Wichita, KS (Feb. 13th) – Wichita (10-31-4-4) and South Carolina (27-16-4-2) may have only seen each other twice since the Thunder joined the ECHL. On Saturday night, they looked like long-time rivals as the Stingrays claimed a 4-1 victory to sweep the two-game set at INTRUST Bank Arena. The two teams combined for 130 penalty minutes, which is a new single game high for Wichita and its opponent this season.
For the first time in five games, Wichita was able to get on the board first. Kenton Miller came across the top of the crease and beat Vitek Vanecek to make it 1-0 at 4:05. The Stingrays came racing back, scoring the next two. Brett Cameron tallied his second on the weekend at 6:23 that tied the game at one. South Carolina capitalized on a five-on-three power play with Dan Milan and Donnie Harris in the penalty box. Joe Devin fired one from the deep slot that got through Grant Rollheiser for a 2-1 lead.
In the second, Austin Fyten broke through with a pair of goals that helped the Stingrays pull away. His first came at 11:22, catching a pass on the back door to make it 3-1. His second came at 16:37, giving him four goals in 18 games and a 4-1 lead for South Carolina.
The final period was a chippy, penalty-filled battle that saw the two teams rack up 74 minutes of time in the sin bin. South Carolina held the fort and claimed a 4-1 victory.
Wichita scored first for the first time in five games. Miller tallied the only Thunder goal, which was his 11th of the season. Milan racked up 21 penalty minutes, which is a new single game season-high. Harris and Dean Chelios had helpers on the goal. Rollheiser takes the loss, stopping 30 of 34 shots. Vanecek claims his eighth win of the year, stopping 21 of 22 shots he faced.
Wichita was 0-for-6 on the power play. South Carolina went 1-for-7 on the man advantage.
