Thunderbirds win 5-3 decision over IceCats

WINSTON-SALEM, NC. – The Twin City Thunderbirds, proud members of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL), won a 5-3 decision over the Pee Dee IceCats Friday night at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena. Zach White netted a hat trick to lead the Thunderbirds’ offensive efforts. Jon Buttitta and Jan Salak also scored goals for Twin City in the victory. Boris Babik backstopped the team to a win for the third time this season in net. Tomorrow’s rematch between the Thunderbirds and the IceCats at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena is scheduled to begin at 6:05pm.


The Thunderbirds and the IceCats played to a scoreless tie during Friday’s opening period. Twin City outshot Pee Dee by a 14-9 margin during the 1st period. Zach White netted his first goal of the game, and sixth goal of the season, at 2:59 of Friday’s middle period to give Twin City a 1-0 lead in the matchup. White’s goal was assisted by Roman Kraemer and Gus Ford. Zach White scored again at 5:07 of the 2nd period to give the Thunderbirds a two-goal advantage in the game. Gus Ford notched another assist on the scoring play. After Twin City scored back-to-back goals in the 2nd period, Pee Dee responded with two unanswered goals to bring the score to a 2-2 tie. Nicholas Magill-Diaz netted a shorthanded goal at 6:41 of the middle period to put the IceCats on the scoreboard. Nick Gullo and Jake Jurgeneit each notched an assist on the scoring play. Eli Rivers netted a goal for Pee Dee with just over two minutes to play in the period to bring the game to a 2-2 tie. Nick Gullo and Chance Adrian collected an assist on the scoring play. Twin City outshot Pee Dee 15-7 during the 2nd period, and the 3rd period began with the two cross-state rivals tied at 2-2.


Jon Buttitta scored a goal for the third time this season to give Twin City a one-goal lead in the opening six minutes of Friday’s final period. The goal was netted even strength, and was assisted by Nate Keeley. Zach White scored his third goal of the game, and eighth goal of the season with under three minutes to play to give Twin City a 4-2 lead in the battle. White’s hat-trick goal was assisted by Gus Ford and Roman Kraemer. The IceCats elected to lift goaltender Ricardo Gonzalez for an extra attacker, and scored a powerplay goal with under one minute left to play to bring Pee Dee back within one goal of Twin City’s lead. Houston Wilson scored the IceCats’ goal, with Nick Gullo and Chance Adrian each collecting an assist on the scoring play. The final goal of Friday’s matchup was scored into an empty net by Jan Salak with 16 seconds left to play. Jiri Pestuka and Jacob Schnapp each notched an assist on the goal. Each team recorded 12 shots on net during Friday’s 3rd period, and the Thunderbirds outshot the IceCats 41-28 overall during the game. Twin City won the battle by a final score of 5-3, and improved to 2-1-0 in head-to-head games against Pee Dee this season.


Boris Babik stopped 25 of the IceCats’ 28 shots on goal to record the win in net for the Thunderbirds. Ricardo Gonzalez dropped the game in goal for Pee Dee in a 36-save-on-40-shot performance. Zach White was named the 1st Star of Friday night’s game, with teammates Gus Ford and Jon Buttitta collecting 2nd and 3rd Star honors, respectively.


Tickets to home games at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena may be purchased online by skating to WSFairgrounds.com, Ticketmaster.com, or by calling the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena Box Office at (336) 727-2236. The Twin City Thunderbirds are proud members of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL). #FlockTogether