Thunderbirds Fall To Ice Breakers on Thanksgiving Eve

Mentor, OH - The Carolina Thunderbirds lost their first road game of the year when they fell to the Mentor Ice Breakers 4-3 on Wednesday night.

The Thunderbirds got themselves on the board first with Joe Cangelosi potting his first of the year late in the opening period and Karel Drahorad added a second goal early in the 2nd period for a 2-0 Thunderbirds lead. The Ice Breakers would not be intimidated and took advantage of the opportunities presented to them scoring on back to back power plays to tie the game before the second was over.

With the score tied heading into the 3rd period, Mentor broke the deadlock first with Tim Perks scoring just as a Carolina penalty had expired to send the Ice Breakers crowd into a frenzy. The Thunderbirds would respond just over two minutes later when Viktor Grebennikov lifted a backhand over the right shoulder of Derek Moser. It was Grebennikov's first goal as a Thunderbird.

With the game tied 3-3 heading into the late stages, Mentor would score what ended up being the game winner when Thomas Mckinnon ripped a wrist shot that hit the glove of Henry Dill but had enough momentum to flutter past Dill and end up in the net. The Thunderbirds were able to pull the netminder with about 35 seconds left and had multiple chances at Moser but could not tie the game in the dying moments.

Derek Moser stopped 29 of 32 shots in the win, Henry Dill stopped 27 of 31 shots in the loss.

The same two teams go at it again Thanksgiving night in Winston-Salem with a 7:35 puck drop. The three-game set between Mentor and Carolina concludes Saturday night at the Annex with a 6:05 puck drop. Tickets available at the Fairgrounds box office and at TicketMaster.

Three Stars of The Game
Gordy Bonnel
Tim Perks
Derek Moser