Thunderbirds drop road decision to IceCats

FLORENCE, S.C. – The Twin City Thunderbirds dropped a 5-2 road decision to the Pee Dee IceCats Saturday night at the Florence Center. The loss eliminated Twin City from playoff contention for the 2026 Commissioner’s Cup Playoffs. Roman Kraemer and Jacob Schnapp scored goals for the Thunderbirds in the loss.

Roman Kraemer gave the Thunderbirds a one-goal lead at 6:03 of Saturday’s opening period. Kraemer’s goal was netted on the powerplay, and was assisted by Zach White and Kayson Gallant. Dzianis Zaichyk tied the game with an even-strength goal with less than five minutes to play in the 1^st period. Elijah Wilson collected an assist on the scoring play. Twin City was outshot by a 12-4 margin during Saturday’s 1^st period, and the 2^nd period began in a 1-1 tie.  

Charlie Bedard scored an even-strength goal at 4:30 of the 2^nd period to give Pee Dee a 2-1 lead in the battle. Bedard’s goal was assisted by Dzianis Zaichyk. Jacob Schnapp netted an unassisted goal at 9:33 of the middle period to tie the game at 2-2. The goal was scored shorthanded. The final scoring play of Saturday’s 2^nd period was from Pee Dee’s Timur Rasulov. Rasulov’s goal was scored with less than thirty seconds to play in the period, and was assisted by Domenic Della Civita. Twin City was outshot by a 15-5 margin during the 2^nd period, and trailed by one goal entering the 3^rd period of Saturday’s matchup.

Patriks Marcinkevics netted back-to-back goals in the final five minutes of the game to give the IceCats a three-goal victory. The first goal was netted at 15:39 of the 3^rd period, and the final goal was scored into an empty net with less than two minutes to play. Each team recorded 8 shots on net during the 3^rd period, and Twin City was outshot by an overall margin of 35-17 during the matchup. The Thunderbirds fell to 25-28-1 on the 2025-2026 season in the loss.

Boris Babik dropped the game in net for Twin City in a 31-save-on-35-shot performance. Brendan Colgan won the game in goal for Pee Dee by making 18 saves on 20 shots during the battle.

The Thunderbirds have one final home game remaining in the 2025-2026 regular season. The Thunderbirds will host the Blue Ridge Bobcats on Friday, April 10^th for Fan Appreciation Night. The battle will begin at 7:35pm ET. Tickets are still available, and 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 now accepting season ticket renewals for the 2026–2027 season, giving fans the opportunity to lock in current pricing before rates increase on May 1st. Season ticket holders can take advantage of significant savings by renewing before the April 30th deadline, with full-season packages starting as low as $315 in the White Zone and premium seating options available across Gold, Red, and Blue zones. Half-season plans are also available, offering flexible and affordable ways to stay connected to all the action at the arena. Renewing early not only guarantees your seat location, but also ensures you receive the best available pricing ahead of the upcoming increase. A 20% deposit is required to secure your seats for next season, making it easy to reserve your spot while planning ahead. Contact Vice President of Business Operations Joe Cangelosi at jcangelosi@tcbirds.com to renew or for more information.