Wichita Thunder fighting for return to ECHL playoffs with crucial games in final homestand

A second-half slump on the road has set up a crucial week of games on home ice for the Wichita Thunder in their pursuit of an ECHL playoff bid.

The Thunder were in prime position in the standings in February, but the team is 4-14 in its last 18 games with almost all of those games coming on the road in the last five weeks.

The extended slump has dropped Wichita to fifth place in the Mountain division standings, one point behind Utah for the fourth and final playoff spot. There are five teams — Allen (68), Kansas City (68), Utah (67), Wichita (66) and Rapid City (65) — jockeying for three playoff spots.

With four of the final five games of the regular season at Intrust Bank Arena, the Thunder face must-win games almost every single night. Wichita plays Tulsa at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, then Rapid City on back-to-back nights on Thursday and Friday before a week-long break and a game against Allen slated for Friday, April 14.

“Every game is a playoff game for us the rest of the year,” Thunder coach Bruce Ramsay said. “We were in a really good spot, but we haven’t come out with the results we wanted and now we have to bear down at home, where we’ve been really good all season, and get some clutch points for ourselves.”

Among the 28-team league, Wichita has the sixth-best winning percentage (20-8-4-0 record) and the fifth-highest goals scored (3.8) on its home ice.

Compare that to a 10-23-2-0 record on the road and it’s easy to see why Ramsay feels good about Wichita’s chances of rallying to qualify for the playoffs after missing out last season.

“I wish I could put my finger on it, but we’ve just had a lot more success at Intrust Bank Arena,” Ramsay said. “It’s been a night-and-day difference for us and that’s the case for most teams. It’s just that comfort of playing on your home ice and in front of your fans and that makes a huge difference. We’ve had some great crowds this year and our players really feed off that energy that the fans bring.”

The Thunder are coming off a disappointing road swing at Utah, where the team lost three straight games to give up their lead in the standings and allow Utah to pass them.

Ramsay was in particular disturbed that scoring a combined 11 goals netted Wichita zero wins because of a defense that gave up 19 goals in three games.

“We really need to stick to the details of the game,” Ramsay said. “We’re taking way too many chances for a lot of risk and no reward. We need to minimize that. We’re getting good chances on offense and we have quality ‘O’ players, but we have to keep the puck out of the back of our net.

“We’re going to mix things up a little bit (at home). We didn’t seem to have the chemistry that I was hoping for last week, so we’re going to change some things up. There’s no second chances anymore, so whatever I’m going to do, it better be the right decision.”

With a game against last-place Tulsa and then two straight against fellow playoff contenders in Rapid City and Allen, Ramsay said Wichita fans can help propel the team to the postseason with their presence over the next 10 days.

“We’ve had great support all season long and the fans really do make a difference for us,” Ramsay said. “We have a great group of core fans who have been extremely valuable to us. All of the support we can get from the fans, the players really feed off of that and we’re looking forward to playing in front of them here at the end of the season.”