Thunderbirds win road game over Zydeco

BATON ROUGE, LA. – The Twin City Thunderbirds won a road game Friday night against the Baton Rouge Zydeco by a final score of 3-2. Nate Keeley, Roman Kraemer, and Connor Craig each netted goals for the Thunderbirds in the victory. Twin City returns to action tomorrow night with another road matchup against Baton Rouge. Puck drop for tomorrow night’s battle between the Thunderbirds and the Zydeco is scheduled for 8:05pm ET.


Matej Palfy opened the scoring for Baton Rouge Friday night with an even-strength goal at 9:29 of the 1st period. Jake Cox collected an assist on the scoring play. Tyler Larwood netted a goal twenty-one seconds later to give the Zydeco a two-goal advantage in the matchup. Curtis Hansen and Kim Miettinen collected an assist on the goal. Each team recorded 10 shots on net during the opening period, and Twin City trailed by a score of 2-0 entering the 2rd period.


Twin City roared back with three unanswered scoring plays during Friday’s middle period to take a 3-2 lead in the matchup. The Thunderbirds’ first goal of the night was scored at 2:47 of the 2nd period by Nate Keeley. Keeley’s goal was assisted by Jon Buttitta and Jacob Schnapp. Roman Kraemer tied the game at 2-2 with an even-strength scoring play at 14:40 of the period. Zach White and Connor Craig each notched an assist on the goal. Connor Craig gave Twin City the lead on the powerplay in the final minute of the 2nd period. Craig’s powerplay goal was the Thunderbird’s 36th goal on the man-advantage this season, and was assisted by Chris Mott and Kayson Gallant. Twin City outshot Baton Rouge by a 17-6 margin during the 2nd period, and the Thunderbirds carried a 3-2 lead into the 3rd period.


Each team was held off of the scoreboard during the final period of Friday’s matchup, and Twin City skated away with a one-goal victory. The Thunderbirds were outshot by a 13-12 margin during the 3rd period, but outshot the Zydeco by an overall margin of 39-29 during Friday night’s battle. Boris Babik backstopped the team to victory in a 27-save-on-29-shot performance. Bailey Stephens dropped the game in goal for Baton Rouge after making 36 saves on 39 shots during the matchup. Twin City improved to 19-22-1 on the 2025-2026 season with the victory.


The Thunderbirds return home on Friday, March 13th for NASCAR Night against the Athens Rock Lobsters. Every fan in attendance will receive a Thunderbirds-NASCAR poster, and the puck will drop at 7:35pm ET. The Thunderbirds will also wear specialty jerseys during the matchup that will be auctioned off following the contest. The game is presented by Gatsby’s Pub. Tickets may be purchased online at WSFairgrounds.com, Ticketmaster.com, or by calling the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena Box Office at (336) 727-2236. https://tinyurl.com/ThunderbirdsNASCARNightTickets


Twin City is currently offering a special ticket discount through FEVO to celebrate the historic double gold sweep in Milano Cortino for the United States Men’s and Women’s Hockey Teams. Three tiers of pricing (Gold, Silver, Bronze) are available. The Gold Tier includes two blue section tickets for $46, a nod to the United States’ Men’s team winning Gold at the Olympics for the first time in forty-six years. Silver Tier pricing includes two red section tickets for $33 in honor of United States Women’s Captain Hillary Knight’s team record of thirty-three points recorded in the Olympics. The Bronze Tier includes two white section tickets for $20.26, a nod to this year’s historic performance by each United States hockey team in the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. https://www.gofevo.com/group/Olympicdiscount


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