Thunderbirds defeat Black Bears 7-5

BINGHAMTON, NY. – The Twin City Thunderbirds defeated the Binghamton Black Bears by a final score of 7-5 Saturday night at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena. Twin City posted a two-game sweep over Binghamton, and became the first team this season to win consecutive games in a single weekend against the Black Bears. Jacob Schnapp (2), Chris Mott (2), Connor Craig, Jon Buttitta, and Zach White scored goals in the two-goal win for the Thunderbirds. Boris Babik backstopped the team to victory with 41 saves in net for Twin City.


Connor Craig netted his first goal of the season for the Thunderbirds at 4:23 of Saturday’s opening period. Gus Ford and Jan Salak each recorded an assist on the scoring play. Jacob Schnapp netted his first goal of the period, and fifth goal of the season just over eight minutes into the 1st period to give Twin City a two-goal advantage in the battle. Schnapp’s goal was assisted by Gus Ford. CJ Stubbs scored a powerplay goal for the Black Bears at 9:19 of Saturday’s opening period to cut into the Thunderbirds’ lead. Gehrett Sargis and Gavin Yates each collected an assist on the scoring play. Mac Jansen tied the game at 2-2 with an even strength goal netted at 11:06 of the 1st period. Ivan Bondarenko and CJ Stubbs assisted on the scoring play. Jacob Schnapp gave Twin City a 3-2 lead in the game less than one minute later. Schnapp’s goal was netted even strength, and was assisted by Jon Buttitta and Nate Keeley. Jon Buttitta scored a powerplay goal at 14:12 of Saturday’s 1st period to give the Thunderbirds a two-goal lead in the battle. Gus Ford and Chris Mott each collected an assist on the scoring play. Mott’s assist was his first point as a member of the Thunderbirds. Twin City was outshot 21-9 during the opening period, but led by a score of 4-2 entering the 2nd period of Saturday night’s showdown.


Chris Mott netted the only goal of Saturday’s 2nd period to give Twin City a three-goal advantage in the matchup. Mott’s goal was his first as a Thunderbird, and was scored even strength. Jon Buttitta and Jan Salak each recorded an assist on Mott’s scoring play. Twin City was outshot by a 9-5 margin during the middle period, and carried a 5-2 advantage into Saturday’s 3rd period.


Kyle Stephan scored an even strength goal at 2:52 of the 3rd period to bring the score to 5-3. Jesse Anderson and Gavin Yates each recorded an assist on the scoring play. CJ Stubbs netted a powerplay goal at 6:46 of the 3rd period to bring the Black Bears within one goal of the Thunderbirds’ lead. Mac Jansen and Gavin Yates recorded an assist on the goal. Zach White scored an even strength goal eight minutes into the 3rd period. The goal gave Twin City a two-goal lead in the matchup, and was assisted by Josh Labelle. Chris Mott scored his second goal of the game at 10:12 of the 3rd period to give the Thunderbirds a 7-4 lead in the game. The goal was netted on the powerplay, and was assisted by Gus Ford and Connor Craig. The final goal of Saturday’s contest was scored by Ivan Bondarenko with less than two minutes to play. Bondarenko’s goal was scored with an extra attacker, and was assisted by Austin D’Orazio and CJ Stubbs. Binghamton outshot Twin City 16-8 in the 3rd period, and 46-23 overall in the matchup. The Thunderbirds won the game by a final score of 7-5, and improved to 15-17-1 in the victory. Twin City passed Pee Dee for 4th place in the FPHL’s Continental Division standings with the win.


Boris Babik collected the win in goal for the Thunderbirds in a 41-save-on-46-shot-performance. CJ Hapward recorded the loss in goal for Binghamton. Hapward made 12 saves on 15 shots in just over 42 minutes of game time. Dominik Tmej started the game in net for the Black Bears and was pulled during the 1st period after Twin City’s 4th goal of the game. Tmej made 4 saves on 8 shots during Saturday’s opening period.


Twin City is idle next weekend and will hit the ice again on Friday, February 13th in a road game against the Pee Dee IceCats. The Thunderbirds will play a three-game road series that weekend at the Florence Center. Twin City’s next home games will be played back-to-back against the Watertown Wolves on Friday, February 27th and Saturday, February 28th. Puck drop for Friday’s game is set for 7:35pm ET, and Saturday’s matchup will begin at 6:05pm ET.


Tickets to home games at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena may be purchased online by visiting WSFairgrounds.com, Ticketmaster.com, or by calling the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena Box Office at (336) 727-2236. The Thunderbirds are proud members of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL). #FlockTogether