The Twin City Thunder took “a challenge” head on Sunday, and they did it in victorious fashion, winning a pair of games at the USPHL Winter Showcase in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

After skating to a 4-2 win in a battle of the Thunders in the morning, Twin City revved up the offense in a 7-3 rout of the Potomac Patriots in an afternoon affair.

Jeromey Rancourt scored twice in the victory over the Patriots. Zachary Simpson, Alex Schneider and Bobby Gervasi also scored in the first half of the game, which has a modified format at the Showcase. Second-half goals by Nicolas Garneau and leading scorer Zachary Desmarais allowed the Thunder to pull away after it was 5-3 at the intermission.

Jaxon Friedman got the start in net and played the first half, while Tanner Ames pitched a shutout in the second half.

Twin City had a more nerve-wracking second half in its morning victory against the Niagara Falls Thunder. After opening up a 4-0 lead, Niagara Falls scored two goals during a five-minute power play to cut its deficit in half.

Derek Fournier held strong and got the win in goal. Jacob Dubay paced the offense with two goals, including one short-handed, and Schneider and Nicolas Poirier also scored.

The Thunder scored two power-play goals in both of the games.

Head coach Doug Friedman said the “mental piece” of playing three games in 24 hours (including a Saturday evening) was the hardest part for his team to overcome, and “overall it was a challenge.”

That challenge finishes up Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. when the Thunder closes out its Showcase schedule against the Wooster (Ohio) Oilers.


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