WICHITA, Kan. – The Wichita Thunder opened a five-game homestand in style Friday night, getting two goals from Ralph Cuddemi and a 27-save performance from Shane Starrett to defeat the Rapid City Rush 3-1.
The win is Wichita’s second in a row and the team has earned points in three of their last four games.
Wichita held a largely listless Rapid City Rush squad to 28 shots, most of them from the outside.
Wichita jumped out in front at the 4:57 mark of the first period when Chad Butcher‘s shot pinballed off the shin pad of Riley Weselowski and re-directed past Steve Michalek to give Wichita a 1-0 lead. 59 seconds later, Daniel Leavens would respond by tapping a puck through the five-hole of Shane Starrett to tie the game at 1-1.
Cuddemi would score his first of two on the night just 21 seconds into the middle frame, when he fired a one-time feed from Nick Latta past Michalek for his 17th of the season and a 2-1 Thunder lead. 8:26 later, Cuddemi would add his 18th of the season when Jon Puskar tipped a puck free into the slot and he buried a wrist shot off the left post and in for a 3-1 lead. For Puskar, the assist would be his first point in a Thunder sweater.
During the remaining period-plus of the contest, Michalek made several grade-A saves on Travis Brown, Travis Ewanyk, and Latta. Despite the loss, Michalek’s record since November 7 fell to 9-5-4.
Wichita continues their five-game homestand with another contest against the Rapid City Rush Saturday night. Don’t forget to follow @SinBinThunder on Twitter for all the latest news surrounding the Wichita Thunder.