Thunderbirds Red Out Columbus On Friday the 13th
WINSTON-SALEM, NC
The message was simple. Not In Our House. The best team in the FPHL came into the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex, and were greeted with a sea of red and a barrage of Thunderbirds goals in an 8-2 Carolina win over the vaunted Columbus River Dragons.
Breandan Colgan rode his 4 game shutout streak into this one for Columbus. His league record run was just stopped, it was shattered.
Petr Panacek opened the scoring by jamming one in down low at the 11:46 mark of the first period. That was just the start for the Thunderbirds.
Josh Koepplinger wasted no time following up, sniping one home up high just 17 seconds after Panacek's marker. Jan Salak finished the first period onslaught with a marker of his own.
Blake Peavey opened the scoring in the second off a rebound from a Justin Bioni shot. Gus Ford and John Buttitta each added a goal and two assists later on, earning first and second star honors respectively. Jiri Pestuka and Jacob Schnapp added the final two goals of the night for Carolina.
Mario Cavaliere was sensational in net, stopping 29 of 31 shots in net.
The Thunderbirds will round out the weekend and host the River Dragons once more Saturday night, before heading south to face them in Columbus twice next weekend.