Thunderbirds Win Overtime Thriller against Bobcats 4-3
FPHL Twin City Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds Win Overtime Thriller against Bobcats 4-3

Published on January 24, 2026 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL)
Twin City Thunderbirds News Release


WINSTON-SALEM, NC. - The Twin City Thunderbirds won an overtime thriller against the Blue Ridge Bobcats by a final score of 4-3 Saturday evening at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena. Roman Kraemer scored two goals, including the game-winning goal for Twin City in the victory. Zach White and Jan Salak also netted goals for the Thunderbirds during the victory. Boris Babik collected the win in goal for Twin City. The Thunderbirds will play the next seven games on the road before finally returning home to the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena to host the Watertown Wolves in back-to-back home games on Friday, February 27th, and Saturday, February 28th. Tickets to all home games may be purchased online by visiting WSFairgrounds.com, Ticketmaster.com, or by calling (336) 727-2236.

Three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano signed autographs prior to the game, and participated in Saturday's ceremonial puck drop. Due to weather related concerns, the full promotional elements of the Thunderbirds originally scheduled NASCAR Night will be rescheduled to a later date. Twin City and Blue Ridge played to a scoreless tie during Saturday's opening period. The Thunderbirds were outshot by a 15-7 margin during the 1st period.

Justin Daly gave the Bobcats a one-goal lead in the matchup at 10:28 of Saturday's 2nd period. The goal was netted on the powerplay, and was assisted by Dustin Jesseau and Zachary Ross. Dustin Jesseau netted a goal for Blue Ridge during the final minute of Saturday's 2nd period to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead in the matchup. The goal was scored even strength, and was assisted by Nicholas Stuckless and Denis Radchenko. Twin City was outshot by a 15-11 margin during the 2nd period, and trailed by two goals entering Saturday's final period of regulation time.

Zach White netted Twin City's first goal of the afternoon at 1:52 of the 3rd period. White's goal was scored even strength, and was assisted by Gus Ford and Connor Craig. Carson Andreoli scored a powerplay goal for Blue Ridge following Kaleb Melanson's five-minute major penalty for fighting. Brandon Reller and Justin Daly each recorded an assist on the scoring play. After falling behind by a 3-1 score, Twin City scored the final three goals of the rivalry matchup. Roman Kraemer netted his first goal of the night, and tenth goal of the season with less than four minutes to play in the 3rd period to bring the score to 3-2. Gus Ford and Egor Ramanau each collected an assist on the scoring play. Twin City elected to lift goaltender Boris Babik for an extra attacker, and scored the game-tying goal with less than two minutes to play. The game-tying goal was scored by Jan Salak, and was assisted by Josh Labelle and Zach White. Twin City outshot Blue Ridge 15-6 during the 3rd period, and Saturday's rivalry showdown required an overtime period to determine a winner.

Roman Kraemer scored his second goal of the night, and eleventh goal of the season at 2:51 of the overtime period to give Twin City a 4-3 victory over Blue Ridge. Zach White recorded an assist on the scoring play. The Thunderbirds outshot the Bobcats 2-0 in the overtime, but were outshot by an overall margin of 36-35 during the matchup. Twin City improved to 13-7-1 on the 2025-2026 regular season with the overtime win. The Thunderbirds are now 10-8-0 in home games played at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena this season, and 5-5-0 in head-to-head matchups against the Bobcats. Twin City will travel to Visions Veterans Memorial Arena for back-to-back road games against the Binghamton Black Bears next weekend. The puck drop time for both Friday and Saturday's matchups is scheduled for 7:00pm ET.

Boris Babik collected the win in net for Twin City Saturday afternoon in a 33-save-on-36-shot effort. The win for Babik was his tenth of the 2025-2026 regular season, and forty-fifth of his FPHL career. Anthony Shrum recorded the overtime loss in goal for Blue Ridge in a 31-save-on-35-shot effort. Roman Kraemer was named the 1st Star of Saturday's showdown, with teammates Zach White and Gus Ford collecting 2nd and 3rd Star honors, respectively.

Tickets to home games at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena may be purchased online by visiting WSFairgrounds.com, Ticketmaster.com, or by calling the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena Box Office at (336) 727-2236. The Thunderbirds are proud members of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL).

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Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2026


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