Thunderbirds at Home Thanksgiving Weekend; Weekly Update

Winston-Salem, NC – Thunderbirds at Home Thanksgiving Weekend; Weekly Update 

What’s New

The Carolina Thunderbirds returned to Danville, Illinois for a weekend series against the Dashers. Playing on Saturday and Sunday the birds would split the weekend series against the defending champions. On Saturday night the Dashers would defeat the Thunderbirds by a score of 5-2. The newest addition to Carolina, Cary Byron got the start in net, he would make 33 saves in the loss. Tom Kilgore and Jan Salak would score the two goals for the Thunderbirds.

On Sunday night the Thunderbirds would mirror the previous night’s score, with a different result. Skating to a 5-2 victory over Danville, Byron would be strong in between the pipes, making 31 saves in his first win in a Thunderbirds jersey. Danville would open the scoring in the 1st period, and lead 1-0 heading into the 2nd. Early in the 2nd period, Matt Beer would score his first goal as a Thunderbird, and the two teams would skate tied into the 3rd period. An early 5-on-3 powerplay would give the Thunderbirds the lead when Dominik Synek would score 34 seconds in to take a 2-1 lead. This would open the floodgates for the Carolina offense, and less than 2 minutes later, Michael Bunn would tap home the puck to make it 3-1 Thunderbirds. Just 24 seconds later Jay Croop would hammer home the rebound, giving Carolina 4 unanswered goals to take the lead, 4-1. Danville’s Aaron Atwell would score to cut the Thunderbirds lead in half. After weathering the storm, Yuto Osawa would launch the puck nearly the full length of the ice into the empty net after the Dashers pulled their goalie for an extra skater.

What’s Coming Up

The Carolina Thunderbirds Coaches Show continues Tuesday the 21st, from 6-7pm on the flagship station of the Carolina Thunderbirds, WTOB 980 am and 96.3 fm, and streaming online at www.wtob980.com.

The Thunderbirds will play host to the Watertown Wolves over Thanksgiving weekend, playing three games at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex.

Thursday the 23rd the puck will drop at 7:35 pm EST, as the Thunderbirds will square off against the Wolves looking to avenge a sweep at the hands of Watertown on the road two weekends ago.

The two teams will drop the puck again on Friday the 24th, WWE Superstar Jack Swagger will be in attendance, not only dropping the ceremonial first puck, but assisting Thunderbirds Head Coach Andre Niec on the bench for the 1st period. The Thunderbirds will also be collecting canned food donations for Second Harvest Food Bank, fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate. As well Friday’s game is Frosty Friday, featuring $2 beverages, including soft-drinks and beer.

Saturday’s game is a 6:05 pm EST puck drop, and it is Teddy Bear Toss night. When the Carolina Thunderbirds score their first goal of the game fans will throw stuffed animals on the ice. These stuffed animals will be donated to the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina. Fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used stuffed animals, and donations of other new, unwrapped, toys are welcome for donation, but fans are asked to refrain from throwing other toy items onto the ice.

What’s Next

The Thunderbirds coaches show will take to the road, on Tuesday, November 28th the show will be held at Mac & Nellis located at 4926 Country Club Rd in Winston-Salem. The show will run from 6-7 pm EST and the event is free and open to the public. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to grab a bite to eat and meet the Thunderbirds players and coaching staff.

The following weekend the Thunderbirds will travel to Port Huron to play the Prowlers for the first time this season. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday December 1, 2, and 3, Carolina kicks off a 10 game road trip. Friday and Saturday’s games will start at 7:30 pm EST on the Thunderbirds Radio Network, and Sunday’s game is a 1:00 pm EST start time.

League Standings

(wins-overtime wins- losses- overtime losses, points, winning percentage)

1 – Cornwall: 3-0-0-1, 10 points, .833%

2 – Danville: 5-0-2-0, 15 points, .714%

3 – CAROLINA: 4-0-3-1, 13 points, .542%

4 – Port Huron: 3-0-3-0, 9 points, .500%

5 – Watertown: 2-2-3-0, 10 points, .476%

6 – North Shore: 0-0-6-0, 0 points, .000%

Please note that per Federal Hockey League Rules the standings are decided by winning percentage. Tie breakers are decided by points, followed by wins, followed by head-to-head record, followed by goal differential. In the FHL you are awarded 3 points per win, 2 points for an overtime win, 1 point for an overtime loss, and no points for a regulation loss.