Thunderbirds fall 4-2 to River Dragons

COLUMBUS, GA. – The Twin City Thunderbirds fell 4-2 to the Columbus River Dragons Saturday night at the Columbus Civic Center. Jan Salak and Zach White netted goals for Twin City in the loss. The Thunderbirds return home to host the Blue Ridge Bobcats on New Year’s Eve at 8:35pm ET.


Chiwetin Blacksmith gave the River Dragons a one-goal lead at 11:16 of Saturday’s opening period. The goal was scored even strength, and was assisted by Kyle Moore and Tyler Barrow. The Thunderbirds were outshot by a 9-8 margin during Saturday’s 1st period, and trailed by a goal entering the 2nd period.


Ryan Hunter netted a goal for Columbus at 12:43 of the middle period to give the River Dragons a 2-0 lead in the matchup. Kyle Moore and Chiwetin Blacksmith each recorded an assist on the scoring play. Jan Salak scored for the Thunderbirds at 14:48 of the period to cut the Columbus lead to one-goal. Josh Labelle and Gus Ford recorded an assist on the goal. Each team recorded 11 shots on net during Saturday’s middle period, and Twin City trailed by 2-1 entering the 3rd period.


Ryan Galvin scored less than four minutes into the final period to give Columbus a two-goal lead in the matchup. Ryan Hunter and Mike Winn each notched an assist on the scoring play. Twin City’s final goal of the contest was netted by Zach White at 8:51 of the 3rd period. Joe Kennedy and Nate Keeley each collected an assist on the goal. Kyle Moore scored an empty net goal with less than ten seconds to play to give Columbus a 4-2 victory. Twin City dropped to 9-12-1 on the 2025-2026 season in the road loss.


Boris Babik dropped the game in net for Twin City in a 24-save-on-27-shot effort. Trevor Babin won the game in net for the River Dragons after making 29 saves on 31 shots during the battle.


Ring in the New Year with the Twin City Thunderbirds on Wednesday, December 31st at 8:35pm ET. The Thunderbirds and the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena are currently offering a special ticket offer to the event. The unbeatable deal offers two tickets for only $20.26! Experience the action on the ice and stick around for the midnight puck drop! For more information on this one-time ticket offer, visit https://www.gofevo.com/event/Welcome20262.


The Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena is currently offering a Holiday 4-Pack for only $60. The deal includes four tickets to the Thunderbirds’ New Year’s Eve game against the Blue Ridge Bobcats, and four public skating passes. The ticket package can be purchased and picked up at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena Box Office. More information about the ticket special can be found online at https://tinyurl.com/WSFairgroundsDecember4Pack. 


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