Birds Pump Dashers

Winston-Salem, NC - The Dashers were excited to get to the beautiful Fairgrounds Arena for a 2 game set with the Continental’s best Carolina Thunderbirds. However, Zach White’s hat trick combined with a 6 point effort by Gus Ford would prove to be plenty of offense as Carolina cruised to an 11-0 victory.

The Dashers would have a unique lineup ahead of a 2-game set with the Carolina Thunderbirds in Winston-Salem but were ready for battle. It was a sellout crowd at the Fairgrounds Arena, making for a fantastic atmosphere ahead of puck drop. The crowd got a chance to cheer early when Zach Slinger was sent off for a trip and the top ranked power play unit in the league had a chance to go to work. On the power play, Clay Keeley fired a shot that made it through traffic past Dashers goalie Ryall Purdy to open the game’s scoring at 1-0 just 4.5 minutes in. They kept the momentum rolling 2.5 minutes later when Zach White found himself on a breakaway and snapped a shot top corner for his second in the last two nights to double the lead at 2-0. The Dashers were able to generate a few quality chances of their own, but Boris Babik was a brick wall as he has been all season. Around the midway point, Gus Ford found himself 1 on 1 in the near-side circle. He uncorked a bullet to the far side that beat Purdy to extend the lead to 3-0, with still 10 minutes to go in period 1. The teams traded chances in the back half but no more marksman found the scoresheet. The shots at the end of 20 minutes were 14-12 Carolina.

Period 2 is when the game became a boat race. Carolina scored 6 goals in a span of about 12 minutes, beginning with Joe Kennedy lighting the lamp at the 6:44 mark for his 4th of the year to make it 4-0. Less than 2 minutes later, twin brother of Clay, Nate Keeley potted one to join the fun and make it 5-0. Just past the midway point Zach White found the back of the net once again to push the lead to 6, and with that eliminated the Dashers’ hope for a comeback. There was about a 5 minute span following the 6th tally with no goals, before Carolina added another 3 tallies in a 2:20 span. First it was Roman Kramer, who scored a hat trick last night, making a move around the mouth of the crease to slide it past Purdy and make it 7-0. Next Jan Salak found the scoresheet for his 12th of the year and it was 8-0. And finally, Zach White’s turn around shot in tight made it 9-0, earning him a hat trick to the awe of a sellout crowd. Carolina outshot the Dashers 25-7 in period 2, and were ready to carry a luxurious 9 goal cushion into the final 20.

It felt like both teams had read the writing on the wall that this game was past the point of no return heading into the third and final frame. There was a lethargic and slow tempo throughout the entirety of the 20 minutes, with minimal fireworks. Carolina did grab an additional pair of goals in a 5 minute span around the midway point. Joe Cangelosi, coming off a 2 assist game last night, ripped a shot in tight to push the lead to double digits. Then it was Dmitri Selyutin with the exclamation point with just inside 7 minutes to play making it 11-0. The Dashers were outshot 15-1 in the final frame, their lowest total in a single period all year. Boris Babik stopped all 20 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season. The final shot totals were 54-20 Carolina, who cruised the rest of the way to an 11-0 victory.

The two teams will battle again tomorrow night at 5:05 CST inside the Fairgrounds Arena.