Thunderbirds Win Seventh Straight in Shootout over Baton Rouge, 3-2

Winston-Salem, NC – After seeing a two-goal lead disappear late in the 3rd period, the Carolina Thunderbirds defeated the Baton Rouge Zydeco, 3-2, (1-0) in three rounds of the shootout on Saturday night at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 2,952 fans.

Carolina (10-1-3) jumped on the board in the 1st period for the second straight night. On a 5-on-3 power play, Gus Ford snapped home his seventh goal of the season at the 9:19 mark, giving the home side a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.

In the 2nd period, the Thunderbirds doubled their advantage just over the midway point of the period. Jiri Pestuka fed a between the legs pass to Jan Salak who centered a puck off of a Baton Rouge (12-5-2) defensemen’s stick deflecting into the back of the net, giving the Thunderbirds a 2-0 advantage.

Leading by two after 40 minutes, Carolina tried to close out the win in regulation, but Kevin Szabad tucked home his second goal of the weekend with 14:29 remaining in regulation, and with the extra attacker on for Baton Rouge, Dmitry Kuznetsov tied the game with 16 seconds remaining in the 3rd, sending the two sides to overtime.

Neither side could find a winner in the five minutes and Carolina and Baton Rouge went to a shootout. In the first round of the shootout, both netminders, Bailey Stephens for the Zydeco and Mario Cavaliere for the Thunderbirds, stopped each shot. In the 2nd round, Cavaliere stoned Kuznetsov keeping the shootout scoreless. Ford then got the puck for Carolina and beat Stephens glove side, putting the Thunderbirds on the verge of their seventh straight in the third round. Elijah Wilson stepped up for the Zydeco but Cavaliere denied him giving the Thunderbirds the win in the shootout, 3-2 (1-0).

Carolina has now won seven straight games and are set to welcome in the Watertown Wolves for the first time since the 2022-23 season next Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. from the Fairgrounds Arena.