The Carolina Thunderbirds begin their quest for a Federal Prospects Hockey League championship later this week, but two local recreation teams already have their national championships.
The 40-and-older Winston-Salem Eagles and the 60-and-older Eagles each won USA Hockey National Championships in their respective divisions. Both championships were captured in Florida over the weekend.
Most of the players for both teams are from Greensboro and Winston-Salem and they practice at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena, which used to be called the Annex.
John Clapp, the general manager for both teams, is a longtime youth hockey coach and still plays occasionally. Clapp helps both teams with logistics, and he organized both teams’ trip to Florida and both brought home championship banners.
“There were a few players that come in from outside of the Triad, to play for the Eagles in the tournament,” Clapp said. “Players range from ex-pro, ex-college, to those who have played all their lives.”
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The 40-and-over Eagles went 3-1 to win the Tier 1 title. They lost to Global Synthetics, 3-2, in their first game but then beat the Buffalo Icemen, 8-4, and the Chicago Red Dogs, 9-2, to set up the championship game against Global Synthetics.
The Eagles won the title by beating Global Synthetics, 5-3.
The 60-and-older Eagles did even better by going 4-0 and outscoring their opponents 19-3. They beat a team from Atlanta, 6-0, in the championship game in the Division I bracket.
Thunderbirds start playoffs Friday
The Carolina Thunderbirds finished second in their division behind Columbus as the regular-season ended last weekend.
Carolina will take on Port Huron in the playoffs in Michigan on Friday night at 7 p.m. in the first game of the best-of-three series. The two teams will then make the long trek back from Michigan for a Saturday night game at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena for a 7:30 p.m. game. If a Game 3 is needed, it will be played Sunday at 6 p.m. in Winston-Salem.
The Thunderbirds finished 37-12 in the regular season but don’t exactly hit the playoffs with momentum. In their final regular season game last Saturday in Columbus, the River Dragons won 11-1. It was the worst loss since the team opened play in the FPHL in the 2017-18 season.
Earlier this week, Mario Cavaliere of the Thunderbirds was named the league’s top goalie after posting a 19-4-1 record and a goals against average of 2.19. He also had a .930 save percentage to lead the league in both categories.
Also, Gus Ford, the team’s leading scorer, was named the league’s forward of the year. In 43 games this season, Ford, who was the MVP of the league last season, has scored 42 goals and had 46 assists. He also had 13 game-winning goals.
The Thunderbirds placed fourth in the league in attendance averaging 2,939 per game. The Fairgrounds Arena holds around 3,000 fans for hockey.