Thunderbirds Weekly Report (February 25th)

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Carolina Thunderbirds continued their win streak during a three-game weekend against the Monroe Moccasins and Dashers Hockey. Carolina rallied on Thursday night against Monroe scoring five unanswered goals to take down the Moccasins, 6-3, on the back of a hat trick from Roman Kraemer. Friday and Saturday saw the Thunderbirds dominate the Dashers, outscoring them, 20-1, over the two contests to extend the win streak to 13 games.

On Thursday night, after trailing by two goals after 20 minutes, the Thunderbirds tied the game in the 2nd period before scoring three times in the final 20 minutes to take the three points. Roman Kraemer earned his second hat trick of the season and the third in his FPHL career in the win. On Friday night, Carolina scored three times in the 1st period, six times in the 2nd period and twice more in the 3rd to take an 11-0 victory over the Dashers. The Thunderbirds again rolled to a 9-1 victory on Saturday evening sweeping the season series against the Dashers.  

The Thunderbirds again hit the road this weekend to Watertown, New York for the first time since January 5th, 2023. Carolina swept the Watertown Wolves at home back in December, 3-2 and 4-0, on December 13th and 14th. The Thunderbirds and Wolves will meet for a three-game set starting on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. from the Watertown Arena. Saturday the two will drop the puck again at 7:30 p.m. before a Sunday night start at 7 p.m.

Carolina Leaders

 Goals: Gus Ford (21)

Assists: Gus Ford (37)

Points: Gus Ford (58)

+/-: James Farmer (+25)

Penalty Minutes: James Farmer (55)

Power Play Goals: Roman Kraemer (7)

Short Handed Goals: Jon Buttitta (2)

Game Winning Goals: Gus Ford (6)

Wins: Mario Cavaliere (17)

Goals Against Average: Mario Cavaliere (1.92)

Save Percentage: Mario Cavaliere (.929)

THUNDERBIRDS RECORD: 30-7-3

Eight is Great: With Friday night’s 11-0 win over Dashers Hockey, the Thunderbirds shut out a team for the eighth time this season, setting a new single season franchise record. Mario Cavaliere has posted five shutouts this year while Boris Babik has recorded three. The 2024-25 Thunderbirds have passed the 2018-19 FPHL Champion Thunderbirds who had seven shutouts across the regular season. Both Cavaliere and Babik are top two in the FPHL in GAA and SV% this season.

Lucky No. 13: The Carolina Thunderbirds have rolled their way to 13 straight wins dating back to January 18th. Across the win streak, Carolina has outscored teams 66-19, including three shutouts and scoring four or more goals 11 times. The 13-game win streak is the second longest in franchise history, second to the 24-game win streak during the 2018-19 season.

Upcoming Schedule:

Friday: 7:30 p.m. – Carolina Thunderbirds vs Watertown Wolves – Watertown Arena

TV Broadcast: Thunderbirds TV - Radio Broadcast: WTOB 980 AM

 Saturday: 7:30 p.m. – Carolina Thunderbirds vs Watertown Wolves – Watertown Arena

TV Broadcast: Thunderbirds TV - Radio Broadcast: WTOB 980 AM

Sunday: 7:00 p.m. – Carolina Thunderbirds vs Watertown Wolves – Watertown Arena

TV Broadcast: Thunderbirds TV - Radio Broadcast: WTOB 980 AM