FPHL 
THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE
CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS
2018-19 Commissioner's Cup Champions
Carolina Sweep Venom with 4-2 Victory
Winston-Salem, NC – Following two convincing victories over HC Venom the last two nights, the Carolina Thunderbirds finished off a three-game sweep with a 4-2 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 1,473 fans.
Carolina (21-7-3) scored first for the fourth straight game over the midway mark of the 1st period. Roman Kraemer found Steven Ford crashing down into the slot and ripped home his first goal in over a year putting the Thunderbirds ahead, 1-0. Less than 90 seconds later with Carolina on the power play, Kraemer weaved his way through the defense and wired home his second goal of the weekend giving the Thunderbirds a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
HC Venom (7-16-2) responded quickly in the 2nd period. Marquis Grant-Mentis tapped home a loose puck in a scrum at the top of Boris Babik’s crease cutting Carolina’s lead in half with just under two minutes gone in the frame. The Thunderbirds answered less than two minutes later. Gus Ford hit the crossbar, and the puck ricocheted right to Kraemer at the far half wall, and he slotted home his second of the day, building the lead back to two, 3-1.
Already with two power play goals on the day, Carolina found its third with 6:41 left in the 2nd. Ford worked his way to the top of the slot and ripped home his 13th goal of the year and giving the Thunderbirds their largest lead of the day, 4-1, going to the final 20 minutes.
The Venom capitalized off a turnover in the defensive zone with Lester Brown rifling a shot home and making it a two-goal game again, but the Thunderbirds closed down the final 15 minutes and finished off a three-game sweep of the Venom, 4-2.
Kraemer and Gus Ford combined for seven points on the day with Kraemer recording two goals and two assists while Ford had a goal and two assists. The Thunderbirds picked up their sixth weekend sweep of the year with the victory today.
Carolina returns to action on Friday beginning another home-and-home set with the Blue Ridge Bobcats in Wytheville, Virginia. Puck drop is set for 7:30 from the Hitachi Energy Arena.