Carolina Prepares For 4 In 4 Days Over Holidays

Mentor, OH - The Carolina Thunderbirds begin the most grueling part of their schedule tonight when they take on the Mentor Ice Breakers at the Mentor Civic Ice Arena tonight at 7:35. It is the beginning of four games in four straight days and five games over the next six days.

"To play four games in four days is a hard thing for sure" head coach Andre Niec said. "Players have to be smart, take short shifts and keep the game simple. I believe that we are strong and conditioned well enough to battle through this period with positive outcomes."

Every team has a hectic schedule this time of year but only Carolina and Port Huron (the Thunderbirds' opponent on Thursday) have a four games in a row stretch for the holidays.

At the end of four consecutive game days there is little rest for the Thunderbirds with a Monday home date on New Year's Eve against the Danville Dashers and then another New York road trip to play Elmira and Watertown. When that trip is over and done the Thunderbirds will have played in every FHL arena in a span of 15 days.

"Pro hockey is always going to be a grind, especially with our travel schedule" team captain and assistant coach Josh Pietrantonio said. "We need to stay mentally strong and make sure we are sticking to our game plans night in and night out in order to be successful in this stretch."

After the first weekend in January however, Carolina enjoys a 6-game home stand against Danville, Watertown, and Mentor to recoup themselves and prepare for what is looking to be an intense race in the FHL for playoff positioning and hosting rights.

Carolina and Mentor drop the puck from the Mentor Civic Ice Arena tonight at 7:35 P.M. with pre-game starting up at 7:10 on the Carolina Thunderbirds flagship station WTOB (980AM/96.3FM).

⚡-THUNDERBIRDS-⚡

The Carolina Thunderbirds are proud members of the Federal Hockey League, now in its ninth season. The Thunderbirds are in their second season of play looking to build on the success of their inaugural season where the team posted an 87-point season with a record of 25-5-2-24 (W-OTW-OTL-L). The Thunderbirds also set an FHL record with over 66,000 fans through the doors in their first season. Season and group tickets are on sale now by calling 336-774-GOAL (4625).