Carolina Handles Columbus in Game Two, 4-1

Winston-Salem, NC – On the brink of elimination in Game Two of the Continental Division Finals, the Carolina Thunderbirds netted three goals in the 2nd and one more in the 3rd to take a 4-1 victory over the Columbus River Dragons on Friday evening in front of 2,257 fans.

Carolina turned to Mario Cavaliere coming off the Game One loss and shined for the Thunderbirds. The netminder saved all nine shots he saw in the 1st period from Columbus, and in the 2nd, the offense came to life.

With just over 8 minutes gone in the 2nd period, the Thunderbirds went to the power play and Petr Panacek beat River Dragons goalie, Trevor Babin, putting Carolina ahead, 1-0. Six minutes later, Nate Keeley crashed the slot, and the puck found him snapping home his second of the playoffs, doubling the Thunderbirds advantage, 2-0. Jan Salak beat Babin five-hole just over two minutes later putting Carolina ahead 3-0 while Cavaliere remained a wall, saving 15 shots in the middle 20 minutes keeping the lead intact heading to the 3rd.

Across the final 20 minutes, Salak delivered a stretch pass to Zach White who scored on a breakaway with 14:58 left in regulation building the lead to four. Ryan Hunter got a consolation goal with 2:30 left in the 3rd but Carolina blew past Columbus, taking Game Two, 4-1.

Cavaliere finished the night saving 34 of 35 shots while Salak recorded three points in the victory. Panacek and Jiri Pestuka both finished with two points in the series tying win.

For the third straight year, Carolina and Columbus meet in a deciding Game Three in the Continental Division Finals. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. from the Fairgrounds Arena on Saturday evening.