Winston-Salem, NC – The (15-31-4) Mississippi Sea Wolves grabbed an early lead and carried it through most of the game on Friday night, but the (36-12-2) Carolina Thunderbirds snuck past them in a big second period to win 3-2 at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex.
A mere 3:07 into regulation is all it took for Yaroslav Yevdokimov to strike for the Sea Wolves, receiving a pass on the odd man rush from Yianni Liarakos. The Thunderbirds replied just 22 seconds later with Jiri Pestuka providing a follow-up goal after Daniel Martin’s initial chance.
Mississippi ran back in front 2-1 with Jake Raleigh’s one-time drive 16:04 into the first period. Ethan Busch-Anderson grabbed an assist along with Liarakos, who earned another multi-point game.
The second period saw plenty of turnovers, and the Thunderbirds were the ones to take advantage. Josh Koepplinger buried the net at 14:44 before Dawson Baker did the same just 1:15 later to give Carolina their first lead of the night at 3-2.
The Sea Wolves directed 12 shots onto Boris Babik’s net in the final period, but he blocked every chance until the final buzzer ran out. He made 31 stops, while Mississippi’s goaltender Joe Sheppard recorded 37.
The Continental Division rivals will meet up again tomorrow, April 1 at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex. The middle game of the three-in-three series is scheduled for 5:05pm Central Time.
By Nick Roesch
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