Behind a great game by Kevin Young, who had one goal and two assists, the Wichita Thunder defeated the Fort Worth Brahmas, 4-1.

Young beat Kristofer Westblom with a shot 9:52 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Gregor Hanson provided the assist. Young dished an assist on Chad Painchaud's goal that made the score 2-1 Wichita at 7:12 into the second period. He added another helper on RG Flath's goal that made the score 3-1 Wichita at 14:22 into the second period.

The win gave Wichita a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.

The Thunder's penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on four Fort Worth power plays. Wichita kept Fort Worth's goalie busy throughout the game, and Westblom made 29 saves on 33 shots.

In addition, Wichita received assists from Andrew Martens, who had three and Neil Trimm and Les Reaney, who each chipped in one.

The Brahmas were led by Shawn Szydlowski, who scored the team's only goal. Szydlowski scored 7:44 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Fort Worth. Tomas Klempa assisted on the tally.

Torrie Jung made 22 saves for the Thunder on 23 shots. Wichita incurred eight minutes in penalty time with four minors. Fort Worth incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors.