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Carolina Thunderbirds
menuThunderbirds manage one point in overtime loss to Black Bears
Winston-Salem, NC – In the last game of a weekend series, Nikita Ivashkin’s overtime winner gave the Binghamton Black Bears a thrilling victory. Despite the loss, Carolina still managed a point, and four of nine on the weekend.
For the first time on the weekend, the Black Bears managed to find the back of the net, as Cameron Yarwood buried a rebound for the opening tally. Despite going without a goal in the first two games on the weekend, Binghamton’s leading scorer buried a Gino Mini rebound behind Brandon Brown. The Black Bears’ lead would last only seven minutes before the Thunderbirds began their comeback. Viktor Grebennikov scored for a second consecutive Sunday game, pulling the goose egg off the board. Then, Jacob Schnapp would stall a Black Bears breakout in the neutral zone. Schnapp then fed Gus Ford, who tied the game, 2-2, with his 38th goal of the season.
Carolina dominated play in the second period, outshooting Binghamton 22-11 in the frame. Despite trailing in the shot department, the Black Bears still managed the only goal of the period. Tyler Gjurich scored a powerplay goal just 5:18 into the period. The Black Bears took the 3-2 lead into the third period.
Cam Yarwood’s second of the night only took 56 seconds to reach the other side of the goal line, giving Binghamton another two-goal lead. Chase DiBari notched four assists in Saturday night’s game, but was still looking for his first goal of his Thunderbirds career on Sunday. After a quick pass from John Buttitta, he lifted that first goal over the right shoulder of Owen Liskiewicz on the short-side. Cody Oakes continued the Carolina assault 36 seconds later, tying the game with a blistering snap-shot from 35 feet. Both Brandon Brown and Owen Liskiewicz held the opposition at bay in the later stages of the third period, securing a point for both clubs.
A back-and-forth overtime ended in disappointment for Carolina, as Nikita Ivashkin poked the puck over the goal line following a Mo Levac shot. Binghamton took its second win of the season, distancing themselves from Carolina in the standings.
The Thunderbirds will be back in action on April 1st as they host the Danbury Hat Tricks for throwback night. Puck drop from Winston-Salem is set for 7:35pm.