Thunder drops another in overtime

The Thunder has lately been taking overtime too literally. When one of its hockey games reaches that point, it’s over in a way that has become almost predictable.

Wichita lost on 4-3 to Allen on Friday night at Intrust Bank Arena, the Thunder’s third straight overtime defeat. Since Dec. 19, the Thunder has lost 8 of 9 games that went beyond regulation.

As in most of those, Friday’s outcome was influenced before it was officially decided. Allen scored a second-period short-handed goal, followed by a power-play score, and answered the Thunder’s 2-on-1 missed chance in overtime with a game-winner under similar circumstances.

The Thunder (9-23-4-4) has won three times in its last 23 games and four in the last 27. Wichita has three losing streaks of at least six games over the last 57 days.

“We have a 2-on-1, we miss the net,” Thunder coach Kevin McClelland said. “They have a 2-on-1, they hit the net and the game is over. Those are the little things that are going to win hockey games. Different story if we maybe hit the net there on the 2-on-1.”

Different story, too, if the Thunder doesn’t surrender what is essentially a two-goal swing by allowing Allen to score short-handed, especially at a time when the Thunder was set up to seize control.

Wichita scored twice in the first eight minutes of the second period to take a 2-0 lead before Allen’s power-play goal by former Thunder forward Greger Hanson cut the Americans’ deficit by half.

The Thunder’s power-play – a unit ranked last in the ECHL in efficiency – was utilized to protect the lead and, ideally, build upon it. But those plans worked in reverse as Allen scored instead to tie it 2-2.

Wichita added a goal before the end of the second to retake the lead, but failing to put Allen away before then led to harsh consequences later.

“I’m not even going to comment on the short-handed goal,” McClelland said. “When guys get opportunities to play in those situations, they’ve got to step it up. It doesn’t happen. You can’t just let a guy, all by himself, walk in alone there. You’ve got to confront him.

“We just keep gliding back, gliding back, almost like the (overtime) 2-on-1.”

Rick Pinkston scored for Allen in overtime at a difficult angle, keeping the Thunder from becoming the final ECHL team to reach double-digit victories, a group that spans from Evansville’s 13 wins to Missouri’s 30.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 10:31 PM with the headline "Thunder drops another in overtime."