game-winning goal in the final minutes, and a continuation of Deluca’s trusty maneuver.

“I’ve been doing that all through juniors, and it’s kind of my go-to move that I’ve been doing for my three years in Rimouski (Quebec),” Deluca said. “I guess it’s just a lot of practice. You kind of have to have a base move, and if the goalie doesn’t bite you readjust.

“It’s been a good one for me, that’s why I’m keeping it around.”

Deluca wasn’t part of the three players McClelland sent out for the shootout’s first three rounds, but when those ended in a 1-1 tie, Deluca was called upon during sudden-death. After Tulsa’s Brandon Wong was stopped by Wichita goalie David Shantz, Deluca took his turn and snapped the Thunder’s four-game losing streak.

The Thunder was agonizingly close to stopping the skid in regulation but failed – just barely – to convert a power-play goal. Joey Sides had a near open net as he stood to the side of the goal, but his shot slid across the crease, mere inches from the goal line without glancing the post.

The teams combined for 20 third-period shots and Wichita continued its attack with three in the four-minute overtime.

After the Thunder failed to take a shot on goal for the first 13 minutes, the final stretch showcased Wichita’s scoring threats, even if no goals were scored and McClelland considered it beyond their identity.

“We started playing a wide-open hockey game there, and I don’t think we’re really built like that,” McClelland said. “We had a couple chances at the end on the power play, and you’d like to finish off. The one (from Sides) it looked like went right across the goal line.”

The Thunder was at its best when the tempo sped up on Wednesday, as it recovered from its early dryspell to outshoot Tulsa 32-31. Tulsa scored during a 5-on-3 in the first period and was then shut down by David Shantz, who followed Sunday’s 44 saves with 30 more.

Olkinuora matched that total but didn’t get the last one, the latest to fall victim to Deluca’s patented move.

“You’ve got to work on that a lot,” Deluca said. “But you always have to have a three- or four-move arsenal and see what type of goalie you’re going against. It’s based on a lot of things, and, as a goal scorer you’ve got to just judge it out.”

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 10:53 PM with the headline "Wichita Thunder beats Tulsa in shootout."