Carolina Wins Slugfest over Port Huron, 5-1

Winston-Salem, NC – In a chaotic contest at home, the Carolina Thunderbirds flew past the Port Huron Prowlers, 5-1, on Friday evening at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 2,652 fans.

Carolina (38-11-4) struck first 14:41 into the 1st period. Zach White forced a Port Huron (30-17-6) turnover in the attacking zone and found Gus Ford all alone at the near post to wire home his 31st goal of the season, putting the Thunderbirds ahead, 1-0, after 20 minutes.

In the 2nd, Petr Panacek ripped a shot from the slot past Prowlers netminder, Reid Cooper, building the lead to two. With just under eight minutes left in the frame, Bobby Price jammed home his second professional goal before the Thunderbirds and Prowlers started to square off. Price and Jacob Schnapp were both give five-minute majors for fighting, marking the second tilt of the evening. With 18 seconds left in the period, Dawson Baker punched home a rebound to give the Thunderbirds a 3-1 lead going to the 3rd period.

Across the final 20 minutes, Jon Buttitta scored on the power play to make it a 4-1 game but in the 3rd, the two sides amassed 93 penalty minutes with both sides being handed multiple misconducts. Baker got an empty netter with 44 seconds left in regulation to finish off the 5-1 victory over the Prowlers.

Carolina and Port Huron meet for the final time in the regular season tomorrow evening. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. from the Fairgrounds Arena in Winston-Salem.