Twenty-one consecutive wins is the current record held for the longest win streak in the Federal Hockey League held by the New York Aviators (formerly FHL). The Carolina Thunderbirds of the FHL are just two wins away from snapping that record and writing their own names in the history books.
With the streak starting on Dec. 7, 2018 in Elmira, NY, the Thunderbirds beat the Elmira Enforcers 2-1. Since their win against the Enforcers, the Thunderbirds have beaten every team in the FHL while on this streak. Their most recent win came against the Mentor Ice Breakers on Jan. 27th. The Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex is always full, if not sold out, with loud and passionate fans cheering for their Thunderbirds. Adding a major win streak to an already loud arena, it’s almost deafening when the Thunderbirds score. The Thunderbirds do plenty of scoring as well, recently coming off a 9-0 victory against the Watertown Wolves (largest margin of victory all season).
Lead by Barry Soksin as an owner, legendary Scott Brand (developed the “hybrid icing” rule now used by the NHL) as the President and General Manager and Andre Niec as the Head Coach. It’s a team effort and everyone on the Thunderbirds has a role and executes it to the best of their ability. With incredible talent on their roster, the Thunderbirds appear to unstoppable. Living by the motto “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, the Thunderbirds haven’t changed much of anything.
The odds haven’t been in the favor of the Thunderbirds either, having a lot of their players being called up the Southern Professional Hockey League. Having to make a ton of changes to their roster, they still found a way to win. With a solid goaltending core with Christian Pavlas and Frankie McClendon both putting up incredible performances in the crease, it’s easy to see why teams have problems scoring on the Thunderbirds. With almost an even mix of nine veterans and ten rookies, there’s enough balance for the veterans to teach the young guns some things.
With incredible numbers being put up by guys like Jan Salak, Captain Josh Pietrantonio and Jiri Pargac (just to name a few) and their last loss coming Dec. 1st, the Thunderbirds are scary good. Having their next two games against the Danville Dashers, the Thunderbirds have a very strong chance to set the record of most consecutive wins. The question is, can the Thunderbirds ever be stopped again?
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Photos: James Jackson
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