Carolina Dominates Motor City, 7-2

Winston-Salem, NC – Following a dominant 5-0 win on New Year’s Eve, the Carolina Thunderbirds rolled in their first matchup of 2025 against the Motor City Rockers, downing the Rockers, 7-2, on Friday evening at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 2,975 fans.

Carolina (16-3-3) jumped all over Motor City (10-13-1) in the first 20 minutes. With 12:30 remaining in the 1st, Petr Panacek found a pass at the top of the slot and beat Ricardo Gonzalez to push the Thunderbirds in front, 1-0. Two minutes and two seconds later, Joe Kennedy blasted home his third goal of the season doubling Carolina’s advantage.

The Rockers did respond with Marquis Grant-Mentis beating Boris Babik over the blocker with 9:35 remaining in the first, but the Thunderbirds answered with two more goals. Nate Keeley tapped home his second goal in as many games with 8:52 to go in the 1st before Jan Salak gave Carolina a 4-1 lead with 4:46 left on the clock. Motor City would get one more on a tip from TJ Sneath, cutting the Rockers deficit in half, 4-2, after 20 minutes.

In the 2nd, Panacek found his second of the night just 1:50 into the period, swaying the momentum back Carolina’s way. The Thunderbirds kept pressuring Gonzalez and keeping the shots low for Babik. With 1:06 left in the 2nd, Dawson Baker wheeled his way all the way around the attacking zone before beating Gonzalez five-hole, giving Carolina a 6-2 advantage going to the 3rd.

Across the final 20 minutes, Carolina killed off two penalties and just over the halfway point of the frame, James Farmer snapped a two-line pass to Zach White who found the defenseman crashing down the near side and White delivered a perfect pass to Farmer who tapped home Carolina’s seventh goal of the night as the Thunderbirds rolled to their fourth straight win, 7-2.

Panacek, Salak and Danyk Drouin all recorded three points on the evening with Steven Ford, Clay Keeley and Zach White picking up a pair of assists. The seven goals are the new single-season high for Carolina this year after previously scoring six goals three times.

 The Thunderbirds have now won four straight games and try to finish off the sweep of the Rockers on Saturday night. Puck drop is slated for 6:05 p.m. from the Fairgrounds Arena.