Carolina Handles Athens, 6-2

Winston-Salem, NC – Behind multi-point nights from four different players, the Carolina Thunderbirds took down the Athens Rock Lobsters, 6-2, on Friday evening at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 3,150 fans.

Carolina (8-1-3) and Athens (9-2-0) wasted no time getting the crowd involved in the 1^st period. Joe Kennedy and Justin Portillo dropped the gloves at the opening faceoff, and the Thunderbirds used the momentum from the fight as the period went on. With just over eight minutes gone, Roman Kraemer walked into the attacking zone waiting for an option and found Nate Keeley in the slot who ripped home his first goal of the year, giving Carolina 1-0 lead. Over five minutes later, Kraemer found Lane King on a 2-on-1 opportunity who tapped home his first goal in Carolina, doubling the advantage, 2-0.

In the 2^nd, Clay Keeley got his second goal of the year just 54 seconds into the period, putting Carolina ahead 3-0 before Jiri Pestuka slipped home a shot short sided on Rock Lobsters’ netminder, Jack Bostedt, with just over seven minutes remaining in the 2^nd.

The Thunderbirds took a 4-0 lead to the final 20 minutes where Jan Salak and Danyk Drouin both scored, making it a 6-0 lead with 4:49 remaining in the 3^rd. Athens finally broke through scoring twice over the last four minutes, but the Thunderbirds held on to take the three points on the evening, 6-2.

With the win, Carolina has now won five straight games and now are set to welcome in the Baton Rouge Zydeco next weekend to Winston-Salem for a two-game series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. on Friday evening from the Fairgrounds Arena.