White’s late goal powers Thunderbirds to 4-3 Home Opener win

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Captain Zach White scored his second goal of the night with twenty-seven seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Twin City Thunderbirds to a 4-3 victory over the Blue Ridge Bobcats in Saturday’s Home Opener at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena. Ayvin Eidsness made fifty-one saves in front of 2,858 fans as the Thunderbirds completed a two-game sweep of their Atlantic Division rivals and improved to 5-1-0 on the 2026-2027 season. The victory was Jon Buttitta’s first at home as Head Coach.

White opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at 10:25 of the 1st period. Colin Roe tied the game at 17:08, with Alex Norwinski and Matthew Horan picking up assists for Blue Ridge. Eidsness made eighteen saves in the opening period as the Bobcats outshot the Thunderbirds 19-6. The teams went into the first intermission, tied 1-1.

Twin City erased two deficits in the 2nd period. Vladislav Vlasov gave Blue Ridge its first lead with a powerplay goal at 1:23, assisted by Demid Podrezov. Jacob Schnapp tied the game at 2-2 with an even-strength goal at 9:49, with Jack Johansen collecting the assist.

Nikolai Dulak put the Bobcats back in front at 12:38 on an assist from Christian Halbig. Roman Kraemer answered at 18:06, tying the game at 3-3 on a setup from Tobin Winslow. Blue Ridge held a 17-13 advantage in shots during the middle period.

Eidsness stopped all eighteen Blue Ridge shots in the 3rd period, keeping the game tied until White scored at 19:33. Joey McCormick and Charlie Bedard assisted on the goal, White’s second game-winner in as many nights. He also scored forty-seven seconds into overtime in Friday’s 3-2 victory at Hitachi Energy Arena in Wytheville, Virginia.

Eidsness stopped ninety-one of ninety-six shots across the two wins. Maximus Macchioni made twenty-nine saves on thirty-three shots for Blue Ridge on Saturday. The Thunderbirds went scoreless on four powerplay opportunities, while the Bobcats converted once on six chances. White earned 1st Star of the Game honors, with Eidsness and Schnapp named 2nd and 3rd Stars, respectively.

The Thunderbirds return to the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena on Friday, November 13th, to open a two-game series against the Watertown Wolves. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:45pm ET on Friday and 6:05pm ET on Saturday, November 14th.

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.