Thunder sharp in lopsided victory over Indy Fuel

All of the moments that would have been highlights for their rarity in any of the Thunder’s first 16 games happened on the same night.

In a 5-1 win over Indy on Wednesday at Intrust Bank Arena, the Thunder cleared virtually an entire checklist after working exhaustively for more than a month to fill in one box at a time.

The Thunder scored more than three goals in regulation for the third time this season. Wichita scored on the power play for the first time since Oct. 30, improving the numbers for a unit that ranks last in the ECHL with 3 of 64 conversions.

Wednesday’s power-play goal was the first of two by Danick Gauthier, last season’s leading scorer. Gauthier has scored in consecutive games after failing to notch a goal during the Thunder’s first 14 games.

Forward Paxton Leroux played for the first time this season and assisted a second-period goal by Kenton Miller. Erick Lizon also had an assist on Miller’s goal for his first point of the year.

A power-play goal by Indy in the third prevented the first Thunder from its first shutout since the final month of last season.

In spite of many goal-scoring milestones, the defensive performance may have been the Thunder’s most impressive, and unexpected, feat. Wichita’s defenseman corps has been depleted for most of the season, and Wednesday continued that trend.

Former NHL defenseman Theo Peckham is suspended for two games after drawing a game misconduct penalty in Saturday’s loss to Missouri, and Dalton Reum is on 21-day injured reserve.

That left the Thunder with five healthy defenseman, including two – Eric Springer and Daniel Johnston – who were acquired last week. But Wichita wasn’t affected by its inexperience, as Johnston and Springer contributed in shutting down Indy and defenseman Brandon Martell scored the Thunder’s first goal.

The Thunder’s offense was, similarly, a team effort. Wichita’s sustained aggressiveness led to a 38-26 shots advantage, with the Thunder reaching that total for the second time this season.

Wichita’s energy was notable in its consistency, as each line matched the hustle of the group it replaced. Lizon and Leroux were particularly noticeable for their effort on a line that isn’t relied upon to score and one that had no prior experience together.

The Thunder’s special teams continued the theme before finally breaking through on Gauthier’s second-period power-play goal. The shifts still appeared disorganized at times, but Lowe and Gauthier offset that with a high volume of shots that Indy struggled to defend.

Indy’s time with the puck was limited and often cut short by Wichita’s relentless defensemen. David Shantz filled in the coverage gaps with a near-perfect night in net, stopping three Indy breakaways and keeping momentum with the Thunder.

Wichita is 3-0 against teams, like Indy, that preceded the Thunder in the ECHL, and has three wins in 14 games against teams that also joined the ECHL from the Central Hockey League last year.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 9:50 PM with the headline "Thunder sharp in lopsided victory over Indy Fuel."