Thunderbirds winning streak snapped in Monroe

MONROE, LA. –The Twin City Thunderbirds rallied from a four-goal deficit to pull within one during Saturday’s 3rd period, but suffered their first loss of the 2026-2027 season with a 7-4 defeat against the Monroe Moccasins at the Monroe Civic Center. Captain Zach White recorded two goals and two assists, while Jack Johansen and Dominic Dumas each netted a powerplay goal. The loss snapped Twin City’s three-game winning streak and dropped the Thunderbirds to 3-1-0 on the season.

Monroe’s Marcus Ortiz opened the scoring with an even-strength goal at 3:36 of Saturday’s 1st period. Bradley Richardson and Colten Gerken each collected an assist on the scoring play. Corson Green doubled the Moccasins’ advantage with an even-strength goal at 9:24, assisted by Andrew Bellant and Jared Christy. Twin City was outshot by a 16-2 margin during the opening period and entered the 2nd period trailing 2-0.

Zach White put the Thunderbirds on the scoreboard with a powerplay goal just thirty seconds into Saturday’s middle period. Dominic Dumas and Joey Colatarci each notched an assist as Twin City cut Monroe’s lead to 2-1. Austin Pick restored the Moccasins’ two-goal advantage with an even-strength goal at 2:21, assisted by Jared Christy and Andrew Bellant.

Monroe then scored twice on the powerplay in a twenty-seven-second span to extend its lead to 5-1. Andrew Bellant scored at 5:18 on assists from Corson Green and Jared Christy, before Christy added a goal at 5:45, assisted by Green and Andrew Durham. Jack Johansen answered with a powerplay goal at 16:52, with Joey McCormick and Zach White each collecting an assist. The Thunderbirds were outshot by a 9-6 margin during the 2nd period and began Saturday’s final period trailing 5-2.

Dominic Dumas continued Twin City’s comeback bid with a powerplay goal at 7:10 of the 3rd period. Zach White and Jacob Schnapp each collected an assist as the Thunderbirds pulled within two. White then netted his second goal of the night with an even-strength tally at 15:12, assisted by Charlie Bedard and Jacob Schnapp. White’s goal was Twin City’s third unanswered goal and cut Monroe’s advantage to 5-4 with 4:48 remaining in regulation.

Austin Pick gave the Moccasins some breathing room with his second goal of the night at 18:09, assisted by Andrew Bellant. Paul Fregeau added an empty-net goal at 19:58 on an assist from Corson Green to secure Monroe’s 7-4 victory. Twin City was outshot by a 12-11 margin during the final period and a 37-19 margin overall.

The Thunderbirds converted on three of their five powerplay opportunities, while the Moccasins scored twice on three chances with the man advantage. Zach White led Twin City with four points, Dominic Dumas recorded a goal and an assist, and Jacob Schnapp collected two assists. The teams split their two-game weekend series following Twin City’s 4-3 shootout victory Friday night.

Twin City will conclude its five-game season-opening road trip against the Blue Ridge Bobcats on Friday, November 6th, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00pm ET. The Thunderbirds then welcome Blue Ridge to the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena for their Home Opener on Saturday, November 7th, beginning at 6:05pm ET. Friday’s game will be streamed live on ThunderbirdsTV on YouTube and Facebook, with coverage also available on WTOB Radio and Triad Talk Network (TTN).

Tickets for all Twin City Thunderbirds regular season home games at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased online at tcbirds.com, wsfairgrounds.com, ticketmaster.com, or by calling the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena Box Office at (336) 774-8880. For Season Ticket and Group Ticket information, contact Holli Carmin at (336) 774-8882 or hcarmin@tcbirds.hockey.