Game Recaps 1/26/25

CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS vs HC VENOM


Carolina Sweep Venom with 4-2 Victory

Kraemer and Ford combine for seven points in win


by Brendan Reilly



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. 

 


BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES


Clean Sweep For Binghamton, Sea Wolves Fall 5-2


by Jon Kliment



Biloxi, MS - The finale of a three games in three days schedule after Binghamton took the first two games by a combined 9-3 score. Mississippi was looking for some redemption as they tried to take points from the top ranked team in the FPHL. 


Much like the previous two nights Binghamton came out firing just 97 seconds into the game Zac Sirota found the back of the net behind Ed Coffey. 41 seconds later Jesse Anderson added another to the Black Bears total for the weekend making it 2-0 after one period. 


With just 4:30 left in the second frame Scott Ramaekers took advantage of some confusion in front of the net as Coffey couldn't get the puck to settle down Ramaekers was able to put the puck over the outstretched goaltender to make it 3-0. With a power play Binghamton cashed in one more time as Christopher Mott put one home with just three seconds to go in the period for a 4-0 lead.


54 seconds into the final frame the Black Bears continued to pour it on as Daniel Stone buried the fifth of the evening. Mississippi, to their credit, did not give up as Andrew Stacey took a Chuck Costello pass buried it past McAnanama to break the shutout bid 11:15 into the third period to make it 5-1. Just 16 seconds later Justin Barr won a faceoff to Brad Richardson who fed Blake Keller for a beauty of a goal to bring the Sea Wolves back within 2, 5-2.


Coffey stopped 56 of 61 in the loss.


The Sea Wolves head out on the road to Watertown,NY next week for a Saturday night matchup. Follow along on Youtube!



8 In-a-Row for the Black Bears


by Brooks Hill



Biloxi, MS - The Binghamton Black Bears defeated the Mississippi Sea Wolves 5-2 on Sunday afternoon. The Black Bears extended their winning streak to eight-straight and are 9-1-0 in the last 10 contest. 


For the third-straight night, the Black Bears started off hot, getting on the board early. Zac Sirota continued his best weekend of the season, scoring the opening goal at 1:37. 45 seconds later, Sirota’s goal was followed up by Jesse Anderson’s tally on the back post. Just 2:18 into the period, Binghamton led 2-0. The Black Bears had two penalties in the frame, but Mississippi failed to convert. 


Things went differently in the second period. For the first time this weekend, Mississippi did not score in the first five minutes of the middle period. In fact, neither side was able to score until late in the period. At 15:50, Scott Ramaekers was able to score his first goal of the weekend at even strength. Binghamton was not able to convert on the 5-on-3 they had in the period, but they finally converted on the final power play of the period. Chris Mott scored the first power play goal of the weekend for the Black Bears with just three seconds remaining. Binghamton rev’d up the shots in the in the second, leading 45-16 after two periods of play. 


In the third, Dan Stone struck early just 54 seconds into the period. Stone’s fifth set a new career-high in goals for the defenseman. Mississippi was able to get on the board not once, but twice in rapid succession. Andrew Stacy and Blake Keller scored just 16 seconds apart from each other, getting Mississippi to within striking distance with 8:29 remaining. From that point forward, Connor McAnanama shut the door, as the defense only allowed two more shots on goal. Binghamton completed the sweep of the weekend earning all nine available points, finishing off the weekend with a 5-2 victory. 



The Black Bears have now won eight-straight games and are 9-1-0 in their last 10 contests.