Thunderbirds win 4-3 decision over Moccasins

MONROE, LA. – The Twin City Thunderbirds won a 4-3 road decision over the Monroe Moccasins Saturday night at the Monroe Civic Center. Roman Kramer, Jacob Schnapp, Cade Hanley, and Dionne Demke each netted a goal for Twin City in the win.


Tucker Scantlebury opened the scoring at 7:35 of Saturday night’s 1st period. His goal was assisted by Austin Albrecht, and gave Monroe a 1-0 lead in the matchup. Twin City responded with back-to-back goals to take a 2-1 lead in the game. Roman Kraemer scored a powerplay goal at 9:18 of the 1st period to bring the game to a 1-1 tie. Jon Buttitta and Gus Ford each collected an assist on the scoring play. Jacob Schnapp netted an even-strength goal at 11:38 of the 1st period to give Twin City a one-goal lead. Schnapp’s goal was assisted by Cade Hanley and Corey Cunningham. The final goal of Saturday’s opening period was netted by Yianni Liarakos with 15 seconds to play. Matthew Garcia and Tucker Scantlebury were penalized five minutes each for fighting after center-ice fisticuffs that followed Monroe’s game-tying goal. Liarakos’ goal was scored on the powerplay, and was assisted by Andrew Bellant and Jared Christy. Monroe outshot Twin City 13-11 in the 1st period, and the 2nd period began in a 2-2 tie.


Cade Hanley scored the first goal of his FPHL career at 2:58 of the middle period to give the Thunderbirds a 3-2 advantage in matchup. Gus Ford and James Farmer each recorded an assist on Hanley’s scoring play. Tucker Scantlebury netted his second goal of the contest at 10:35 of the 2nd period to bring the score to 3-3. The goal was scored shorthanded, and was assisted by Jared Christy. Twin City outshot Monroe by a 12-10 margin during Saturday night’s 2nd period, and the 3rd period began in a 3-3 tie.


Dionne Demke netted the game-winning goal at 11:24 of Saturday’s 3rd period. Demke’s goal was his second of the season, and was scored even-strength. Connor Craig and Jacob Schnapp each collected an assist on the scoring play. Monroe elected to lift goaltender Tyler Masternak for an extra attacker during the final minutes of the battle. Thunderbirds’ netminder Chad Purdy turned aside multiple Moccasins’ shots to secure the victory. Twin City was outshot 19-10 in the 3rd period, and 44-34 overall during the matchup.


Chad Purdy made 41 saves on 44 shots to win the game in net for Twin City. Tyler Masternak dropped the game in net for Monroe in a 30-save-on-34-shot performance. Twin City improved to 17-20-1 in the win.


The Thunderbirds’ next home games will be played back-to-back against the Watertown Wolves on Friday, February 27th and Saturday, February 28th. Puck drop for Friday’s game is set for 7:05pm ET, and Saturday’s matchup will begin at 6:05pm ET.


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