Columbus, GA – This rivalry matchup was cooking right from the get-go, with the FPHL Continental Division’s #2 Carolina Thunderbirds taking on the #1 River Dragons.
After only 1:01, Carter Shinkaruk struck first for Columbus, earning a quick lead over the Thunderbirds, with an assist by Kirk Underwood.
Not long after, at 8:16, Justin MacDonald lined up perfectly to add to the River Dragons’ lead, but the goal was knocked off its post by Cody Karpinski leading the refs to rule “no goal”, much to the dismay of MacDonald and his line-mates.
Within the first ten minutes of the game, the Thunderbirds committed three penalties, gifting the River Dragons two power plays, a 5 on 4, and later, a 5 on 3 opportunity.
At 10:11, Justin MacDonald took advantage of the odd-man advantage and scored on the assist by Kyle Moore, widening the River Dragons’ first-period lead, to 2-0.
Carolina answered back quickly and evened the score with goals at 10:53 by Nate Keeley, and at 11:30 by Jiri Pestuka.
At 15:05, Kyle Moore pushed a gliding pass to Ryan Hunter, who shoveled the puck into the net, with the period ending in favor of the River Dragons as they led Carolina, 3-2.
Kicking off the second period, Ryan Hunter scored on a long pass from Kirk Underwood at :40, increasing the River Dragons’ lead, to 4-2.
At 9:51, Carolina pressed hard to the River Dragons’ net and appeared to have scored, but the goal was waived off due to the goal being knocked off its posts.
The Thunderbirds were determined, trying their best to get some momentum. Columbus prevented any progress until, at 19:43, Jiri Pestuka scored Carolina’s third goal of the night, assisted by Jacob Schnapp.
At the end of the second period, Columbus maintained their lead over the Thunderbirds, 4-3.
At the start of the third period, Justin MacDonald extended the River Dragons’ lead to 5-3 at :40, with an assist by Kyle Moore. Carolina retaliated almost immediately when Jacob Schnapp scored on an assist by Jon Buttitta at 1:17.
At 3:01, Kyle Moore sent the puck to Ryan Hunter, who deflected it to Carter Shinkaruk to score as he crashed the net, giving the River Dragons another 2-point lead over the 
Thunderbirds.
At 17:11, Cody Karpinski left his net to give Carolina a 6 on 5 advantage over Columbus. Using their timeout, the Thunderbirds planned their attack on the River Dragons, while trailing 6-4.
At 17:17, Karpinski returned to his post when Jacob Schnapp was sent to the box for hooking.
Alex Storjahann took a floating pass by MacDonald to score the River Dragons’ 7th goal of the night at 18:23, sealing the win for Columbus.
After the game, Columbus celebrated Kyle Moore, who made five assists. Hunter scored twice and had one assist, as did MacDonald.
The River Dragons’ win tonight ends a 4-game win streak for the Thunderbirds, having capitalized on two out of the five power play opportunities they had throughout the night. The Thunderbirds only managed to score once with the odd-man advantage, out of the three power play opportunities they had.
Carolina returns home to play the Mississippi Sea Wolves Friday, while the River Dragons set out to hit the road on a 5-game win streak to play the Blue Ridge Bobcats Friday in Wytheville, Virginia.
Photos by Toni.Hill@prohockeynews.com
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