Snipers Win Series In Wichita

DALLAS SNIPERS @ WICHITA JR. THUNDER

Dallas takes series on road, but Wichita snaps losing streak

12.08.17 – Dallas 12, Wichita 1

12.09.17 – Dallas 8, Wichita 1

12.10.17 – Wichita 6, Dallas 2

The Dallas Snipers took two of three games in Wichita, solidifying their fourth-place standing in the Mid-Western Division, but the Jr. Thunder snapped a 16-game losing streak on Sunday.

Jaroslav Vasicek (3-2-5) scored a hat trick and Alex Hladonik (2-3-5) matched his five-point output in a 12-1 Dallas win on Friday.  Eric Eaton (1-3-4) and Sterling Cooper (0-4-4) also joined in the party as the Snipers scored four times in each period.

Despite the lopsided score, the Jr. Thunder generated 43 shots on goal.  Evan Williams allowed just one of them to get by him – a tremendous performance.  At the other end of the rink, Wichita’s Connor Green made 45 saves.

Quinn O’Reilly scored the Jr. Thunder goal midway through the third period.

The Snipers took a 4-0 lead in the first period Saturday and cruised from there to an 8-1 win.  Vasicek led the way with five points (1-4-5) while Hladonik (2-2-4) and Cooper (1-3-4) added four.

John Tucker scored with 25 seconds left in the game to ruin the shutout bid of Dallas netminder Rafael Gonclaves, who stopped the first 27 shots he faced.

Green made 41 saves for the Jr. Thunder.

Maybe it was the 11:00 a.m. puck drop, but the Snipers legs were not where they needed to be and the Jr. Thunder snapped their losing skid on Sunday. 

Wichita found their scoring touch early, lighting the lamp three times in the first period and building on the confidence they gained from that, going on to a 6-2 win.  Austin Tilton kicked out 38 of 40 shots and Tyler Inlow (2-2-4) figured in four of the six Wichita goals.

It was actually Dallas that broke the ice – just 30 seconds into the game.  That is something that could snowball on a struggling team, but the Jr. Thunder did not hang their heads, pushing back with the next three goals.

Erich Polacik and Sterling Cooper scored for Dallas.

by Scott Harrington